Crime & Safety
Western Springs Man Arrested for Whacking Seagull with Umbrella Pole
Said he was trying to "take it out of its misery" on a Florida beach.
A 21-year-old Western Springs man who tried to whack a seagull to death with an umbrella pole on a Florida beach is charged with animal cruelty, police said.
Ryan Lesle told police he used the pole to try to shoo away a flock of seagulls but struck and injured one. Then he beat the lame bird with the pole to "take it out of its misery," according to the police report.
A lifeguard saw the beating and called police. Lesle ran from Clearwater Beach, according to Bradenton.com, but then returned and admitted what he did to police.
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Lesle was taken to the Pinellas County jail Thursday and released on a $5,000 bond. A veterinarian euthanized the bird.
The gulls typically descend on the beach because beach-goers often feed the birds.
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"I could say it a hundred times over, do not feed the birds, do not feed the birds," Barbara Walker with the Clearwater Audubon Society told Bradenton.com.
Killing a wild bird is illegal in Florida.
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