Although Franklin Ziegler’s case began almost two years ago, the court verdict was handed down only this month, The New York Post wrote.
In July 2024, Mr. Franklin went on a pilgrimage with his family in the city of North Wildwood. He bought potato chips in a cone for his daughter, but one seagull was also interested.
The bird pounced on the child until the father ran out of patience, caught the seagull and twisted its head. He then walked around the amusement park with the dead bird and asked the staff if they would give him a bag to put the seagull in and throw it in the trash can. This also happened, but several witnesses saw it.
Shortly thereafter, the police began investigating Franklin on suspicion of third-degree animal cruelty. He is said to have sinned against the law from 1918, which prohibits chasing, hunting, catching, killing or selling seagulls and other migratory birds.
A year later, he was charged in court, to which the public prosecutor charged him with resisting arrest. “During the investigation, Ziegler was aggressive and did not cooperate with the police,” the criminal investigators confirmed at the time.
The case dragged on without a verdict, while the accused already remained behind bars. He left prison only in February of this year after he pleaded guilty.
In March, according to the Sky News server, a sentence followed, which covered his previous stay in prison, imposed a fine of 250 dollars (CZK 5,272) on the convict and ordered him to undergo outpatient re-education therapy.
“Flying Sea Rat”
Animal rights activists protested against the verdict, saying that the punishment was too lenient. “This was brutal torture and killing in broad daylight and in front of children,” thundered Doll Stanley, lead activist from In Defense of Animals’ Justice. “It’s basically just a small fine for a serious crime,” she added.
She was joined by a number of discussants on social networks. “What he did was despicable. He deserves more time to think behind bars,” wrote one user.
Others described the punishment of the culprit as excessive. “Nobody should spend a day in jail for killing some flying sea rat,” another commenter noted, adding that “totally rampant tree-hugging, animal-hugging leftists” are behind the punishment.
One user described Mr. Franklin’s more than eight-month stay as pointless, saying that it would be better if he worked 90 days at a local animal shelter.
