The City of Toronto is asking people to stay away from raccoons after it saw an increase in reports of people being attacked by these animals. Toronto Public Health (TPH) has seen a 62 per cent increase in raccoon bites and scratches since last January, compared to a two-year average between 2018 and 2019. There were also 3,712 service requests to help ill or injured raccoons in 2020, while only 4,172 requests were reported in 2019. Officials.