Warrant Issued for Ga. Raccoon Killing

khou.com ^

[Orange1998]

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- A judge issued an arrest warrant Thursday for a University of Georgia student accused of killing a raccoon that was then skinned, burned and eaten by members of his fraternity.

Judge Patricia Barron said she was disturbed by the allegations and ordered Erik Robert Zimmerman's arrest on charges of animal cruelty.

Zimmerman told police he saw the raccoon near a trash container the night of Dec. 12 and hit it with a traffic cone to scare it away. When it did not run off, Zimmerman shot the animal with a pellet gun. A fraternity brother skinned it, and another ate some of it after the meat was burned.

Animal control officer Kim Winter said Zimmerman should have contacted authorities when he saw the raccoon.

Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[Orange1998]

They kill the animal for food and then get issued arrest warrant. What am I missing here.

[Frank_Discussion]

While I don't envision eating a raccoon myself any time soon, I don't see an issue here.

[T.Smith]

"Animal control officer Kim Winter said Zimmerman should have contacted authorities when he saw the raccoon."

How dare you take matters into your own hands. You must call the government to take care of your problems, no matter how insignificant.

[boomop1]

Wow what about all the rats they are killin in NY city, what's the dif?

[subterfuge]

"a University of Georgia student accused of killing a raccoon that was then skinned, burned and eaten by members of his fraternity."

Should say 'exterminated nuisance racoon, cleaned, and baked with a honey glaze and devoured by resourceful students.'

[cyborg]

Guess I won't be getting a coonskin cap anytime soon.

[Tijeras_Slim]

You slug a raccoon with a traffic cone and it doesn't run off, so you kill it and eat it? I guess these brainiacs never considered it might have had rabies.

[Orange1998]

Raccoon is not my diet either. I wonder if he killed a chicken and eat it, would that be a crime.

[Prime Choice]

These guys seem to be running short in terms of brain thrust. In the majority of cases, any wild animal that shows no fear of humans is diseased.

Eating the flesh of a diseased wild animal ranks right up there with All-Time Stupid Things.

As an aside, I doubt it's the Raccoon part that's got these guys in hot water; it's probably the whole harvesting a wild animal without a hunting license bit. (If they let 'em get away with a raccoon, then the next thing will be poaching deer for venison, et cetera...et cetera...)

[Orange1998]

I am sure the doctor will inform them of the possiblities.

[Jaxter]

These kids were pretty stupid for eating it. Most animals would run from a human. What if it had rabies? The cruelty charges are bogus. Maybe they could charge him with hunting without a license or something. If this flies every hunter in Georgia could be charged every time they shoot an animal. Sounds like an activist judge.

[The Black Knight]

All Your Raccoons Are Belong To Us.

[nobody_knows]

Never even NOTIFIED the UN of the problem!!!

[LTCJ]

Animal control officer Kim Winter said Zimmerman should have contacted authorities when he saw the raccoon.

Oh, dear lord. There's no hope for the Republic.

Question: Do Racoon Cops wash their donuts before eating them?

[flashbunny]

Notice instead of saying the animal was 'cooked', it was 'burned', apparently to make them seem even more cruel. The same way 'concealed' guns have become 'hidden' guns according to the media.

[Orange1998]

Good thing they did not eat a dog. I have a soft heart for dogs. Wasn't their someone here who had a thread talking about how good dog tastes. I got a little quizy over the details.

[UncleJeff]

The raccoon is a game animal in most States, requiring a license to hunt it and specifying open dates and firearm requirements. Probably at least three violations.

[R. Scott]

…after the meat was burned.

Is “burned” the new PC term for “cooked”?

[PoorMuttly]

"All Your Sweet And Sour Raccoon Over Fried Rice Are Belong To Muttly"