Squirrels spray painted, covered in solvent
Kettering, OH (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Apr 7, 2004
County: Montgomery
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: John Napier
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
State Wildlife Officer Trent Weaver, alerted by a Kettering resident that a man was live-trapping squirrels, said what he found in the man's attic Wednesday was "one of the worst cruelty cases I've been exposed to."
Weaver said the man, John Napier, 42, had trapped the adult male squirrel in a cage. The squirrel was found in his home with its nostrils apparently spray-painted shut and its body and mouth saturated with an oil-based solvent similar to what is used to remove tar. The animal, which was alive when Weaver arrived, was taken to a veterinarian where it was euthanized.
Napier was cited for attempting to kill a squirrel out of season and is scheduled to appear at 9 a.m. April 15, 2004 in Kettering Municipal Court. Weaver said he was meeting with a Humane Society of Greater Dayton area humane officer to pursue cruelty charges.
Napier denied hurting the trapped squirrel. "I like squirrels OK. They're decent animals," he said.
Kettering police Officer Larry Tobias, who responded to a call to provide backup for Weaver, called the situation "very disturbing."
Tobias said Napier pulled a stairway down leading to the attic, where he produced the dying, caged squirrel.
"The little guy (squirrel) was drenched in this stuff and kind of shivering a little bit," Tobias said. "(Napier) said it must have gotten loose and knocked something over and gotten into it."
A resident in the neighborhood told Weaver she saw Napier trap at least six other squirrels, one at a time, take them into his garage and return minutes later, without leaving the house, with an empty cage.
Case UpdatesJohn Napier, accused of animal cruelty against a trapped squirrel, was assigned a public defender Thursday in Kettering Municipal Court by Judge Tom Hanna.
Kettering man arraigned in animal cruelty. Napier, 42, of Dayton, is scheduled to appear for pretrial proceedings May 25, 2004.
If found guilty, he could face 90 days in jail and a $750 fine on the cruelty charge; and 30 days in jail and a $250 fine on a charge of trapping a wild animal out of season.
Napier, who lists an address in Dayton, was charged April 7, 2004 after a neighbor told State Wildlife Officer Trent Weaver that the man was live-capturing one squirrel at a time, entering his garage and returning with an empty cage minutes later.
Weaver discovered in Napier's attic a caged, dying squirrel saturated with solvent and unable to breathe because its nostrils had been spray-painted shut. The male squirrel was euthanized at a Kettering animal clinic.
Weaver said Kettering has an ordinance banning the killing of squirrels, but said they can be live-trapped and released elsewhere with the landowner's consent. | | Update posted on Apr 15, 2004 - 6:47PM |
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