Mitchell, South Dakota Proudly Declares Squirrel Appreciation Day
There was a viral video circling social media regarding a Mitchell, South Dakota man who appears to be abusing a helpless squirrel.
If you haven't seen the video, consider yourself lucky. This South Dakota man did not appreciate a squirrel for eating his apples from his tree. He took it upon himself to punish the squirrel...it makes me sick.
An article from Cowboy State Daily details a man recording a video in his backyard capturing a squirrel who was trying to eat his apples. In the video, this man shows the squirrel in a trap about to get a "swimming lesson."
“I’m going to take this squirrel here,” Wilson says. “And I’m going to give him a swimming lesson in this tank full of water.”
He then lowers the caged squirrel into a dumpster filled with water.
“He runs around for a while,” Wilson says after dropping the cage. “But after that, he’ll be finished.”
It's not the first time he has captured squirrels either in his backyard. This horrific video was posted by a man Jonathan Alfred Wilson of Mitchell, South Dakota. You can look it up for yourself if your curious.
What Is The Mitchell Police Department Doing About This Report?
According to the Mitchell Police Department, officials "became aware of a video" on Thursday, October 8th. In a Facebook post, police say this is a "suspected animal cruelty" case.
Days after this press release, our news partners at Dakota News Now have confirmed that 73-year-old resident Jonathan Alfred Wilson has been charged with one count of animal cruelty by Davison County officials. This full report can be found here.
The Mitchell Animal Rescue TNR group did respond to the video in a Facebook post. They're encouraging people to speak up against animal cruelty not just now but also for all vulnerable animals across the community.
Despite this disturbing story, the town of Mitchell is really coming together as a community. Mitchell Mayor Jordan Hanson even proclaimed a special day for all squirrels in the community.
October 9th will forever be known as Squirrel Appreciation Day in Mitchell, and residents are rejoicing for our wildlife friends!
Thanks, Mayor Hanson! We have a special little picnic table feeder for the squirrels and don't mind that they eat our apples. They have a right to life too.
My whole backyard is for the squirrels food, clean water all year-round. They have a right to a good life to
I love this. I do take care of the squirrels that come to my yard . I feed them nuts sometimes a cereal hoping they take nuts back to there farm
We love and appreciate all the squirrels across the Sioux Empire!
South Dakota's Weird Exotic Animal Laws Are Amazing
Gallery Credit: Danny V
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