Man charged with animal cruelty for abandonded fish

[RumMnky]

Interesting....
https://www.newsweek.com/north-caro...-room-animal-cruelty-animal-abuse-new-1385857

A North Carolina man was arrested and charged with animal cruelty this week for allegedly abandonding his pet fish after being evicted from his home last month.

Michael Ray Hinson, 53, was detained yesterday by officers from the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office. Officials said an Oscar fish had been discovered inside his former residence in Wilmington. The suspect was evicted on March 22; deputies found the pet three days later.

The tank was filled with dirty water and the pet was suffering from “hole in the head disease,” a dangerous condition that is sparked by poor water quality and a lack of food.

Alongside the cruelty to animals charge—which is a misdemeanor—Hinson was also hit with one count of animal abandonment. The police department’s spokesperson said it was the first time a suspect had been charged in the county with cruelty over a pet fish, WECT reported. The former owner was assigned a $4,000 bond yesterday and has since been released from jail.

 

[revhtree]

Well this is interesting! Adding a poll! LOL!

 

[4FordFamily]

That seems a little extreme... maybe there's more to the story?

 

[dbl]

In the infamous words of Paul Harvey...I think we need to hear "The Rest of the Story".

 

[Salty Lemon]

Hmmm. While I think this is horrible, fish are on the list of sub-pets in the world's eyes -- along with hamsters, small lizards, and turtles. Most people take better care of dogs and cats than they do fish. I'm going by what "society" thinks vs what I think here. I think this sounds a bit extreme, but I'm guessing if he was evicted, there is more to it than him politely leaving. I had an Oscar tank once. They have really fun personalities. It is too bad he wan't taken care of properly.

 

[anit77]

Hmm... If he was evicted, meaning the locks were changed, he could not access the aquariums.
If that is the case, wouldn't the charge be on the evictor instead of the evictee?

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

If this man was given 30 days to move out and left the fish behind, then I am saying it follows the same legal procedure as any other pet as that was his decision.

If the locks were changed on him, then it is on the owner/landlord.

 

[jsvand5]

Seems like they just want to get this get this guy to me. I mean, in a lot of areas oscars, and many of the fish we keep, are eaten for food. Could the guy have just killed it and cooked it before being evicted and been fine? Obviously this guy isn’t a great pet owner but I think it’s a stretch to actually charge him and fine him when he clearly doesn’t have enough money to even cover rent.

 

[EMeyer]

Would it have been illegal if he had killed and eaten the fish?
How about if he had humanely dispatched it because it was sick?
How about if he had simply taken it out of the tank, laid it on the counter, and allowed it to suffocate? (This is the typical fate of fish caught while sportfishing)

Seeing as how none of the above would have resulted in as much as a fine, it seems self-evident that leaving a fish alone in an apartment can't be illegal either. Surely this will get overturned.

Actually, all I'm seeing is "charged". I doubt this even makes it to court.

 

[wesman42]

Would it have been illegal if he had killed and eaten the fish?
How about if he had humanely dispatched it because it was sick?
How about if he had simply taken it out of the tank, laid it on the counter, and allowed it to suffocate? (This is the typical fate of fish caught while sportfishing)

Seeing as how none of the above would have resulted in as much as a fine, it seems self-evident that leaving a fish alone in an apartment can't be illegal either. Surely this will get overturned.

Actually, all I'm seeing is "charged". I doubt this even makes it to court.

I agree.

 

[Matt Carden]

If he was legally evicted then the landlord can't change the locks unless:
A.) He informed the landlord he had vacated the premises.
B.) The Sheriff was present during the forced removal of people and belongings.
Either way he was not present which would be considered abandonment.

I'm sure He/They had nowhere to take the aquarium or a way to move it. He may not have had means to even get the fish to a LFS. His only legally safe option could have been to flush the fish.

I faced a similar dilemma moving from Phoenix to Texas. I didn't know the LFS would take the marine fish let alone buy them from me. I ended up getting like 1/3 of what I paid.

 

[RumMnky]

Just Guessing, but it was probably the result of belligerence when being served with an eviction notice by the sheriff. Once you deviate from the "Yes Sir, No Sir" law enforcement has a plethora of tools available to complicate your life if they desire.. My first thought was "Kick a guy while he's down.....

 

[clsanchez77]

What he did was wrong and negligent....but hardly worthy of an arrest or criminal charge. The fish was rescued and has been treated....at worst, make it a civil issue and have him pay restitution to the LFS. But seriously, the guy was being evicted, his options were limited and I will go out on a limb and say the fish was not his priority. To say he is hateful and not caring for his animals is a bit of an extrapolation.

 

[High ICP]

At least he’s not homeless now

Ps, if that’s worth a jail sentence...I should get the death penalty

And so would every experienced hobbyists here

 

[High ICP]

Hmmm. While I think this is horrible, fish are on the list of sub-pets in the world's eyes -- along with hamsters, small lizards, and turtles. Most people take better care of dogs and cats than they do fish. I'm going by what "society" thinks vs what I think here. I think this sounds a bit extreme, but I'm guessing if he was evicted, there is more to it than him politely leaving. I had an Oscar tank once. They have really fun personalities. It is too bad he wan't taken care of properly.

People intentionally kill fish and eat them

 

[cmcimino]

So this happened in the town I live in. I feel like being arrested was a bit too much. What if he euthanized the fish before he moved out and put the tank out by the road? Nothing would have happened, it wouldn't have made headlines. If you did that with a dog he would have definitely been arrested. I think companion animals (dogs, cats, even birds) are looked at it a different way than most fish and reptiles by society as a whole. Most people go home to a dog/cat that is part of their family, they pet it, feed it, maybe even share a bed with it. Most people don't look as fish and reptiles as part of their family because most of them don't interact with humans the way most companion pets do.

It's funny because in the same week there was an article posted about a man shooting his neighbors dog with a BB gun, and the dog died. Most of the comments on facebook were calling for the man to be shot with a BB gun, thrown in jail for life, etc. Most of the comments on the fish story were people saying how him being charged with animal cruelty was too extreme, etc. Society as a whole does not see fish as a companion animal, and I think that partially has to do with fishing and eating fish being a normal part of our society. Just my .02

 

[Dom]

Hmm... If he was evicted, meaning the locks were changed, he could not access the aquariums.
If that is the case, wouldn't the charge be on the evictor instead of the evictee?

No, because his responsibilities go with him. Leave and take your belongings with you. The responsibility of taking care of the fish is his. If he was a single parent, would he leave his child behind?

 

[Dom]

Society as a whole does not see fish as a companion animal, and I think that partially has to do with fishing and eating fish being a normal part of our society. Just my .02

Well I think this is pretty ignorant of society.

My fish have personalities; they recognize me when I come in the room. AFTER feeding, they will come up to the glass and greet me if I get close. My buddy has a puffer that comes to the surface so that you can pet it. So I think fish are every bit as interesting as "companion pets". Granted, you can't let them sleep on the bed. But to think of them as inferior just because they can't interact in the same environment? Ridiculous.

 

[MrObscura]

I like my fish, but I love my dogs.

A fish is not a dog.

 

[ScooterV]

The "tang police" or "Water Change Enforcement Commission" could be next!!!

I feel bad for the fish, but think an arrest is extreme. It also says it was discovered only three days after the eviction?

It also doesn't give the tank size, so he may have had few options. Catching them and giving them to an LFS would have obviously been the correct path though. Without the rest of the story, as mentioned above, I'd suspect they were just piling on what they could because someone was being difficult.