 Muskrat put in freezer, frozen to death
Fernley, NV (US)Date: Apr 20, 2006
Disposition: Dismissed
Person of Interest: Lee Sheerer
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available |
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An animal control officer has been suspended with pay while city officials investigate allegations he killed a muskrat by freezing it instead of having it tested for rabies.
Fernley City Prosecutor Patrick King said he expects to file animal cruelty charges next week against Lee Sheerer, the city's full-time animal control officer.
Sheerer "did willfully, unlawfully and intentionally kill a muskrat by placing it in a freezer and therefore freezing a muskrat to death," King wrote in a complaint.
He was placed on paid administrative leave "pending the outcome of the city's discipline process," City Manager Gary Bacock said in a statement Thursday.
The live muskrat was turned over in mid-April to Fernley animal control by a pet owner who captured it after it bit his dog, the complaint said.
Sheerer allegedly was directed to take the muskrat to the Lyon County Animal Services. Two days later when they asked for the muskrat so it could be tested, rehabilitated and released into the wild, Sheerer allegedly admitted to freezing it, according to the investigation conducted by Lyon County Animal Services.
King said that after reviewing the investigation, he decided charges were warranted.
"If an animal needs to be killed, it should be done so in the most humane manner possible," he told the Nevada Appeal.
King said that after the complaint is filed, Sheerer will receive a summons to appear in court. Misdemeanor first-offense animal cruelty carries a penalty of up to six months in jail. Case UpdatesAnimal rights activists have criticized a Nevada judge who dismissed charges against an animal control officer accused of killing a muskrat by putting it in a freezer.
Daphna Nachminovitch, director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, accused Fernley Municipal Judge Daniel Bauer of ignoring state law by dismissing misdemeanor animal cruelty charges against Lee Scheerer.
Nachminovitch maintained the state's cruelty-to-animals statute applies to all animals, and Bauer incorrectly ruled early this month that jurisdiction over fur-bearing animals such as muskrats would fall with state wildlife officials.
''Judge Bauer acted out of ignorance of the law, which is no excuse for a criminal and is certainly no excuse for a judge,'' she said. ''He has sent the dangerous message that when it comes to animals in Fernley, you can get away with murder.''
Bauer said he's barred from commenting on cases but defended his ruling.
''The only thing I'll say is that I know the law and that they don't know why I rendered my decision,'' he said.
''There's a lot more to a case than what people think they know. There are a lot of variables and I weighed them all,'' he added, declining to elaborate.
During the court hearing, the judge said he didn't think Scheerer acted maliciously and noted that he had already lost his job over the April incident in the town 30 miles east of Reno.
Bauer also questioned whether killing a rodent amounts to animal cruelty and suggested it would allow prosecution for using a mouse trap.
A veterinarian determined the animal died of hypothermia and had been ''tortured by freezing.'' | Source: Monterey Herald - Aug 27, 2006
Update posted on Aug 31, 2006 - 2:18PM |
People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is calling on their web site visitors to educate Fernley Municipal Court Judge Daniel Bauer.
Bauer dropped charges of animal cruelty against a Lee Sheerer ,a former animal control officer who put a muskrat in a freezer and left it to slowly die in April 2006.
Bauer based his decision on the fact that muskrats are only under the jurisdiction of the Nevada Department of Wildlife because they have fur.
Sheer says the muskrat was injured but a necropsy found that the muskrat was in good health before it was frozen. | Source: Channel 4 News - Aug 21, 2006
Update posted on Aug 21, 2006 - 4:35PM |
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