The 2024 Cadbury Bunny Was Just Announced—and It Could Not Be Further From a Rabbit

Louie is stealing hearts—and trash.

Forget March Madness—the only bracket I cared about this month was the one associated with the 2024 Cadbury Bunny Tryouts contest. If you're unfamiliar, for the last six years, Cadbury has held auditions for its next mascot, the Cadbury Bunny—and the winners have been almost every animal but a bunny. In 2019 and 2020, a dog took the top spot; in 2021, a frog (yes, a frog) donned the winning bunny ears. A one-eyed cat named Crash took first prize last year, but this year's winner may be its most adorable—and unexpected Cadbury Bunny yet.

Who Won the 2024 Cadbury Bunny Contest?

This year, to mix things up, Cadbury put its top 32 contest applicants into a bracket and had fans vote for their favorite "spokesbunny" on social media. After two grueling weeks of voting, the fans have spoken, and the 2024 Cadbury Bunny Tryouts winner is none other than a 2-year-old raccoon from Florida named Louie.

Louie was taken in by a wildlife rescue organization in 2021, and after being deemed unfit to live in the wild, was adopted by a volunteer and vet tech named Jaime. He went to be raised like any other pet alongside Jaime's other pets, which now include three other rescued raccoons.

Louie swept through the bracket, stealing hearts (and we assume, trash) along the way. This isn't Louie's first brush with fame; the raccoon has nearly 400K followers on Instagram, where Jaime shares hilarious content of Louie, including his affinity for painting. And, if it couldn't get any more heartwarming, Louie and Jaime raise money and awareness for Samadhi Wildlife, an organization that helps rehabilitate and release injured wild animals.

While he may be a little more nocturnal than your typical Easter mascot, Louie is certainly just as cute as any everybunny else.

Read the original article on All Recipes.