New York Man Busted For Allegedly Painting Squirrels Red

As obnoxious as some pests can be, it's still not ok to abuse them.  That's what a man is being accused of in Putnam County.

If you've ever dealt with unwanted animals in your house or on your property, you know what a nuisance they can be.  When it comes to animals like mice, chipmunks, and squirrels, they can be a hassle to get rid of.  But according to the law,  you still have to treat them humanely.

A man in Putnam County in New York is being accused of trapping squirrels and then painting them red.  His name is Mark Kuhn, and according to the New York Post, he allegedly trapped squirrels on his property, then spray painted them with an "Apple Red Rustoleum Spray Paint."

Why would he do it?

The first question that comes to your mind when you hear a story like this is, of course, why would he do it?  The Putnam County SPCA Chief Ken Ross says that they annoyed him because they would bother his dogs.

“He said he didn’t want the squirrels in his backyard. It makes his dogs bark, and he felt by spray-painting them they wouldn’t come back." - Ken Ross

There was a little more method to his madness though.  He also thought that if he painted them red, he would know if the same squirrels were coming back to torment him and his dogs.

He would trap them, put them in cages, then spray them with the paint before turning them loose about a quarter mile away.

Wasn't he just giving them a fighting chance to live?

Some would argue that at least he was trying to spare their lives.  Most people would just kill them on the spot.  He was at least giving them a fighting chance.  But others would say that the fighting chance was just a longer drawn out death as the paint is toxic to the animals.

Kuhn was charged with three counts of poisoning or attempting to poison animals which is a misdemeanor under New York State Agriculture and Markets Law.