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Sep 24, 2007 7:34 pm US/Central
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Man Charged With Animal Cruelty In Duck Beheading
St. Paul (WCCO) ―
A Denver businessman was charged for allegedly ripping the head off a live, tame duck that resided in a hotel lobby's ornamental pond.
According to the criminal complaint, Scott D. Clark, 26, was charged with one felony count of animal cruelty, punishable by up to two years in prison with up to a $5,000 fine.
While a guest at the Embassy Suites Hotel in St. Paul, Clark allegedly cornered the duck early Saturday morning, grabbed the bird and ripped its head off while a hotel security guard and others watched.
Clark then turned to onlookers and said, "I'm hungry. I'm gonna eat it," said St. Paul police Sgt. John Wuorinen, citing the police report. "He was allegedly drunk."
Clark was detained by hotel security guards until police came to arrest him.
He told officers he was an employee of the federal government before asking them if he was in trouble. When they told him he was, Clark retorted, "Why, because I killed it out of season? Big deal, it's just a ------- duck."
"If he thought this was sport he certainly took the sport out of it by going after a domesticated duck in a hotel lobby and ripping it's head off. I don't think many duck hunters would consider that sport," said Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner.
Tim Shields, general counsel with the Minnesota Federated Humane Societies, said the incident was "unconscionable," and that having live ducks in a hotel lobby puts them at risk of being stepped on or run over by suitcases.
Clark posted bond and was released from Ramsey County jail Monday afternoon.
Clark's attorney, Michael Colich, said his client is sorry about the accusations against him. Clark is next scheduled to appear in Ramsey County Court on October 16.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)