Ad Agency in Moscow Sued for 'Erotic Raccoon Shoot'

An ad agency is currently facing a lawsuit for traumatizing a raccoon with an erotic video shoot.

According to United Press International, Thomas the raccoon was rented by Moscow studio Art-Msk for a "regular" advertisement last August. After the photoshoot, the zoo noticed that Thomas' behavior has changed. He became "obsessed" with women's breasts. When the zoo saw the behind-the-scenes from the shoot, they found out that Thomas was used in the photoshoot to cover a naked woman's torso.

There was also a clip showing the model in a tug of "bra" with the animal.

"...we began to notice that he reached for women's breasts. We think to perform several takes the film crew lured him onto the actress' chest with treats. Now he thinks he can always expect a treat near women's breasts," Viktor Kiryukhin, a zoo spokesman told The Telegraph.

Animals Aren't Toys, a privately run "contact zoo" filed the case in Moscow's Nikolinsky district court. The action was pursued after their request to take down the images of the raccoon on their website fell on deaf ears, BBC said.

"The plaintiff considers it unacceptable to use a raccoon in video and photographs with a naked woman," the suit reads.

The suit said that the defebdant has caused damage to the raccoon population by letting the animal pose with a naked woman.

"Now everyone who sees this video or photographs will directly associate raccoons with erotica," the suit added.

Meanwhile, the ad agency called the lawsuit absurd. As noted by the Huffington Post, the Moscow Studio claimed that there was already something unsettling about the raccoon even before they started the suit. He said that while they asked for a trained animal, the raccoon they gave was "young and ran off all the time." They also said the raccoon was the one who stole the bra and nibbled it right after.

Raccoons are not very social creatures. They are nocturnal and sleep during the day. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), while other species of raccoons are not endangered, the pygmy raccoon is critically endangered.