[Update] Freakin Raccoon Caught In 14th Street Subway Station

April 4, 2019, 1:56 p.m.

Would Rocket Raccoon have been treated this way?

[Sad Update Below] A sneaky Trash Panda was caught sneaking around a subway station in Manhattan and captured by police this week.

The incident happened around 2 a.m. Wednesday at the 14th Street/6th Avenue subway station. Police were able to trap the subway procyonid inside a garbage can, then transferred it to a cage before transporting it to their precinct to hand over to ACC. The poor little guy looks extra mangy, as you can see in the video above. Would Rocket Raccoon have been treated this way?

People of course found the photo of him, tweeted out by NY1's Joel Siegel, to be pretty adorable:

Earlier this year, State Senator Roxanne Persaud told officials that raccoons have been encroaching upon the E. 105th Street L train station in Canarsie for months. And like pigeons, cats and the occasional emotional support hen, raccoons have been known to ride the train as well (even though they technically can't be kept as pets in NYC).

In conclusion: ANOTHER FREAKIN RACOON [sic] IN THE SUBWAY!!!???!!!

Update: A spokesperson for Animal Care Centers of NY told us that the raccoon has been euthanized after it was brought to them.

"The raccoon was brought into our facility and was euthanized as required by law for all vector species animals brought into the shelter," said ACC spokesperson Kate Hansen. "Raccoons, bats and skunks are classified as a rabies vector species (RVS), which means it's an animal that can carry and transmit rabies. Technically, any mammal can do so, but raccoons are a higher risk. Thus, the animal is subject to certain laws by state."