Raccoon in US breaks into liquor store, gets drunk & passes out in bathroom

A liquor store in Virginia, the United States (U.S.) had an unexpected — and decidedly unconventional — intruder over the 2025 Black Friday weekend.

In a Facebook post on Dec. 3, the Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter said that a raccoon had helped itself to liquor before blacking out at the Virginia ABC Store in Ashland on Nov. 29.

The animal broke a total of 14 bottles and drank from a wide range of alcohol after it squeezed through a ceiling in the store, reported The Washington Post.

No injuries except hangover

According to the animal shelter's post, its officer, identified as Martin, responded to an alert by the store's staff following signs of a break-in.

Inside, she found several shelves ransacked and liquor bottles scattered across the floor.

Martin then found the "suspect" laying unconscious in the bathroom.

It turned out to be a raccoon which, based on the scene left behind, appeared to have become intoxicated after consuming alcohol.

The shelter said that Martin "safely secured" the "masked bandit", and sent it to the shelter to "sober up before questioning".

The raccoon slept for a few hours and was not injured, "other than maybe a hangover and poor life choices".

It was later safely released back into the wild.

Broke 14 bottles, sampled wide range of alcohol

According to The Washington Post, Virginia ABC spokesperson Carol Mawyer said the raccoon had squeezed through the store ceiling sometime in the wee hours of Nov. 29.

Its entrance triggered a motion sensor, which alerted the security company and prompted a notification to the store manager.

Mawyer said that the manager had opted to wait until store opening at around 10am to investigate since there were no humans in the store.

During its escapade, the raccoon smashed 14 bottles of liquor worth up to US$250 (S$323).

It roamed a storage room and sampled a wide selection of alcohol including rum, scotch, moonshine, peanut butter whiskey and a festive eggnog.

Mawyer noted that security footage captured the raccoon racing through aisles, climbing over shelves and boxes, and apparently "having a ball".

By the time the manager arrived, he discovered the inebriated animal sprawled next to the toilet in the employee bathroom and promptly contacted the shelter.

Mawyer praised the shelter for giving the raccoon "a sober ride home".

While Virginia ABC stores have previously dealt with other animals, this is the first raccoon-related incident in the chain's roughly 400 locations.

Top photos via Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter/Facebook