Raccoon passes out after drinking too much wine at Christmas market

Erfurt police said animal was obviously intoxicated but ‘breathalyzer test not carried out’

A raccoon was shot dead after getting drunk on mulled wine and passing out at a Christmas market in Germany, according to authorities.

The racoon is said to have gotten hold of the alcohol after sipping mulled wine leftover from glasses in the Erfurt market.

A local police spokesman said the raccoon was “obviously intoxicated,” but a “breathalyzer test on the animal was not carried out”, according to German broadcaster DW News.

Video footage shows the raccoon stumbling around, playing with a woman’s shoes and then sleeping on a step, as Christmas revellers film the drunken creature while laughing.

Sadly, although initial reports indicated the raccoon was taken to an animal shelter, the case was instead handed over to a local hunter who shot the creature dead.

Animal rescue SWE Tierheim Erfurt tweeted: “Unfortunately, the story of the drunken raccoon did not have a happy ending.

“The city hunter took him away and shot him dead.”

Raccoons are not protected by conservation laws in Germany and people can legally hunt them, according to Spiegel Online.

In 2018, police officers in Germany picked up two drunk hedgehogs near Erfurt’s cathedral.

It is believed they had come across discarded bottles of alcoholic eggnog and they were taken to the zoo to receive care.