Hershey's new Cadbury Bunny is a rescue raccoon from Florida
Louie the painting raccoon is described by his owner as an influencer and artist
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The winner of the 2024 Cadbury Bunny Tryouts is a 2-year-old raccoon named Louie, The Hershey Company announced in an Instagram post on Tuesday, March 26.
"Louie is a two-year-old raccoon from Miami, Florida, who was rescued by his owner Jaime in 2021 after he had been deemed unfit to live in the wild," said the Instagram post.
Louie, who is often found "lounging in his favorite tree," is also a philanthropist, said the post.
"Using his toe-painting skills," he creates art — which is then sold to raise money for wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centers.
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This was the sixth annual Cadbury Bunny Tryouts, said a release from The Hershey Company.
The contest is open to all pets, and the winner is awarded $7,000 and a starring role in the 2025 Cadbury Bunny Tryouts commercial.
This year, the Cadbury Bunny Tryouts featured a March Madness-style bracket elimination competition on Instagram.
Louie, a Miami-based raccoon, has been named the winner of the 2024 Cadbury Bunny Tryout. (The Hershey Company / Fox News)
After an initial period in which pet owners could nominate their pets for the position of Cadbury Bunny, the field was narrowed to "The Round of Thirty-Cute," the company said.
Louie defeated Loki, a cat from Long Island, in the final round of voting.
Louie now joins previous Cadbury Bunny winners Crash the Rescue Cat (2023), Annie Rose the Therapy Dog (2022), Betty the Frog (2021), Lieutenant Dan the Treeing Walker Coonhound (2020) and Henri the English Bulldog (2019), the release indicated.
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"Each year we look forward to crowning a new Cadbury Bunny, especially this year where we engaged fans in a new way through our bracket-style competition. It was incredible to see pet lovers getting in on the fun," said Natalie Shuntich, senior associate marketing manager at The Hershey Company, in a March 25 press release.
Louie was rescued when he was just a kit — and has never lived in the wild. He and his raccoon sister Lucy "paint" pictures, which are then sold to raise money for a wildlife rehabilitation center. (Courtesy of The Hershey Company / Fox News)
Louie's owner, Jaime Arslan, said she was "thrilled" that her pet was chosen as the new Cadbury Bunny.
"We are longtime fans of the Cadbury brand and are honored to see Louie join the long legacy of incredible Cadbury Bunnies," she said.
She added, "Louie's TV debut in Cadbury's 2025 commercial can't come soon enough!"
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With a website that describes him as a "social media influencer, fashion icon, fitness model, food connoisseur, and artist," Louie lives in Miami with his raccoon sister Lucy, as well as "three dogs, three cats, and one fish."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HSY | THE HERSHEY CO. | 174.95 | +0.95 | +0.55% |
Arslan took Louie in when he was very young and was left motherless.
He's never lived in the wild and has always been a pet. He boasts nearly 380,000 followers on Instagram.
In the U.S., the Cadbury chocolate brand is produced by Hershey's Chocolate. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
Florida is one of a handful of states in which a raccoon can legally be kept as a pet.
Both Louie and Lucy "sell" their paintings on Louie's website, with Louie using the name "Loucasso," and Lucy going by "Lucy Da Vinci."
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Some of the proceeds from the sales of the paintings go to Samadhi Wildlife Inc., a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organization in Central Florida.
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Fox Business reached out to The Hershey Company for additional comment.
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