Racine man attacked by 'sick' woodchuck, police let animal go free

A man in Racine is completing a series of rabies shots after he was bitten by a woodchuck early Sunday night.

Sharon Thomas said her husband Craig Thomas came to her rescue when she was walking their dog Nico and the wild animal started charging toward them.

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“The eyes were clouded. It was injured,” Sharon said. “I’ve been around wildlife all my life. I’ve never once had a woodchuck, or any kind of rodent, or animal come charging at me unless it was rabid.”

She said her husband planned to get the family away from the animal but when the woodchuck ran to attack him, he grabbed it by the neck.

Craig told TMJ4’s Tahleel Mohieldin that the animal bit him when he tried to secure his grip. At that point, Craig said he didn’t want to let the animal go because he believed the woodchuck needed to be quarantined and tested.

Tahleel Mohieldin, TMJ4 News

As police and EMS arrived on scene Craig managed to get the woodchuck into a suitcase, from a neighbor nearby, only to have Racine Police let the animal go.

“We haven’t been able to get no answers out of nobody,” Sharon said. “I want answers as to why the animal was not contained and tested.”

Sharon said, following the incident, she left with her husband to the ER so she didn’t see the police response.

Her neighbor Karen Norton was there.

“They literally went over there and unzipped the suitcase,” she recalled. “They stayed a while to try to wait until the animal came out and it kept poking its head out but it didn’t come out. They left before the animal came out.”

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Norton said she considered the animal to be a danger because she believed it was the same woodchuck she’d seen on her property days prior looking sickly.

She recalled witnessing a close-call with the animal and one young child in the neighborhood.

“She was ready to feed this thing and it was looking at her,” she detailed. “I told her no, leave the animal alone, it’s sick. You could literally see that it was sick.”

It’s one of the reasons Norton said she was upset to learn local authorities hadn’t done more to help.

“I said you’re kidding,” she said. “They have got to find out if this animal is ravenous. You have to find out because it bit somebody.”

TMJ4’s Tahleel Mohieldin reached out to a spokesperson with the Racine Police Department to find out why they let the woodchuck go. The spokesperson said they contacted the DNR which advised police to release the animal back into nature.

Watch: Neighbors have concerns after man says he was attacked by a woodchuck.

Woodchuck attack puts man in hospital

However, when Mohieldin contacted the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, to learn why they gave the go-ahead, a spokesperson there said they were not aware of the incident nor were they contacted.

The spokesperson went on to say that in situations like this, the DNR typically works with local law enforcement and health officials to ensure the animal is collected and tested for rabies.

In a letter, the Racine’s Public Health Department did follow up with Craig. They advised that he consult a physician for treatment.

TMJ4, Tahleel Mohieldin

According to the letter, immediately after a bite occurs with a domestic animal it is quarantined for 10 days before being examined for any signs of rabies.

The letter noted the woodchuck was not able to undergo quarantine or testing but did not mention why this was the case.

Mohieldin reached out to officials with the city’s health department regarding protocol with bites involving wild animals, specifically how they make sure the animal isn’t an ongoing threat to the public.

The City of Racine’s Communication Director responded with no comment.

Sharon told Mohieldin, that after the woodchuck was released, it was later found dead in the Neighborhood.

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