A man tortured and killed a protected bird, a blue ferret, because the bird had eaten the bait it was fishing with. According to the authorities, everything would have happened in front of his children.
Fritz Eugene, 67, was arrested on Sunday by Port St Lucie police who came to his home in the 1000 block of Petunia Ave for a domestic issue.
According to the police report, it was the wife who called the police, she told authorities that her husband had brought home a dead blue ferret after going fishing.
Authorities spoke to the couple’s children who said their father brought the bird home with a broken leg after going fishing.
The children claimed their father cut off his legs and brutally stabbed him to death, then slit his throat as they watched.
Neighbors in the neighborhood could not believe what had happened. Some said, “You shouldn’t do this to animals, let alone in front of children. It’s amazing that someone could do such a thing to a bird.”
“You have to give them a chance, I mean, they were there first,” admit others.
Cindy Dionne, animal sanctuary manager, Treasure Coast Wildlife, explains that “it is not uncommon for these federally protected birds to be injured.”
“There is no reason for these animals to be harmed. They pose no danger and are simply in a body of water fishing and trying to get their next meal,” warns Dionne.
The police report says the suspect killed the bird because he was angry after he ate his bait while fishing.
Eugene was arrested and faces charges of aggravated animal cruelty and cruelty to a child.