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Cruelty To Animals

Man bites dog -- to death, China paper says

April 13, 2004




HONG KONG -- A man reportedly turned the tables on a dog in China, fatally biting it after it attacked.

The Shanghai man was strolling home with friends and was drunk after a night out, the South China Morning Post said. The canine apparently nipped at his fingers and cheek.

He jumped on the dog and bit it to death, the paper said.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-bite13.html
 
Australian soldiers torture kittens!

Australian soldiers fined for kitten torture

Six soldiers have pleaded guilty in a Townsville court to acts of cruelty against a litter of kittens.
The Court heard the cruelty occurred at the Lavarack Base on April 10 this year and their actions were blamed on alcohol.
One of the kittens was dragged behind a motorcycle and then crushed under the wheel of a four wheel drive. Three others were set alight.
Magistrate David Glasgow said the six soldiers from the 10th Force Support Battalion had brought disgrace and dishonour to the Army and fined them $2,000 each.
They will also perform 100 hours voluntary work at the RSPCA.
Two of the soldiers also had their drivers licences suspended for six months.
Mr Glasgow did not record a conviction against the soldiers, noting that many in the community may not think the decision is strong enough.
The soldiers' defence counsel told the court alcohol was the cause of many regrettable acts within the armed forces.
Representing five of the six soldiers, Boris Kleiner said from his experience both as a former reservist and member of the regular Australian Army, that alcohol-fuelled acts of bravado and stupidity were part of the armed forces.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1105110.htm


Only a Fine!?! No Conviction!? Sick B******s!

:(

:mad:
 
They were just practicing for when they get to Iraq and can do this sort of thing to real people. What is up with the judge rulling that it's ok because they were drunk and in the army?....bloody typical.
 
When an animal injures or kills a person, the animal is put down.

When a person injures or kills an animal, the person is hardly punished.

:nooo:
 
"When an animal injures or kills a person, the animal is put down.

When a person injures or kills an animal, the person is hardly punished."

And do you know why? Because they are animals and we are people.

The death of a kitten - even six kittens - just isn't important. Your local animal shelter likely asphixiates several dozen per month.

If you have squirrels or kittens in your roof, there are contractors in the phone book you can pay to have them killed.

The men ARE being punished. "just a fine?". $2,000. You have $2,000? 100 hours involuntary service. When is the last time you performed two and a half weeks of unpaid labor?

PETA? People! Eat the Animals.
 
Killing animals (relatively) humanely for food or euthenising them is one thing.

Burning them alive or crushing them to death for the sheer sadistic pleasue of it is something else (and curiouly, a lot of serial killers begin by torturing animals before they graduate onto humans)

Oddly enough this isn't the first time I've heard of this sort of thing. One of my friends who was serving in Bosnia once showed me some photos that he'd taken near their camp, and one of them was of a cute little tortoiseshell cat. Then he told me that it died half an hour after he took that because some of his colleages thought it would be funny to drowned it in the cess pit.
 
Rube said:
Because they are animals and we are people.

ahem! humans are also "classed" as animals


but it doesnt give the right for people to kill animals for fun :grrr:
 
Yes, but if an animal does something to a human, it's probably out of defense. Humans torment animals just to be bastards. :mad:

I guess I'm a bit sensitive because animals have generally treated me with more kindness than humans ever have.

And please don't invoke the PETA thing. I hate 'em just as much as you do, I imagine.
 
An addendum (sp?)

RSPCA won't let them anywhere near the place!

:mad: as hell
 
I think they should be made to clean the lions cage at the nearest zoo....... while the animals are still in it.
 
Dog is shot after threat by 'sniper'


Emily Bittner
The Arizona Republic
May. 12, 2004 12:00 AM


SCOTTSDALE - When Laura Middleton came home from work last Friday, she found her dog, Bomber, lying on her bed, whimpering.

Then she saw the hole in his left side, torn open by a pellet gun, she said.

Middleton, 22, and other residents at the Casita Real condos at Indian School and Granite Reef roads were papered with fliers last week signed by someone claiming to be "the sniper" and warning them that their dogs would be killed if their waste wasn't cleaned up.

"First you just freak out and get a little hysterical," said Middleton, a waitress. Eventually, she took the dog to a veterinarian, and Bomber is recovering from his wound.

Police are investigating the shooting and the flier distribution, said Detective Sam Bailey of the Scottsdale Police Department. The Middleton files weren't immediately available, he said.

Middleton, who called police when the fliers were first put on residents' cars a week ago and again when her dog was shot, is worried that police and her homeowners association aren't doing enough to stop other shootings.

"I don't feel safe living there, I don't feel safe keeping my dog there," she said. "Every noise that I hear, every move my dog makes, I am awake."

The fliers, typewritten in all capital letters on white paper, address all dog owners in the condo complex.

"I am sorry to say effective immediatley (sic), your dog will be shot on the spot if you do not pick up his dog (expletive). I will be in a bush/a tree/car/van/window. Consider yourself warned!!! I am sick of looking at dog (expletive) all over this property. It's simple. Your dog will live if you pick-up (sic), die if you don't."

The notes were the first Middleton heard of anyone's displeasure with dogs at the complex, she said.

"Just about everyone in that complex has dogs," she said. "This has never been an issue that I know of."

http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/0512sr-dogshot12Z8.html
 
Ahhhhhhh now I didn't want to get amgry on such a nice day but.........

Charges laid in bunny-bashing

Kim Westad
Times Colonist




An 18-year-old UVic student has been charged with animal cruelty after a pregnant rabbit was punched to death at the university in February.

Such animal cruelty charges are rare, SPCA officer Hugh Coghill said Wednesday, and are usually laid when farm animals have been neglected.

But the charge of causing unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to an animal also can be used in circumstances where a person kills an animal.

The last such charge on Vancouver Island was several years ago, he said.

"Some people may think, 'Well it is only a rabbit,' but this kind of incident is a serious concern," Coghill said.

A male student was walking near the Emily Carr residence building, just off Ring Road near the Student Union Building, just before midnight on Feb. 6 when he saw two other males just off the path. One man held a rabbit to the ground, punching it repeatedly, Coghill said.

The witness yelled out to them and they exchanged words. The two men left and went to a dorm building. The witness called the SPCA, who took the rabbit to the Elk Lake Veterinary Clinic.

The grey female rabbit, which weighed 2.5 kilograms and was near-term in its pregnancy, died soon after.

"A post-mortem report indicated that the rabbit died of injuries that were compatible with severe trauma," Coghill said. The rabbit was also vocalizing loudly, unusual behaviour that Coghill said may have been caused by pain.

Alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the beating, Coghill said.

Campus security was made aware of the incident, said UVic spokeswoman Patty Pitts.

The SPCA said the person charged is a UVic student, but Pitts said that privacy issues prevent her from providing any information, including whether or not he is a student.

However, speaking hypothetically, Pitts said a student charged with a criminal offence could live in UVic residences or be evicted, depending on the nature of the charge.

"A person can be denied access to university residences if they have displayed threatening behaviour or if past behaviour is indicative of not being able to live in the residence environment," Pitts said.

Most residence students have left, as the main academic school year is over.

Hundreds -- if not thousands -- of rabbits run free on UVic grounds. Many of them are native to the area, but growing numbers are simply pets that have been let loose at the university by their owners.

Pitts said she isn't aware of any other incidents of violence toward the rabbits, although some students have been concerned in the past that dog owners bring their pets on campus to chase the rabbits.

"If anything, the rabbits are more likely to be fed (than hurt)," said Pitts.

The dumping of domestic rabbits on campus is a concern. The pets are often unable to fend for themselves, said Penny Stone of Victoria SPCA. Rabbits are territorial and often attack interlopers.

Judging by its colour, the rabbit killed was either a dropped-off pet or the offspring of one, Stone said.

The accused, who turns 19 on Nov. 12, is to make his first court appearance on the animal cruelty charge in Victoria provincial court on June 24.

Penalties for a person convicted of causing unnecessary pain, injury or suffering to an animal include a fine of up to ,000, up to six months in jail and a prohibition of owning animals for up to two years.

http://www.canada.com/victoria/story.asp?id=0B275B94-1A6F-412B-A497-1A33AFEC879F

Are they not planning on throwing them out???

Emps
 
Chinese man kills eight million flies

Posted Tue, 25 May 2004

A businessman from eastern China has killed eight million flies over the past 10 years in a vendetta against the insects for ruining a business deal, a news report said on Tuesday.

Hu Xilin began his campaign after finding a fly in his food while dining with a client a decade ago, an incident which blew a business deal worth 200 000 yuan ( 000).

Since then, the businessman from Zhejiang province has killed 40 kilograms of flies, according to the Hong Kong edition of the China Daily.

Now Hu has spent 300 000 yuan ( 200) to recruit a team of volunteers in an escalation of his war on flies, according to the Hong Kong edition of the China Daily.

He can now recognise 25 different species of flies because of his obsession and has invented special contraptions to trap and kill them, the newspaper said.

http://iafrica.com/news/worldnews/324931.htm
 
Article Last Updated: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - 6:17:39 AM PST

Vandals kill 8,000 salmon at Mattole hatchery

By John Driscoll The Times-Standard

Police and game wardens are on the hunt for vandals who shut off water to a Mattole River fish hatchery, killing some 8,000 young salmon.

The Mendocino County Sheriff and the state Department of Fish are investigating, and the Mattole Salmon Group -- which operates the hatchery -- are offering a ,500 reward for information about the vandalism.

The hatchery is just over the Mendocino County border near Whitethorn, and its fish are released into the Mattole River. This year, biologists planned to release about 20,000. The loss of more than a third of the young wild chinook salmon is a huge blow.

Salmon group Director Ray Lingel said someone cut off water to the raceways that held the salmon, and the vandals scattered tools and equipment.

"That's our question," Lingel said. "Why would they do this?"

Lingel said he feels Sunday night's incident was directed at the fish or at the salmon group. The hatchery is not in an obvious spot, he said, and someone would probably have to know how to get there.

"Word was around. It was findable," Lingel said. "It was never a secret."

The Mattole Salmon Group is hoping members of the community might contribute more to the reward fund. Call 986-7665 to help.

http://www.times-standard.com/Stories/0,1413,127~2896~2173030,00.html
 
2 women charged in dog killing

By Nancy Cicco
[email protected]


PORTSMOUTH - A Portsmouth woman accused of staging a burglary so she could kill her boyfriend’s dog tried to cover her tracks by placing a lost-and-found advertisement in the Portsmouth Herald last week. The ad had asked for the public’s help in locating the pet.

On Sunday, Portsmouth police charged Shannon C. Walters, 33, of 5 Nichols Ave., Newmarket, with cruelty to animals for allegedly drowning the dog, named "Dewey," at the home of Erin M. Wylie, 27, of 50 Harvard St., Portsmouth. Wylie was charged as being an accomplice to that act. Both crimes are Class B felonies.

Last Friday, police in Kittery, Maine, arrested Walters and Wylie in connection with a reported May 18 burglary at a home in neighboring Eliot, Maine.

A computer, a camera, and a 2-year-old dachshund were reported as stolen from the home.

The tale behind the dog’s disappearance began to come into focus when Walters reportedly told police that Wylie was the burglary victim’s girlfriend, and that she did not like his dog. Walters allegedly said the burglary was staged so they could take the pet.

Authorities allege that immediately after the burglary, the two women "at their own admission" went to Wylie’s Portsmouth home, where Wylie filled her bathtub with water and Walters drowned the dog, said Eliot Patrolman Thomas Hundley on Monday.

Authorities apprehended the suspects last Friday night after Hundley received information from Newmarket police that Walters and Wylie wanted to meet at the Dairy Queen at the Kittery traffic circle at about 10 p.m. There, they planned to talk about what to do next.

A Newmarket resident had tipped off police about that meeting after discovering e-mail messages sent between Walters and Wylie that allegedly implicated them in the crimes, according to Hundley.

"In the e-mails was talk of the burglary, stealing the dog, and the death of the dog," he said.

Kittery police subsequently arrested Walters after she showed up at the Dairy Queen.

"(Officers) found the dead dog in the back of (Walters’) truck," said Kittery police Sgt. Charles Denault.

Wylie was a little late for the meeting, he added. But minutes later, when she arrived at the Kittery police station to help bail out Walters, police arrested her as well, according to Denault.

"They confessed to burglary and murdering the dog," he said.

On Sunday, Wylie and Walters turned themselves in to Portsmouth police, after officers issued warrants for their arrest on the cruelty to animals charges.

But last week, on Thursday, May 20, a woman who identified herself as Erin Wylie claimed the dog had been lost. At that time, she called the Herald to place a classified advertisement, which claimed a 2-year-old miniature black-and-tan dachshund named "Dewey" was last seen May 18 on River Road in Eliot, Maine. The dog was wearing a brown leather collar, the ad said. Members of the public who may have had information about the pet’s whereabouts were encouraged to call a Maine telephone number listed in the advertisement.

No one answered the phone at that number on Monday afternoon. Likewise, neither Walters nor Wylie could be reached for comment.

The advertisement ran for free in editions of the Portsmouth Herald from Friday, May 21, until Monday, May 24.

"She played it up good," said the Herald employee who placed the ad on behalf of the woman. "She told me she thought the dog was stolen from her boyfriend’s ... during a robbery."

The Herald advertising representative, who did not want to be publicly identified, realized the ad was bogus on Monday morning while watching televised news reports about the case. When the employee later arrived for work at the Portsmouth Herald office, the advertising representative learned the pair’s arrest was the top story in Monday’s edition.

The Portsmouth Herald employee is cooperating with police in the case’s investigation.

The woman identifying herself as Wylie allegedly gave the name of Patrick Collins as the customer for the advertisement. Collins was the dog’s owner and Wylie’s boyfriend, according to The Associated Press.

On Monday, the AP reported that Collins told WMUR-TV he couldn’t believe what had happened.

"I don’t know what to say about her. She’s my best friend," he said of Wylie, his girlfriend of two years.

"I wish she could give me some sort of explanation. I don’t know if she was jealous of him. I don’t know how you could be jealous of a little dog," he said.

Collins said the dog waited to greet him every day when he came home for work.

"I just loved him so much," he said.

Walters has been released on ,000 personal-recognizance bail; Wylie was released on ,000 personal-recognizance and 0 cash bail. The pair will be arraigned in Portsmouth District Court on June 21 at 8:30 a.m.

In Maine, Walters and Wylie also each face a charge of Class C felony burglary and receiving stolen property, a Class-D misdemeanor, according to authorities. Walters was released on
2 women charged in dog killing

By Nancy Cicco
[email protected]


PORTSMOUTH - A Portsmouth woman accused of staging a burglary so she could kill her boyfriend’s dog tried to cover her tracks by placing a lost-and-found advertisement in the Portsmouth Herald last week. The ad had asked for the public’s help in locating the pet.

On Sunday, Portsmouth police charged Shannon C. Walters, 33, of 5 Nichols Ave., Newmarket, with cruelty to animals for allegedly drowning the dog, named "Dewey," at the home of Erin M. Wylie, 27, of 50 Harvard St., Portsmouth. Wylie was charged as being an accomplice to that act. Both crimes are Class B felonies.

Last Friday, police in Kittery, Maine, arrested Walters and Wylie in connection with a reported May 18 burglary at a home in neighboring Eliot, Maine.

A computer, a camera, and a 2-year-old dachshund were reported as stolen from the home.

The tale behind the dog’s disappearance began to come into focus when Walters reportedly told police that Wylie was the burglary victim’s girlfriend, and that she did not like his dog. Walters allegedly said the burglary was staged so they could take the pet.

Authorities allege that immediately after the burglary, the two women "at their own admission" went to Wylie’s Portsmouth home, where Wylie filled her bathtub with water and Walters drowned the dog, said Eliot Patrolman Thomas Hundley on Monday.

Authorities apprehended the suspects last Friday night after Hundley received information from Newmarket police that Walters and Wylie wanted to meet at the Dairy Queen at the Kittery traffic circle at about 10 p.m. There, they planned to talk about what to do next.

A Newmarket resident had tipped off police about that meeting after discovering e-mail messages sent between Walters and Wylie that allegedly implicated them in the crimes, according to Hundley.

"In the e-mails was talk of the burglary, stealing the dog, and the death of the dog," he said.

Kittery police subsequently arrested Walters after she showed up at the Dairy Queen.

"(Officers) found the dead dog in the back of (Walters’) truck," said Kittery police Sgt. Charles Denault.

Wylie was a little late for the meeting, he added. But minutes later, when she arrived at the Kittery police station to help bail out Walters, police arrested her as well, according to Denault.

"They confessed to burglary and murdering the dog," he said.

On Sunday, Wylie and Walters turned themselves in to Portsmouth police, after officers issued warrants for their arrest on the cruelty to animals charges.

But last week, on Thursday, May 20, a woman who identified herself as Erin Wylie claimed the dog had been lost. At that time, she called the Herald to place a classified advertisement, which claimed a 2-year-old miniature black-and-tan dachshund named "Dewey" was last seen May 18 on River Road in Eliot, Maine. The dog was wearing a brown leather collar, the ad said. Members of the public who may have had information about the pet’s whereabouts were encouraged to call a Maine telephone number listed in the advertisement.

No one answered the phone at that number on Monday afternoon. Likewise, neither Walters nor Wylie could be reached for comment.

The advertisement ran for free in editions of the Portsmouth Herald from Friday, May 21, until Monday, May 24.

"She played it up good," said the Herald employee who placed the ad on behalf of the woman. "She told me she thought the dog was stolen from her boyfriend’s ... during a robbery."

The Herald advertising representative, who did not want to be publicly identified, realized the ad was bogus on Monday morning while watching televised news reports about the case. When the employee later arrived for work at the Portsmouth Herald office, the advertising representative learned the pair’s arrest was the top story in Monday’s edition.

The Portsmouth Herald employee is cooperating with police in the case’s investigation.

The woman identifying herself as Wylie allegedly gave the name of Patrick Collins as the customer for the advertisement. Collins was the dog’s owner and Wylie’s boyfriend, according to The Associated Press.

On Monday, the AP reported that Collins told WMUR-TV he couldn’t believe what had happened.

"I don’t know what to say about her. She’s my best friend," he said of Wylie, his girlfriend of two years.

"I wish she could give me some sort of explanation. I don’t know if she was jealous of him. I don’t know how you could be jealous of a little dog," he said.

Collins said the dog waited to greet him every day when he came home for work.

"I just loved him so much," he said.

Walters has been released on $10,000 personal-recognizance bail; Wylie was released on $5,000 personal-recognizance and $170 cash bail. The pair will be arraigned in Portsmouth District Court on June 21 at 8:30 a.m.

In Maine, Walters and Wylie also each face a charge of Class C felony burglary and receiving stolen property, a Class-D misdemeanor, according to authorities. Walters was released on $1,500 cash bail and Wylie was released on $1,000 cash bail from the York County Jail in Alfred, Maine, on Saturday.

The pair is scheduled to be arraigned in court on the Maine charges on July 29.

If convicted of the cruelty to animals charges, both Walters and Wylie could spend anywhere from 3-1/2 years to 7 years in prison. If convicted on the burglary charge in Maine, Walters and Wylie could serve as much as five years in prison. Additionally, the charge of receiving stolen property carries a sentence of up to a year in jail.
,500 cash bail and Wylie was released on
2 women charged in dog killing

By Nancy Cicco
[email protected]


PORTSMOUTH - A Portsmouth woman accused of staging a burglary so she could kill her boyfriend’s dog tried to cover her tracks by placing a lost-and-found advertisement in the Portsmouth Herald last week. The ad had asked for the public’s help in locating the pet.

On Sunday, Portsmouth police charged Shannon C. Walters, 33, of 5 Nichols Ave., Newmarket, with cruelty to animals for allegedly drowning the dog, named "Dewey," at the home of Erin M. Wylie, 27, of 50 Harvard St., Portsmouth. Wylie was charged as being an accomplice to that act. Both crimes are Class B felonies.

Last Friday, police in Kittery, Maine, arrested Walters and Wylie in connection with a reported May 18 burglary at a home in neighboring Eliot, Maine.

A computer, a camera, and a 2-year-old dachshund were reported as stolen from the home.

The tale behind the dog’s disappearance began to come into focus when Walters reportedly told police that Wylie was the burglary victim’s girlfriend, and that she did not like his dog. Walters allegedly said the burglary was staged so they could take the pet.

Authorities allege that immediately after the burglary, the two women "at their own admission" went to Wylie’s Portsmouth home, where Wylie filled her bathtub with water and Walters drowned the dog, said Eliot Patrolman Thomas Hundley on Monday.

Authorities apprehended the suspects last Friday night after Hundley received information from Newmarket police that Walters and Wylie wanted to meet at the Dairy Queen at the Kittery traffic circle at about 10 p.m. There, they planned to talk about what to do next.

A Newmarket resident had tipped off police about that meeting after discovering e-mail messages sent between Walters and Wylie that allegedly implicated them in the crimes, according to Hundley.

"In the e-mails was talk of the burglary, stealing the dog, and the death of the dog," he said.

Kittery police subsequently arrested Walters after she showed up at the Dairy Queen.

"(Officers) found the dead dog in the back of (Walters’) truck," said Kittery police Sgt. Charles Denault.

Wylie was a little late for the meeting, he added. But minutes later, when she arrived at the Kittery police station to help bail out Walters, police arrested her as well, according to Denault.

"They confessed to burglary and murdering the dog," he said.

On Sunday, Wylie and Walters turned themselves in to Portsmouth police, after officers issued warrants for their arrest on the cruelty to animals charges.

But last week, on Thursday, May 20, a woman who identified herself as Erin Wylie claimed the dog had been lost. At that time, she called the Herald to place a classified advertisement, which claimed a 2-year-old miniature black-and-tan dachshund named "Dewey" was last seen May 18 on River Road in Eliot, Maine. The dog was wearing a brown leather collar, the ad said. Members of the public who may have had information about the pet’s whereabouts were encouraged to call a Maine telephone number listed in the advertisement.

No one answered the phone at that number on Monday afternoon. Likewise, neither Walters nor Wylie could be reached for comment.

The advertisement ran for free in editions of the Portsmouth Herald from Friday, May 21, until Monday, May 24.

"She played it up good," said the Herald employee who placed the ad on behalf of the woman. "She told me she thought the dog was stolen from her boyfriend’s ... during a robbery."

The Herald advertising representative, who did not want to be publicly identified, realized the ad was bogus on Monday morning while watching televised news reports about the case. When the employee later arrived for work at the Portsmouth Herald office, the advertising representative learned the pair’s arrest was the top story in Monday’s edition.

The Portsmouth Herald employee is cooperating with police in the case’s investigation.

The woman identifying herself as Wylie allegedly gave the name of Patrick Collins as the customer for the advertisement. Collins was the dog’s owner and Wylie’s boyfriend, according to The Associated Press.

On Monday, the AP reported that Collins told WMUR-TV he couldn’t believe what had happened.

"I don’t know what to say about her. She’s my best friend," he said of Wylie, his girlfriend of two years.

"I wish she could give me some sort of explanation. I don’t know if she was jealous of him. I don’t know how you could be jealous of a little dog," he said.

Collins said the dog waited to greet him every day when he came home for work.

"I just loved him so much," he said.

Walters has been released on $10,000 personal-recognizance bail; Wylie was released on $5,000 personal-recognizance and $170 cash bail. The pair will be arraigned in Portsmouth District Court on June 21 at 8:30 a.m.

In Maine, Walters and Wylie also each face a charge of Class C felony burglary and receiving stolen property, a Class-D misdemeanor, according to authorities. Walters was released on $1,500 cash bail and Wylie was released on $1,000 cash bail from the York County Jail in Alfred, Maine, on Saturday.

The pair is scheduled to be arraigned in court on the Maine charges on July 29.

If convicted of the cruelty to animals charges, both Walters and Wylie could spend anywhere from 3-1/2 years to 7 years in prison. If convicted on the burglary charge in Maine, Walters and Wylie could serve as much as five years in prison. Additionally, the charge of receiving stolen property carries a sentence of up to a year in jail.
,000 cash bail from the York County Jail in Alfred, Maine, on Saturday.

The pair is scheduled to be arraigned in court on the Maine charges on July 29.

If convicted of the cruelty to animals charges, both Walters and Wylie could spend anywhere from 3-1/2 years to 7 years in prison. If convicted on the burglary charge in Maine, Walters and Wylie could serve as much as five years in prison. Additionally, the charge of receiving stolen property carries a sentence of up to a year in jail.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/05252004/news/17870.htm

But why???

Emps
 
Animal Body Parts Used In Ritual


May 29, 2004 5:04 pm US/Eastern

(1010 WINS) (KEARNY, N.J.) Animal parts found near an elementary school appear to have been used in a religious ceremony, police said.

Parts of a goat, and a chicken's head and feet were found on a street behind the school. Schools Superintendent Robert Mooney said a student reported finding the animal parts Friday morning.

"It appears the animal was used in a religious ritual of some sort," police Lt. John Gawronski told The Jersey Journal.

He said Humane Society workers picked up the animal parts.

Gawronski said the town has seen similar incidents in the past few years.

http://1010wins.com/topstories/winstopstories_story_150170503.html
 
Doylestown Man Admits To Setting Kitten On Fire

Judge Waiting For Psychiatric Reports Before Sentencing

POSTED: 4:59 pm EDT June 2, 2004
UPDATED: 5:24 pm EDT June 2, 2004

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. -- A man in Bucks County has pleaded guilty to setting a kitten on fire last December.

The animal was later euthanized because its injuries were so severe. Daniel Culligan was charged with animal cruelty and arson.

Culligan asked a neighbor for a small kitten and just 12 hours later, the kitten had scratched Culligan's young child and defecated on the floor. That is when police said Culligan set the kitten on fire.

Culligan confessed to the crime and then fought to have that confession thrown out, but he lost that fight.

Deputy district attorney Jennifer Buck said that what Culligan did to the 9-month-old kitten was horrendous.

"The cat, she only had less than 24 hours. He poured charcoal lighter fluid on her and threw her off a deck while she was on fire," Buck said.

"He took responsibility for his actions. I hope the community is satisfied that he obviously is remorseful for what he did," said David Quinn, Culligan's attorney.

On February 22, Kevin Burns told NBC 10 News what he saw happen to Culligan's cat at the Bristol Township apartment.

"It slid on the glass and rolled down it. It seriously looked like the entire front of the complex was on fire," Burns said.

Judge David Heckler accepted Culligan's confession. His attorney said Culligan pleaded guilty, hoping to avoid jail time.

"Hopefully we can through rehabilitation and donating some time to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He can understand the gravity of this offense and hopefully people will forgive him," Quinn said.

"We are very pleased with the outcome. We're glad that he is finally admitting responsibility for what he did and that he is going to accept the punishment that's due to him," Buck said.

Buck told NBC 10 News that she wants Culligan to spend some time in jail.

With witnesses ready to testify, officials of the SPCA are hoping for a stiff sentence.

"Yes, I think he should get jail time, because this was a serious, deliberate act of cruelty. Setting fire to an animal is one of the worst things that I can imagine," said Ann Irwin, executive director of the Bucks County SPCA.

The judge is deferring sentencing pending reports from psychiatrists on Culligan's actions. He faces up to five years in jail.

http://www.nbc10.com/news/3374587/detail.html
 
Reading this and the above I think life is about right:

June 4, 2004


Owner Found Guilty in Dog Killing

O.C. man who beheaded his pet could get life in prison, if found sane. He killed the German shepherd after he and a girlfriend broke up.


By Claire Luna, Times Staff Writer


A La Habra man who beheaded his German shepherd was convicted Thursday of animal cruelty, a charge that could send the third-striker to prison for life.

A sanity hearing is scheduled to start Monday in Orange County Superior Court for James Andrew Abernathy, 42, who says he was insane in January 2002 when he killed his dog, whom he had named Marie in honor of his girlfriend.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Heather Brown said anger, not insanity, drove Abernathy to beat his dog with a golf club, shove a stake through her heart and then decapitate her with pruning shears.

He did those things, Brown said, "all because his girlfriend … had broken up with him."

Judge Kazuharu Makino found Abernathy guilty after a two-hour, nonjury trial in Santa Ana.

Abernathy's lawyer, William G. Morrissey, did not call any witnesses nor make any statements to the judge.

After the trial, Morrissey said his client was a diagnosed schizophrenic who was not on medication when he killed his dog. The prosecutor contends Abernathy is faking his symptoms.

If the judge determined Abernathy was insane, he could be sent to a psychiatric institution rather than prison.

The case has drawn attention from animal-rights activists who have flooded the court and district attorney's office with letters calling for strong sanctions for Abernathy.

Although felony animal cruelty carries a three-year maximum sentence, California law allows prosecutors to seek a life prison term for a defendant's third felony conviction. Abernathy was convicted twice in 1986 for assault with a deadly weapon.

During Thursday's trial, one of Abernathy's neighbors, Traci Healy, testified that he came to her house the morning of Jan. 27, 2002, and said that he had fought with his girlfriend and killed his dog.

He seemed distraught, she said, crying and shaking as he asked her and her mother not to call police.

Healy's mother, Joan Marinaro, testified that Abernathy told them he would be "in real trouble" if police came. Marinaro said that after she called police, Abernathy told them he needed mental help.

Janice Johnson, a La Habra Animal Control officer, testified that after searching Abernathy's Chinchilla Street house, she found the dog's headless body in a bedroom closet; a golf club sat nearby. The officer said she found the dog's head, wrapped in a towel, in Abernathy's garage.

Stocky, ponytailed and wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, Abernathy sat quietly and expressionless during the brief trial. Occasionally, the chains locking his hands to his waist jingled.

Relatives told The Times after his 2002 arrest that he had been in and out of jail much of his life. He collected guns, swords, knives and other weapons, they said.

After being discharged from the Army, Abernathy earned a certificate as a physical trainer but did not pursue a career in fitness, said his father, George Abernathy.

His father will testify against him in the sanity phase of his trial, the prosecutor said.

"Everybody's scared of him," George Abernathy said in an interview shortly after his son's arrest. "If putting him in prison for 25 years to life is going to prevent him from hurting some innocent person, that's OK with me."

http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/la-me-shepherd4jun04.story
 
Oregon man bites police dog during arrest


The Associated Press

Last Updated: June 4, 2004, 09:54:00 AM PDT

BEND, Ore. (AP) - A man suspected of assaulting his girlfriend set two fires and bit a dog on the head as he tried to escape from police, the authorities said.

Jeffrey Scott Sernett, 23, of Bend was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of assault, reckless burning, interfering with a police animal and resisting arrest.

The incident started when authorities received a call that a man would not leave a woman's home. By the time police arrived, Sernett had assaulted his girlfriend, Bend Police Lt. Jerry Stone said.

Sernett ran from the home and set two grass fires, which were extinguished with garden hoses, Stone said.

Police late found Sernett hiding in an area filled with empty pipes. Sernett, who was yelling profanities at the officers, refused to surrender.

"He was given several opportunities to come out of the pipe and he basically signaled with his middle finger," Stone said.

A police dog named Amor was sent in to retrieve Sernett and bit the suspect in the leg.

Sernett responded by lifting the dog off the ground and biting him on the head, Stone said.

Sernett was arrested and taken to St. Charles Medical Center, where he was treated for the bite wound and released. Amor suffered a minor head injury.

Sernett was booked in the Deschutes County Jail, where his bail was set at ,500.

http://www.modbee.com/24hour/weird/story/1415562p-8719918c.html
 
This is a weird (and unpleasant) one:

Cats found ripped open on Qns. roof

By LISA L. COLANGELO
and TONY SCLAFANI
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

The remains of several skinned and eviscerated cats were discovered atop a Queens roof yesterday, horrifying and puzzling investigators.

The carcasses were found at 31-27 Thomson Ave. in Long Island City, across from LaGuardia Community College, after nearby workers noticed the carnage.

Bodies of at least six cats were found, but officials were unsure of the exact number because of the scattered remains.

"It's macabre, horrible, said American Society for the Prevent of Cruelty to Animals Special Agent Joseph Pentangelo.

"We don't know yet whether they were beaten to death or euthanized - whether it was ritualistic or if this was somebody's ideas of a biology lesson."

The animals were brought to the ASPCA for a necropsy, but the results were not immediately available last night.

Pentangelo said some of the cats were propped up as if they were being examined. It's unclear how long the carcasses were actually on top of the two-story brick building.

Sources said investigators were looking into whether the animals may have been used in biology classes at a local school and then discarded.

The owner of Food Express on the building's first-floor declined to comment on the grisly discovery.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/199772p-172439c.html

Strikes me that a trainee serial killer is at work here.

Emps
 
Dark times for black dogs


SRISAKET: Black dogs in Nongsimai Village 2 were slaughtered recently after a local shaman convinced villagers that soaking string in the blood of a black dog and wrapping it around their homes would offer protection from the dreaded phi porp – a female ghost that kills married men and eats their innards.

After two village men died in mysterious circumstances, village women were convinced seven more men would die before the phi porp was satisfied.

Duang Sosrisook, better known as Por Jump, told the villagers that a length of sacred string (sai sin) soaked in the blood of a black dog and then wrapped around the home would ward off the intestine-gobbling apparition.

Before long, local supplies of sai sin were sold out and villagers were driving to markets as far as 10 kilometers away to stock up, probably looking for black dogs along the way.

Village women also hung carved images of penises from their front doors in the hope that this would also help keep the hungry demon at bay.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/queernews/index.asp?id=3497

Wooden penises??

Emps
 
Posted on Thu, Jun. 10, 2004


Judge finds convicted dog killer sane after hearing testimony

Associated Press



SANTA ANA, Calif. - A 42-year-old La Habra faces a life in prison for killing his dog after a judge on Wednesday rejected an insanity claim that the man heard voices saying the animal was evil, a prosecutor said.

Superior Court Judge Kazuharu Makino found James Abernathy was sane when he killed the German shepherd after his girlfriend broke up with him, said Deputy District Attorney Heather Brown.

Makino, in a non-jury trial, convicted Abernathy on Thursday on felony animal cruelty charges in the Jan. 27, 2002 killing.

Abernathy, who previously was convicted twice in 1986 for assault with a deadly weapon, is scheduled to be sentenced July 23.

Brown said she will ask the judge for the maximum sentence under California's "three strikes" law.

Messages left Wednesday night for Abernathy's attorney, William Morrissey, were not immediately returned.

Brown said Morrissey called on Dr. Kaushal Sharma, who testified Abernathy had psychotic delusions that the dog was a devil, an anti-Christ or a vampire.

Brown said Abernathy was diagnosed as a paranoid-schizophrenic when he was in the military. But she said he claimed to be crazy to avoid prosecution after being caught trying to blow up his sergeant in a dispute over a girl.

Brown said her expert was Dr. Ernani D'Angelo, who testified the man's relatives said he killed animals when he was younger and put them in the refrigerator for his stepmother to find.

D'Angelo said Abernathy committed violent crimes under the influence of alcohol or drugs, Brown said.

"He was drunk and angry, but he wasn't insane," Brown said. "He knew what he was doing, and he knew that it was wrong."

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/8886684.htm
 
Evil B*******!

Australians chew mice to win holiday

Two Australian men may be prosecuted after they chewed live mice and bit off their tails as part of a pub competition to win a holiday.


Two Australian men may be prosecuted after they chewed live mice and bit off their tails as part of a pub competition to win a holiday.

The RSPCA called the incident "outrageous" and said it would seek the maximum penalty against the men.

RSPCA chief inspector Byron Hall said they could face two years in prison and fines of A,000 (US,050).

The Brisbane hotel where the contest took place condemned it and said it would not happen again.

Mr Hall said both men put mice in their mouths and bit off their tails. One of the men went on to further chew his mouse then spat it out.

They were taking part in a "Jackass promotion" - named after a US TV stunt show - which took place on Wednesdays at the Exchange Hotel in Brisbane and involved undertaking dares, one of the hotel's managers told BBC News Online.

It was not clear who organised the promotions, but Marie Middleton said they had now been stopped.

"The whole incident was horrific," said Ms Middleton.

"It was all supposed to be harmless fun," she said, adding that the hotel had now "tightened management procedures 100%".

She said the hotel was assisting the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) in their investigations.

A Queensland state minister, Henry Palaszczuk, urged anyone with information to contact the RSPCA.

The winner is still being sought, while the other competitor has already been interviewed.

"Chewing a mouse and spitting it out is not entertainment, it is barbaric," said Mr Palaszczuk.

"All animals deserve respect. How we treat animals is a measure of how civilized our society is," he said.


BBCi News 11/06/04
 
Oooooooo just ebat me to it ;)

Another report:

Pub promises to end mouse-eating

June 11, 2004


A BRISBANE pub at the centre of a mice-eating scandal said today it was unaware of the "appalling incident" and promised to end so-called Jackass competitions.

The Exchange Hotel in the heart of the city was the scene of a pub competition in April in which live mice were chewed up and spat out by contestants.

The incident outraged the RSPCA which wants to prosecute the two men involved for animal cruelty.

RSPCA chief inspector Byron Hall said today those involved in the competition in which the pair were challenged to bite a mouse in order to win a holiday faced fines of up to ,000 and two years in prison.

The Exchange Hotel issued a statement condemning the incident and promising an end to the Jackass competitions, modelled on the US TV show and movie in which participants perform stupid stunts and gags.

"We are embarrassed this incident occurred at our hotel," said the hotel's senior manager Scott Agnew.

"The offensive part of the promotion on April 14 was conducted without the knowledge of our senior management and after this incident was brought to our attention we immediately made changes to stop such unacceptable behaviour."

Mr Agnew insisted the pub was working with the appropriate authorities and making changes where necessary.

"Management have cooperated fully with the RSPCA in their investigations into this unacceptable incident," he said.

"We have now significantly tightened our management procedures to ensure this type of shocking incident cannot be repeated."

The RSPCA said it was still seeking the man who chewed up the mouse to win a 0 prize, but had interviewed the other competitor.

Queensland Primary Industries Minister Henry Palaszczuk urged anyone with any information to contact the RSPCA.

"All animals deserve respect," he said.

"How we treat animals is a measure of how civilised our society is.

"Chewing a mouse and spitting it out is not entertainment, it is barbaric."

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9811745%5E1702,00.html
 
Posted on Wed, Jun. 09, 2004


Wildlife officials probe disappearance of thousands of pelicans

Associated Press



MEDINA, N.D. - Wildlife officials estimate nearly 27,000 American white pelicans have abandoned their summer nesting grounds at the Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge north of here. The question is why - and where they went.

"It's like they packed up and left in the middle of the night - except they didn't pack up, they just left," said Ken Torkelson, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Bismarck.

Left behind were thousands of eggs, which are unlikely to hatch, officials say.

Chase Lake, which was designated a national wildlife refuge in 1908, is the home of the largest known nesting colony of white pelicans in North America.

The birds were noticed missing about two weeks ago, said Kim Hanson, the refuge manager of the Arrowwood complex, which includes Chase Lake refuge.

"We don't think they were killed. We think they abandoned their nest," Hanson said Wednesday.

Officials suspect some kind of disturbance - human or animal - because some of the remaining birds appear more skittish than usual, Hanson said.

The pelicans nest on Chase Lake's two islands, and for the past decade, they also have built a colony on a peninsula on the side of the lake as their numbers increased. Wildlife officials say about 80 pelicans are left on the peninsula and on one of the islands. The other island has seen no major population loss and still has about 2,400 birds.

The total number of breeding birds on the refuge has soared from an average of around 10,000 in the 1970s to 35,466 in 2000 and 29,000 last year, Hanson said. The colonies are not monitored each day, but Torkelson said the monitoring will increase.

The pelicans suffered last year from the West Nile virus, which killed roughly 50 percent of the young birds, Hanson said. Dead birds may have attracted more coyotes and other predators, he said, although the animals are not new to the area.

One dead pelican has tested positive for botulism, and another one showing symptoms of botulism was found Wednesday near Woodworth, about 15 miles from the lake, Hanson said. But the number of dead birds has not been considered high enough to label botulism as the main culprit in the birds' disappearance.

"We've put out a notice to all Fish and Wildlife Service offices in the area. We particularly want to know if they see sick or dead pelicans, if they see large numbers," Hanson said. The number of pelicans spotted along the Missouri River appears to have increased, he said.

Refuge officials are taking another look at predators, he said.

"We are re-evaluating our predator management plan," he said.

"This may be just a normal correction factor - nature taking its course," Hanson said. "There are lots of mysteries in nature that we're only beginning to find out about."

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/state/8882365.htm
 
Apologies in advance to beakaboo:

No more pets for man who attacked parrot

Saturday, June 12, 2004 Posted: 1325 GMT (2125 HKT)



NEWPORT BEACH, California (AP) -- A man who attacked his pet macaw, breaking its beak and leg, must complete 120 days of community service and take anger management classes, a judge ruled Friday.

Anthony James Ellis, 53, had been sentenced to 120 days in jail but Orange County Superior Court Judge Susanne Shaw said she would allow him to complete the sentence as community service.

Shaw also ruled that Ellis must pay ,577.26 in restitution for surgery and care of the bird and cannot have pets or consume alcohol during three years of probation.

Ellis was convicted April 27 of felony animal cruelty and abuse of an animal.

Witnesses testified that Ellis punched the bird -- named "Johnny" -- and slammed its head against the deck of his boat outside the Newport Harbor Elks Lodge, where the parrot was the mascot.

Ellis testified that the bird, which he had owned for 11 years, was injured after it bit him on the arm and he fell down, and that witnesses outside the lodge misunderstood what they saw.

The parrot survived the March 2003 attack and was adopted by an animal care agency.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/LAW/06/12/macaw.attack.ap/index.html
 
Who's Kidnapping the Pigeons, and Who Cares?

By IAN URBINA

Published: June 10, 2004



he reports are usually the same: around dawn, near a city park or plaza, two men jump out of a van, the license plate often concealed with tape. They toss a handful of seeds, and when pigeons descend, they swipe the birds up in a net.

"We've been getting calls about this for years," said Mark MacDonald, a 32-year veteran with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York. He is also the organization's main pigeon expert.

Once captured, the pigeons are then driven to Pennsylvania, investigators believe, and sold to private gun clubs for use in live bird shooting.

"We never got enough evidence to go after the people moving the pigeons within the state and across state lines," said Clayton Hulsizer, a retired Pennsylvania A.S.P.C.A. officer who spent three years working under cover investigating the traffic in pigeons. "But it was common knowledge that New York City played a role when it came to the supply side for the pigeons."

Though accounts of the nettings seem to teeter on the edge of urban lore, the rare witnesses to the thefts swear by them.

One woman from the Upper East Side said that in the last six months she has seen netters on several occasions next to the East River on the jogging path near 76th Street. "One of the guys looked at me staring at him and said, 'Keep walking lady, just keep walking,' " she said. Edwin, a Bronx pet store owner who breeds homing pigeons and asked that his last name not be used out of fear for his business, said the netters had been around as long as he could remember. "Actually," he said, "they're called hoopers because they use hoop-shaped hand-held nets."

To most New Yorkers, street pigeons - winged rats, they are sometimes called - do not evoke either great affection or urgent concern. But no one disputes that pigeons have it hard enough without the threat of being captured and killed.

Crammed into a concrete jungle, the birds navigate a perilous world of electrified ledges, predatory hawks, rooftop glue traps and millions of disdaining pedestrians.

But they do have rights - unlike privately owned homing and racing pigeons that usually live in rooftop coops, street pigeons - which pigeon breeders call clinkers - are considered property of the state, and it is illegal to harm them. And they do have their defenders, some of whom have been consumed with ending the illicit trade conducted by the netters.

"The negative attitudes toward these beautiful creatures are ridiculous," said Al Streit, founder of Pigeon People, a group of 20 organizing members with a 300-person e-mail list. The group, which meets once a month, works to remind the public that pigeons are just like any other bird, he said. Their waste "is no dirtier than the sparrows'," he said. "So why the discrimination?"

The world and workings of the netters remain murky. Nobody seems to know of any arrests. The vans and trucks that many insist transport the birds and deliver them to the gun clubs have not been stopped.

"The problem has been that the nettings occur in 15 seconds or less," said Mr. MacDonald, of the New York A.S.P.C.A.

But Don Bailey, a part-time truck driver who often transports birds, says the trade exists. Until 1999, Pennsylvania was home to the Hegins Pigeon Shoot, one of the oldest and most heavily attended annual shooting events in the country. The shoot attracted more than 5,000 spectators for Labor Day weekend and often left an estimated 6,000 pigeons dead. Mr. Bailey said he was one of the truckers who provided birds for the Hegins shoot.

"Some guys moved them from Philly and New York City, but I never did," he said. Mr. Bailey said that all of the pigeons he shipped to Hegins came from teenage farm boys in Pennsylvania who gather up the birds from barns and granaries and sell them for a dollar or two each.

The Hegins shoot was ended after years of pressure from animal rights advocates, but live shoots still exist in private gun clubs around Pennsylvania.

And Mr. Bailey said he did not think, in truth, that grabbing pigeons in New York for use in the shoots was such a bad idea.

"Thinning out the population in New York City is a good thing, right?" he asked.

Some people, obviously, think not.

-------------------------

Anna Kugelmas is the director of the New York Companion Bird Club, a group with 60 members. Ms. Kugelmas started her group because she was tired of people yelling at her every time she threw seeds on the street, she said. In New York City, feeding pigeons in public areas is legally considered littering.

"Loving pigeons can be a pretty lonely affection in this city," she said.

Advertisement



She has a point: of the approximately 300 pigeon-related calls to 311 per month, city data shows, roughly half are complaints about people feeding them. The other half are complaints about the birds' feces.

"The city has plenty of places to call if you want them removed or killed, but nowhere to call if you want them helped because one has a broken wing," said Margaret, a member of the club who spoke on the condition that her last name not be used.

Several people devoted to rescuing and healing injured or stranded pigeons say that more ought to be done and that there needs to be more oversight by the government when it comes to pigeons.

"There is a real lack of policy when it comes to urban wildlife," said Johanna Clearfield, director of the Urban Wildlife Coalition, a group that does what it can for squirrels, sparrows and pigeons in New York City.

Ms. Kugelmas agreed. "If Bernard Goetz can be the city's main squirrel rehabber, which he is, then you know there is a real void here," she said, referring to the man who shot four teenagers on a subway train in 1984.

But for pigeon advocates, the netters remain a top concern, and some lament that no one is bold enough to take them on.

There is, though: Bird Operations Busted.

"We're the hard-core part of the pigeon movement," said Bob, who asked that his last name not be used but who is the founder of Bird Operations Busted, an organization that has about 15 members.

"Our aim is to unveil the mafia of netters," he said in hushed tones, seated in an Upper West Side cafe.

The first challenge, he said, involves surveillance. Members of the group have disposable cameras in case they happen upon a netter in action, he said. The group has also installed hidden video cameras at several spots in Manhattan.

Gordon King, 71, a retired lawyer who is working pro bono for the group, said that the goal was to collect evidence and eventually compel state officials to investigate illegal nettings.

But Bob acknowledges it will not be easy.

The wireless video cameras that the group uses are expensive, he said. Their installation in public spaces requires discretion.

The group is also collecting a paper archive of witness accounts of netting sightings from across the city, complete with license plate numbers and descriptions of suspects, he said.

"Sometimes," Bob said, "you have to do a lot to get the smallest injustices corrected."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/10/nyregion/10pigeon.html
 
Published Saturday, May 29, 2004

Anglers Charged With a Shocking Crime

New York Times Regional Newspapers

OCALA -- The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says it arrested two Ocala brothers after they caught about 40 pounds of catfish in Putnam County by "monkey fishing," an offense the pair were also charged with 25 years ago.

Leo Gerald Bright, 60, and his brother, Luther George Bright, 50, both of 6491 Northwest 65th Place, were both charged Thursday with taking freshwater fish in Bear Creek off the Ocklawaha River in Putnam County by using an illegal method called "monkey fishing."

Once highly popular, a monkeyfishing angler uses a homemade device to send an electrical charge into the water. To escape the shocks, the fish swim to the surface where fishermen scoop the stunned fish out of the water with a long-handled dip net.

The Bright brothers were each charged with taking freshwater fish by an illegal method -- an electric shocking device -- and possession of illegal gear, according to a FWC news release. Both charges are second-degree misdemeanors, with each carrying a maximum penalty of a 0 fine and 60 days in jail. The Bright brothers' court date is scheduled for June 12 in the Putnam County Courthouse.

The Bright brothers could not be reached for comment.

Ironically, Lt. Bob Lee, law enforcement supervisor in Putnam County, arrested the same two men for the same violation in the same area, but a long time ago. He said the brothers were "caught Thursday probably not more than a mile where I got them" 25 years ago.

"I thought it was kind of interesting. I hadn't heard from them since then," Lee said Friday. "When the officers cited them, one of the officers said one of the brothers told him he had a heart attack last year and he said he had to have one more go at it before he died. Well, he did, and he got caught."

Lee said two monkey-fishing experts can probably catch 400 to 600 pounds of catfish in four hours. At Thursday's bust, the brothers had just began their day of fishing and had only caught about 40 pounds, which were donated to the Rodeheaver Boys Ranch in Palatka, according to the release.

"These guys didn't flee," said Joy Hill, spokeswoman. "They were cooperative."

However, back in the day, Lee said chasing down monkey fishermen was a thrill ride on Florida waters.

"When a monkey fishermen was `jumped,' there was usually a boat chase," Lee said. "Everybody thought it was very sporting. It was exciting."

In 1988, the water chases died down when it became a felony to flee on the water.

The name monkey fishing supposedly originated because the first monkey machines were operated by turning a hand crank, similar to an organ grinder on the street corner with his monkey.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040529/NEWS/405290358/0/FRONTPAGE
 
Dead dove prompts Sri Lanka probe

The Sri Lankan authorities have ordered an inquiry after a dove freeing ceremony intended to symbolise peace went disastrously wrong.

One bird was dead before take-off and "dropped like a brick" soon after it left the hands of the public security minister at a ceremony last weekend.

A BBC cameraman who witnessed the incident said that the dove may have died due to excessive humidity.

At this time of the year temperatures can reach 33C.

Heat exhaustion

"The dove was one of seven due to be released by dignitaries and politicians at a United Nations ceremony last weekend," said BBC cameraman Sriyantha Walpola.

"But because the birds had to wait at least 30 minutes in the excessive humidity before they were released, many of them appeared to be weak.

"Unfortunately the bird that was due to be freed by the Public Security Minister, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, was dead almost as soon as it was handed to him by a white gloved soldier," he said.

Instead of soaring majestically into the air to symbolise the government's commitment to peace and goodwill, the dove "dropped like a brick" on to the ground.

The incident happened in front of other government ministers and prominent dignitaries including the visiting Commander of US Forces in the Pacific, General James Campbell.

All the doves had successful take-offs apart form the one belonging to Mr Wickremanayake, who is also Sri Lanka's deputy defence minister.

The military police will look into the circumstances and try to see if there was any sabotage
Sri Lankan defence ministry spokesman

A three member delegation of the military police led by an army major have now been called in to investigate the mystery of the dead dove.

Such an incident is seen as inauspicious by many Sri Lankans, who since the weekend have written to newspapers expressing fears that the death of the dove could symbolise the demise of the country's peace process.

It has assumed added significance because Tamil Tiger rebels have warned that the country risks sliding back into a state of war unless the government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga revives peace negotiations.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/3809093.stm

Published: 2004/06/15 17:13:59 GMT

© BBC MMIV
 
Bear Wanders Through Hospital in Virginia

Updated: Thursday, Jun. 17, 2004 - 7:10 AM

ROCKY MOUNT, Va. (AP) - An adult black bear was shot and killed after it wandered into a hospital, authorities said.

The 300-pound male bear was first spotted walking along a street Tuesday night, authorities said. When the bear wandered in front of the nearby Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital, it activated a sensor that opens the hospital's doors.

The bear walked into a computer room and two police officers shut the door behind the animal, said Lt. Karl Martin of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Officers planned to sedate the bear, but they were worried what might happen if the bear got loose in the hospital. So an officer shot and killed the bear.

No one was injured. The computer room sustained minor damage, Martin said.

http://www.wtop.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=213896
 
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