N.J. man allegedly killed squirrels with BB gun, hung them on fence

[Liberal_in_LA]

allegedly? There is the evidence right there





A New Jersey man is charged with animal cruelty after he allegedly killed several squirrels with a BB gun and hung their bodies from a fence.

According to CBS New York, police in Linden filed the charges against 49-year-old Richard Baird after finding the animals hanging from a stockade fence in his backyard.

Det. Lt. James Sarnicki says he believes Baird was frustrated because the squirrels were crawling through a hole in the side of his house, CBS New York reports.

"He was frustrated to the point where he proceeded to put some peanut butter by a tree in one of his backyards to lure the squirrels to the peanut butter and then he was shooting them with a BB gun," Sarnicki reportedly said. "After he killed them, for some unexplainable reason, he was hanging their bodies from one of the fences in the backyard."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57452633-504083/n.j-man-allegedly-killed-squirrels-with-bb-gun-hung-them-on-fence/

[Gman]

1. That's a great idea to keep them out of my tomatoes

If it would work, I'd do it too.

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. .

[slackmaster]

9. You'd have to stay on post all night

I have the same problem. My cats would take care of it but I bring them in every night so they don't get eaten by coyotes.

[Gman]

101. According to what I've read and turned out to be pretty much true

they hit the garden right within a couple of hours of sun up and a couple of hours after sun down.

A friend that started shooting them said after the first 2 or 3 they leave his garden alone. It's like word gets out that "that guy's crazy and he's got a gun!"

[slackmaster]

102. I left a game camera in my back yard last summer when rats and mice were destroying my garden

It looked like a scene from a horror movie at times. My immediate neighbors and I have been taking measures to make the environment less inviting to them.

I really wish I could have about 6 cats that I could just leave outside all night. The problem is I have so much empathy for the little fur monsters (the cats) that I couldn't do that to them.

[Gman]

109. That sounds like my last year's garden disaster

Here in Texas we had the historic heat wave and drought last year. Last year it was mainly rodents. I had like 22 big tomato plants. They literally stripped every one clean. I got maybe 10 tomatoes out of all of it. I put out a few rat traps but caught small, what I thought were mice, but were really baby rats. Its cooler and wetter this year and it's mainly squirrels. I've gotten a lot of tomatoes, but the squirrels have gotten to at least half the crop.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

110. Our cat Odysseus is a mass murderer.

He goes on hunting trips for rats. If he lived in your house you'd have no problem.

[slackmaster]

111. So is Samantha the Gopher Grabber, but she can't keep up with the rats

[UnrepentantLiberal]

112. Ody has brought home big rats.

He's a stone cold killer.

[Gman]

116. Good for him

I'd have one if I wasn't so allergic to cats. There's been many times in the last couple of years I wish we had a cat.

[Liberal_in_LA]

118. My cat does that when it's hot. Lies about in the sink like it's a special cat bed

[UnrepentantLiberal]

119. That's probably the reason.

[BlueJazz]

3. I think the guy that did that is one sick fuck. The squirrels were here long before...

...we built our houses on their land...

[slackmaster]

6. Yes indeed. They were here even before Native Americans.

[Bake]

47. Not those particular squirrels, however.

Squirrels are like rodents. Big freakin' rats with cute tails.

Bake

[Liberal_in_LA]

14. me too!

[Johnny Rico]

43. Squirrels own land?

[BlueJazz]

103. Yes they do...or else the little fuckers showed me a forged deed.

[belcffub]

66. they also taste good...

what a horrible waste of meat...

[snooper2]

88. It would have been fine if he had skinned and cleaned them right after killing each one....

Not much meat on a squirrel but with that many you can have a good stew, maybe some jerky?

[Dan]

114. but they do taste so good....

[Brickbat]

4. Shoulda just buried them.

[jberryhill]

13. I guess he thought the carcasses would deter other squirrels?

[siligut]

25. My first thought too :0)

He isn't quite that crazy, but I do think he did it as punishment. He took probably the squirrel's behavior personally, well he sure showed them.

[RebelOne]

39. That is the case with some other animals.

A lady I worked with lived on a farm and she would shoot the crows and hang their carcasses out and it discouraged other crows from invading the corn.

[siligut]

49. If it worked for squirrels, I doubt there would be so many hanging on the fence.

Saw a guy in Texas do the same thing with coyotes, not sure what happened, but I think animal activists cut his fence down.

[RebelOne]

60. Thumbs up to the animal activists. n/t

[haele]

117. Crows are scary-smart, have a long memory and studies show they understand concepts

For crows, something like that might work over a long term as they communicate. I've heard of farming communities that did that sort of thing - killing as many crows as they could and hanging the bodies up where the other crows could see just once and they haven't had crows in their area for decades afterwards. The crows decided that township and the area around it were just too dangerous and "the word got out". Even migratory corvids - magpies and jays - avoided those areas.
For squirrels, it might work until the bodies are no longer there (then again, the squirrels may just ignore the show of bodies as the concept of "hey, that might happen to me" doesn't apply unless they actually see the killing and the bodies put on the fence.), so he'll have to keep doing that.

Fix the hole and otherwise squirrel-proof as much as you can. That's the only way to discourage them.

Haele

[CBGLuthier]

5. Since when is it illegal to kill squirrels? Should we call the police about the ones in the road?

[HarveyDarkey]

65. There are squirrel hunting seasons

the rest of the year it's illegal. If he was in town, it's also usually illegal to fire weapons.

[Renew Deal]

7. Sounds like he was standing his ground.

[Chorophyll]

51. I feel really bad for snorting at this.

On so many levels. :/

[tallahasseedem]

86. LOL!

Literally... I'm ashamed. Not really.

[badtoworse]

8. Why didn't he make stew?

[Tx4obama]

10. Squirrels in the attic and walls are dangerous

I had couple of them in the attic and they chewed through wires on the furnace, the repair bill was expensive.

One also chewed/clawed a hole through the sheet rock on the wall between a kitchen cabinet and I heard it in there knocking the coffee cups around, I didn't know what was in the there at the time and it was a BIG surprise when I opened the cabinet door - saw it's tail as it went back though the hole !!!

Called the city and they said they could NOT send animal control out to catch them - they said I had to catch them myself and that they could ONLY be released outside of the city into the county.


Squirrels are a pain in the butt - and they can actually be the cause of a house burning down by chewing wires.

[Aerows]

23. Yep

We got a nest of them in the attic. It was a pain to get rid of them. Cats are extremely useful deterrents.

[RebelOne]

41. I had rats that chewed electrical wires in my house and it cost

me over $1100 to repair the wiring. That's when I called a pest control guy and he killed 18 rats. There is construction in a field behind my house and when the field was cleared it drove the little bastards into my house. After paying $350 to the pest control guy, I was rid of them.

[Denninmi]

67. I had squirrels damage two of my vehicles.

One weekend, I came home on friday night from work and parked my Chevy S10 pickup in the driveway. Didn't go anywhere on Sat. On Sunday morning, I was going to go somewhere, put my key in the ignition and nothing, no power at all, no engine turnover, just dead. So, I popped the hood to check, and found a squirrel's nest made of leaves, wiring, and the fiberglass insulation that GM lined the underside of the hood with to insulate it.

The second vehicle was my spare Chevy Tracker that I didn't use often. It was parked in the driveway for probably a month without use. When I finally wanted to drive it, I turned the ignition only to hear a hideous squelch coming out. So I took it to the dealer, figured it was just the blower fan had gone bad. Well, it turns out squirrels had stuffed the entire ventilation system full of black walnuts and hickory nuts. Because it wasn't a manufacturer's defect, it wasn't covered under my warranty plan. The quote to tear apart the ventilation system and clean it out was around $1000.

I've also had them chew into my garage right through the siding, sheathing, and wallboard.

[slackmaster]

11. I think incarceration is excessive punishment for killing vermin that aren't even endangered

New Jersey has some strange laws.

[jberryhill]

12. Is it illegal to shoot them with a BB gun?

Once they are dead, whether he hangs them on the fence is not relevant to whether he was cruel to them.

This will take a while to poke through.....

4:22-26. Acts constituting cruelty in general; penalty

A person who shall:

(1) Overdrive, overload, drive when overloaded, overwork, deprive of necessary sustenance, abuse, or needlessly kill a living animal or creature, or cause or procure, by any direct or indirect means, including but not limited to through the use of another living animal or creature, any such acts to be done;

(2) Torment, torture, maim, hang, poison, unnecessarily or cruelly beat, or needlessly mutilate a living animal or creature, or cause or procure, by any direct or indirect means, including but not limited to through the use of another living animal or creature, any such acts to be done;

(3) Cruelly kill, or cause or procure, by any direct or indirect means, including but not limited to through the use of another living animal or creature, the cruel killing of, a living animal or creature, or otherwise cause or procure, by any direct or indirect means, including but not limited to through the use of another living animal or creature, the death of a living animal or creature from commission of any act described in paragraph (2) of this subsection;

b. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2003, c. 232).

c. Inflict unnecessary cruelty upon a living animal or creature, by any direct or indirect means, including but not limited to through the use of another living animal or creature; or unnecessarily fail to provide a living animal or creature of which the person has charge either as an owner or otherwise with proper food, drink, shelter or protection from the weather; or leave it unattended in a vehicle under inhumane conditions adverse to the health or welfare of the living animal or creature;

d. Receive or offer for sale a horse that is suffering from abuse or neglect, or which by reason of disability, disease, abuse or lameness, or any other cause, could not be worked, ridden or otherwise used for show, exhibition or recreational purposes, or kept as a domestic pet without violating the provisions of this article;

e. Keep, use, be connected with or interested in the management of, or receive money or other consideration for the admission of a person to, a place kept or used for the purpose of fighting or baiting a living animal or creature;

f. Be present and witness, pay admission to, encourage, aid or assist in an activity enumerated in subsection e. of this section;

g. Permit or suffer a place owned or controlled by him to be used as provided in subsection e. of this section;

h. Carry, or cause to be carried, a living animal or creature in or upon a vehicle or otherwise, in a cruel or inhumane manner;

i. Use a dog or dogs for the purpose of drawing or helping to draw a vehicle for business purposes;

j. Impound or confine or cause to be impounded or confined in a pound or other place a living animal or creature, and shall fail to supply it during such confinement with a sufficient quantity of good and wholesome food and water;

k. Abandon a maimed, sick, infirm or disabled animal or creature to die in a public place;

l. Willfully sell, or offer to sell, use, expose, or cause or permit to be sold or offered for sale, used or exposed, a horse or other animal having the disease known as glanders or farcy, or other contagious or infectious disease dangerous to the health or life of human beings or animals, or who shall, when any such disease is beyond recovery, refuse, upon demand, to deprive the animal of life;

m. Own, operate, manage or conduct a roadside stand or market for the sale of merchandise along a public street or highway; or a shopping mall, or a part of the premises thereof; and keep a living animal or creature confined, or allowed to roam in an area whether or not the area is enclosed, on these premises as an exhibit; except that this subsection shall not be applicable to: a pet shop licensed pursuant to P.L.1941, c. 151 (C.4:19-15.1 et seq.); a person who keeps an animal, in a humane manner, for the purpose of the protection of the premises; or a recognized breeders' association, a 4-H club, an educational agricultural program, an equestrian team, a humane society or other similar charitable or nonprofit organization conducting an exhibition, show or performance;

n. Keep or exhibit a wild animal at a roadside stand or market located along a public street or highway of this State; a gasoline station; or a shopping mall, or a part of the premises thereof;

o. Sell, offer for sale, barter or give away or display live baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl or rabbits, turtles or chameleons which have been dyed or artificially colored or otherwise treated so as to impart to them an artificial color;

p. Use any animal, reptile, or fowl for the purpose of soliciting any alms, collections, contributions, subscriptions, donations, or payment of money except in connection with exhibitions, shows or performances conducted in a bona fide manner by recognized breeders' associations, 4-H clubs or other similar bona fide organizations;

q. Sell or offer for sale, barter, or give away living rabbits, turtles, baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl under two months of age, for use as household or domestic pets;

r. Sell, offer for sale, barter or give away living baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl, or rabbits, turtles or chameleons under two months of age for any purpose not prohibited by subsection q. of this section and who shall fail to provide proper facilities for the care of such animals;

s. Artificially mark sheep or cattle, or cause them to be marked, by cropping or cutting off both ears, cropping or cutting either ear more than one inch from the tip end thereof, or half cropping or cutting both ears or either ear more than one inch from the tip end thereof, or who shall have or keep in the person's possession sheep or cattle, which the person claims to own, marked contrary to this subsection unless they were bought in market or of a stranger;

t. Abandon a domesticated animal;

u. For amusement or gain, cause, allow, or permit the fighting or baiting of a living animal or creature;

v. Own, possess, keep, train, promote, purchase, or knowingly sell a living animal or creature for the purpose of fighting or baiting that animal or creature;

w. Gamble on the outcome of a fight involving a living animal or creature;

x. Knowingly sell or barter or offer for sale or barter, at wholesale or retail, the fur or hair of a domestic dog or cat or any product made in whole or in part from the fur or hair of a domestic dog or cat, unless such fur or hair for sale or barter is from a commercial grooming establishment or a veterinary office or clinic or is for use for scientific research;

y. Knowingly sell or barter or offer for sale or barter, at wholesale or retail, for human consumption, the flesh of a domestic dog or cat or any product made in whole or in part from the flesh of a domestic dog or cat;

z. Surgically debark or silence a dog in violation of section 1 or 2 of P. L.2002, c. 102 (C.4:19-38 or C.4:19-39);

aa. Use a live pigeon, fowl or other bird for the purpose of a target, or to be shot at either for amusement or as a test of skill in marksmanship, except that this subsection and subsections bb. and cc. shall not apply to the shooting of game;

bb. Shoot at a bird used as described in subsection aa. of this section, or is a party to such shooting; or

cc. Lease a building, room, field or premises, or knowingly permit the use thereof for the purposes of subsection aa. or bb. of this section

--------

Does anything jump out there?

Section (o) is interesting - why would you dye a chameleon? But, hey, iguanas... color 'em anything you want.

[Liberal_in_LA]

18. may not be illegal, but it's cruel. Glad he's being charged

[jberryhill]

24. So...

You are glad he's being charged, even if he did not violate the law. Is that correct?

I have no opinion on whether what he did constitutes "cruelty" as defined by the relevant New Jersey statute, since it is a mile long.

But, in general, it is your belief that actions should be simply deemed illegal, even if there is no statue which renders it that way, and that criminal penalties should attach to unwritten laws made up to fit the mood?

What was the "cruel" part in your opinion? Shooting them, or hanging them up after they were dead?

[Liberal_in_LA]

28. it's cruel to kill animals for revenge. Also - you want the neighborhood kids to see that?

Dead animals hanging on the fence.

[jberryhill]

31. Whether someone committed a crime

..is defined by the statute.

I see nothing in the NJ animal cruelty statute about whether kids see anything.

If you are asking me about what "you want" - I don't "want" any of it. The NJ animal cruelty statute does not request my opinion.

[belcffub]

63. why not I hang my deer in the driveway...

never had a complaint... I do cover up once I start butchering though...

[OriginalGeek]

74. Why do they keep saying "animal or creature"?

when is an animal not a creature? Do law writers get paid by the word?

[jberryhill]

76. Those "mice with human brains" Christine O'Donnell was on about, I guess

She's from New Jersey.

There is some weird shit over there. That's why Delaware charges $7.50 to get out of New Jersey.

[OriginalGeek]

77. A bargain!

I might pay double!

[jberryhill]

81. It keeps out the riff-raff

[Buns_of_Fire]

84. "...any living animal OR CREATURE..." Are human beans considered "creatures?"

If so, there are are several corporations that have a lot to answer for -- especially under paragraph (1).

[petronius]

91. I imagine it's just the "needlessly kill" at the very beginning, and there's a bit of case

to be made there if he was baiting them into his yard rather than actually killing those in his house. Or it's possible that the BB gun was too under-powered to be humane.

But my WAG that this is largely a "what a fuckin' weirdo!" charge, where they just threw up any charge that might stick, to stop the guy from disturbing the neighbors...

[jberryhill]

95. "this is largely a "what a fuckin' weirdo!" charge"

Yep. Which is why I'm kind of surprised that it's not some kind of "disorderly behavior", but they probably didn't spend a whole lot of time going over the code and thinking, "Hmmm... what looks good in here."

[greytdemocrat]

15. Death to TreeRats!!!

I think this would be a great bidness for a small drone operator!!

[HopeHoops]

16. My dogs know not to chase squirrels. They chase rabbits out of the garden but don't hurt them.

They live with a rabbit, but the ones in the garden need a good run once in a while. The sheltie can tag three of them on the scruff of the neck on the same chase. The border collie usually just runs one down. They never hurt them. The fuckers eat our plants, but DAMN are they cute.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

17. What a guy. Squirrels are ferocious predators known to devour pitbulls and children.

[Liberal_in_LA]

19. +1

[Aerows]

26. They do carry rabies

Just pointing that out. They are cute, but they are still wild animals and shouldn't be treated like pets.

[Logical]

56. Extremely rare. Like once every 12 years according to the CDC.

[Aerows]

71. It's rare

But it's possible. I do agree that possums and raccoons are by far worse about carrying rabies.

[Logical]

72. raccoons seem to be the worse. Scary!

[obamanut2012]

59. Has there even ever been a case of squirrels found with rabies?

If so, I would expect it to be very, very rare. Raccoons and foxes are the animals I've seen carrying with rabies.

However, even though squirrels are cute, I consider them at best pests, and at worse vermin.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

20. I guess fixing the hole in the side of his house was just...

too much work for this asshole.

[bupkus]

21. "Baird was frustrated because the squirrels were crawling through a hole in the side of his house"

Why didn't this genius just patch the hole in the side of his house?

[Tx4obama]

27. That is not as easy as it sounds ...

We patched the hole in the side of the house here and they gnawed a new hole and got in again.

The squirrels here in Houston are HORRIBLE.

A few years ago the whole neighborhood lost electricity and it turned out squirrels had chewed the 'main' wires down at the end of the road up on the pole causing the outage.

[Aerows]

22. I have a cat

Therefore, I don't have squirrel problems. They know better than to lurk around without having both eyes peeled for danger

We got squirrels in our attic once. It was an absolute pain in the ass to get rid of them. You could hear them gnawing at night. They might be cute, but they are destructive as hell if they infest your property. We had to put up chicken wire even after repairing where they gnawed in to keep them out.

While this was rather disgusting - stringing them up on the fence - I can understand the man's vexation with them. A cat can easily handle keeping them away, provided it is a huntress like mine. Those that don't know how to hunt can get hurt by a squirrel.

[Liberal_in_LA]

29. cats rule!

[OriginalGeek]

75. We have an indoor cat

but there are quite a few neighborhood outdoor cats (I'm more surprised when I go to work in the morning and there's NOT little cat footprints on my car) and I have noticed since the rise of the cats there are very few squirrels.

There's an orange stripey guy in the neighborhood that I wish I could bring in and keep but I think he's still mad at me for interrupting him and his lady cat friend when I pulled into my driveway one night..that and my wife says, in no uncertain terms, "no".

[TheCowsCameHome]

30. A BB gun will kill them?

I didn't think they were powerful enough.

[Johnny Rico]

46. Some spring powered BB guns would be a bit marginal.

Any pellet rifle should be more than enough, though.

[Major Nikon]

78. Probably not your average Red Ryder BB gun, no

But some of the ones they make now are extremely powerful and would have no problem killing a squirrel, or a dog or a cat for that matter.

[lynne]

32. Dinner! Yes, we have shot them with BB guns -

- my only requirement is that it's a "clean kill" to the head. Clean them and vacuum pack them right into the freezer.

Squirrel gravy over biscuits = Delicious!

[Liberal_in_LA]

33. .

[jp11]

37. Red squirrels are often displaced by the grey squirrel who is said to be a

more prolific species and more adaptable as well as carrying a disease that is not harmful to them but kills the red squirrel you have pictured.

[smirkymonkey]

100. Awwww! I can't help it, I have always loved Squirrels.

I have lived in a few large cities and whenever my commute took me through a large public park, I would carry nuts with me to feed them. However city squirrels are very bold, they will come right up to you and even eat right out of your hand. Once I almost got bit trying to break off a piece of my nut bar and it was stuck to my hand so the squirrel just jumped up and bit it off. I was nicked, but no skin was broken.

I know they are a nuisance, but they are just so cute!

[MotherPetrie]

34. And the squirrels' dicks are STILL bigger than his

[obamanut2012]

53. lol

[TroglodyteScholar]

35. Not a fan, but...

...I have people in MS who do this kind of thing. Not all that uncommon as far as I can tell.

[MineralMan]

36. My wife and I feed the squirrels in our yard.

It keeps them happy and out of our attic. It keeps them out of the neighbor's attic, too. This year, a couple of beautiful albino squirrels joined the others.

If I did shoot squirrels that became pests, I wouldn't hang them on the fence. I'd just bag them and put them in the trash for pickup.

[RebelOne]

62. So do I. I throw my stale bread out in the yard. n/t

[jp11]

38. I think allegedly since he hadn't gone to court yet

the squirrels hadn't been examined to determine how they'd been killed and no one was probably questioned to determine who put them there.

It all appears to be clear what he did but with the law I'm sure they need to be correct lest be open to a lawsuit for stating his guilt before it was declared in a court but I'm not a legal expert.

[cynatnite]

40. In the South, that's considered dinner...

We've got a neighbor that has a taste for these animals. He hasn't hunted any in a while that we're aware of.

[Warren DeMontague]

42. Would he have been charged if he ate them?

Serious question.

[obamanut2012]

44. Would a BB gun kill a squirrel outright?

If not, then that would be animal cruelty, imo.

Also, why didn't the lazy guy just fix the HOLE IN THE SIDE OF HIS HOUSE?!

[Warren DeMontague]

45. If that's animal cruelty, then what is this?

http://www.rodenator.com/

[Fla_Democrat]

50. A lot of fun?

The number 1 item on my Father's Day wish list?


I wonder if they make a smaller version, with a longer handle for.. fire ants.

[Warren DeMontague]

52. First time i saw that, I thought for sure it had to be a joke.

Nooe, its for real.

Given our mole problem, ive been sorely tempted.

And yes, just in time for Father's Day.

[slackmaster]

115. That's Caddyshack scaled down for home use

[aikoaiko]

48. In GA outside of the city limits the preferred squirrel slayer is a 10/22, but inside....

....the city limits we use the gamo.

[IMG][/IMG]

[Chorophyll]

54. I guess calling Animal Control for advice...

...or even calling an exterminator for advice... was too hard for this guy.

And the fact that he hung the bodies sets off my psycho-radar.

[lapislzi]

87. Is useless.

I have long, sad experience with squirrels. I live in an old house constantly in need of patching, which we keep up with as best we can.

But, squirrels are wily critters and can get into your walls through the tiniest of holes. We had an infestation a few years ago that had me on the brink of psychosis for the constant scratching and gnawing sounds coming through the walls 24/7.

Exterminators wanted nothing to do with us. Said it was too difficult on an old house. Animal control just laughed.

We tried Hav-a-Hart traps for awhile, and finally had to resort to kill traps. I am not proud of this, but it was the squirrels or me. I still have to use them occasionally.

However, I think using a BB gun is more barbaric than a kill trap, and placing the carcasses on the fence is just crazy.

But, I can fully understand this man's frustration. Had I a little more of teh crazy in me, I might have done the same to "ward off" future invasions of the little pests.

[Chorophyll]

90. Fair enough.

I think shooting at anything around your house (unless you have absolutely no neighbors) is a pretty lousy idea. And hanging the bodies... just no. Besides which, squirrels get squashed by cars all the time and it doesn't deter their brethren from running into the road.

[lapislzi]

96. OTOH, a friend swears by AC/DC

the band, not electricity.

She also has an old rattle trap of a house with the same problems. She claims (I have no proof of this, but it's a great story) that she set up some big-ass speakers in her attic, set the continuous repeat playlist full of Led Zeppelin and metal on bone-jarring volume, and went away for a week.

She has not seen a squirrel since. Note: do not try this if your neighbors are closer than 1/4 mile away.

[Chorophyll]

99. I love that idea, but ALL of my neighbors have babies.

They'd be setting out traps for US before long.

[Octafish]

55. Didya hear about that squirrel HBO got in trouble for?

Game of Crazy Monkeys or some such?

[Lint Head]

57. Hunters go squirrel hunting. Are they cruel also?

[EC]

58. Why didn't he just fix the hole?

I hope he was at least planning on stewing them.

[obamanut2012]

61. I said that upthread -- fix the hole!

[EC]

69. No kidding... n/t

[Tx4obama]

73. See comment #27 n/t

[obamanut2012]

64. While I think this may be cruelty

1. He baited the squirrels so he could shoot them, and

2. Were they dead when he hung them on the fence? If not, that would definitely be cruelty. You cannot legally torture even pest animals/vermin.

[notadmblnd]

68. Tree rats. Who knew you could be charged with animal cruelty for killing squirrels?

My dad shoots squirrels all the time. He doesn't hang them on hius fence though. He puts his in the freezer.

[flvegan]

80. You'd have to be an absolute idiot

to draw that. So no matter how a squirrel is killed it can't be animal cruelty?

No seriously, I want you to think about your post. Killing squirrels shouldn't be an issue when it comes to cruelty. No matter the method.

"Tree rats" is sort of a subjective thing. And your dad...I've got a solid bet on him being a complete fucking asshole. You know, cruelty wise, until you explain it.

Go.

[notadmblnd]

82. Now is that what I said?

Nowhere in my post did I say "no matter how a squirrel killed it can't be animal cruelty"

Furthermore I don't have to explain anything to you, nor do I have to leave DU. I'm an idiot and my father is a fucking asshole, well buddy, I'd put money on you being both!

[flvegan]

108. Yes, it is.

Get defensive all you want...

[4th law of robotics]

92. The outrage seems to be more with how he treated the bodies

rather than how he killed them.

Assuming a clean shot this wasn't cruel.

Hanging them up as a warning is creepy as hell but not cruel since they're already dead.

[Meiko]

70. In numbers

squirrels can drive a homeowner crazy. They can do considerable damage to your house wiring, woodwork and so on. I don't think that what he did could be called animal cruelty after all squirrels are routinely hunted. I think what he did wrong here was displaying his kill on the fence. Squirrels are very good eating. He should have made a big batch of squirrel chili and maybe some stew. You shouldn't kill an animal like a squirrel unless you are going to eat it. There are other ways to control these critters without killing them if you don't like eating them.

[flvegan]

79. Animal cruelty apologists on DU always make me rethink some things.

Like...why would I even begin to align myself with such stupid douchebags?

[snooper2]

89. Have you ever tried squirrel?

Trust me, it's a whole lot better than opossum LOL... I'd rather eat a gar than an opossum any day and those fish are NASTY!!!

[Liberal_in_LA]

94. yeah. DU surprises me sometimes. and not in a good way.

[jberryhill]

97. Who might they be?

I don't think anyone thinks what this guy was doing was socially acceptable, commendable, or otherwise okay.

The question is whether or not the relevant criminal statute under which this person was charged actually applies to what he was doing.

People who think that the power of the state to arrest people is subject to their personal whims, feelings or ick factor, independent of due process on DU always make me rethink some things.

There are an infinite number of wretched, horrible, disgusting things one can do which are not going to result in having a person with a badge and a gun put you in a cage.

[Blue_Tires]

83. I'm not saying I'd go to that extreme

But oh my lord I understand that guy's frustration...

[AngryAmish]

85. I was going to do that myself

I live in the city so borrowing a .22 is out. However, I have to get the wife out of the house for an afternoon.

It may be illegal to shoot the weapon inside the city limits but this is in no way cruelty.

[deaniac21]

93. I use a Gamo pellet gun on my squirrels.

I skin 'em and fry instad of hanging on a fence. They be some good eatin'!!

[Beringia]

98. Good thing that he has to pay for it

I love squirrels

[hughee99]

104. Did he hang them as a warning to other squirrels? n/t

[bluedeminredstate]

105. I think the display is a bit much

but I understand his frustration. We have dealt with squirrels in our attic for years. Gray squrrels and flying squirrels. We've had pest removal services come numerous times, we've trapped them ourselves, we've patched more chew holes than I can count and yet they still come back. They have pulled all the insulation out of the outside wall of the house, they've chewed telephone wires, they've made nests all over the attic. They are destructive little MF'ers and I have felt like going on a Rambo rampage many times and I don't consider myself cruel at all.
One of the pest guys told us that squirrels nest for life - if you take them out they just come back unless you remove them very, very far away. Our attic is just a nice big and comfy nest for them - no predators, no weather and they will chew through metal to get back there.
I will admit that we have resorted to drastic measures ourselves when the population became unbearable. It really wears on you when you feel you've lost the war over your own home.

[Liberal_in_LA]

106. pin the picture on your house. That will stop 'em

[bluedeminredstate]

107. Ha!

Maybe I could photoshop it to add a hundred more into the picture to really show them!

[RagAss]

113. Who? Paulie Walnuts?

[Cronkite]

120. What I would have done is cut their heads off and put them in the yard on sticks......

...Let it be a warning to the other squirrels.....

Seriously though, the best they can hope to convict this guy of is hunting out of season. I am somewhat disgusted at the guy for killing with no intention of eating the game. He could have rented/bought a hav-a-heart trap and relocated the squirrels to a wildlife refugee or state park.

I never have critter problems myself, usually the dogs take care of anything that wanders into my fenced yard. Last year Lucy killed 10 possums that were stupid enough to enter the yard trying to get at my fruit tree. I felt bad about it but I wasn't prepared to stand out there all night shooing them away.