Russian zoo sues advertising firm for 'traumatising' rented raccoon in erotic photo shoot

A Moscow zoo is suing an advertising firm that used one of its animals in an erotic photo shoot.

Tomas the racoon was left “traumatised” and came back with an unhealthy attraction to women’s breasts after the shoot with Moscow studio Art-Msk last year, his owners have said.

Animals Aren’t Toys, a privately run “contact zoo” that allows visitors to handle its animals, is now suing the company not only for Tomas’ ordeal, but damage to the reputation of an entire species.   

“The plaintiff considers it unacceptable to use a raccoon in video and photographs with a naked woman,” the zoo said in a suit demanding the material be removed from Art-Msk’s website.  

“By photographing him with a naked woman, the defendant has caused damage to the raccoon population. Now everyone who sees this video or photographs will directly associate raccoons with erotica,” adds the document, which was filed in Moscow’s Nikolinsky district court on Tuesday.

Art-Msk hired Tomas for a shoot last August, but did not tell the zoo that he would be posing with a naked woman, zoo staff said.

But a "backstage" video and photographs of the shoot posted shortly afterwards on the firm’s website showed a blonde woman posing in bed with the raccoon.

The video of the shoot shows her in a tug of war with the animal over a piece of fabric that appears to be her bra.  

Zoo managers said they decided to resort to legal action after the advertising firm ignored their requests to take down the images, but received no reply.

“Tomas came back withdrawn, always slept in the corner, and snapped at people,” said Viktor Kiryukhin, a zoo spokesman.

“Furthermore, 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.”

Valery Bogatov, the head of Art-Msk’s video marketing department, called the zoo’s complaint “absurd,” and said the video being shot was never meant to be erotic because it was intended for advertising on national television channels.

“The raccoon himself grabbed the actress’s bra and ran under the bed. Originally we asked for a trained animal, because raccoons are generally unmanageable. But we were given this - he was young and constantly ran away. After several takes he stole the underwear and chewed it,” he told Tabloid site Life News. 

Mr Bogatov, who confirmed the story to the Telegraph, said that he didn't initially take the threat of legal action seriously. 

“When the zoo told us they would sue us, we told them we’d file our own suit for the cost of the bra,” he said.  

"I said it as a joke, because I thought they were joking too. Now it seems it is serious," he said. "I'd like to make absolutely clear we never violated any animal rights," he said. 

He declined to name the client who commissioned the advertisement.

Tomas the raccoon has made a full recovery and is back to his playful self, the zoo director told Russia’s T-Journal website.