Crosland fed the sick puppy to a turtle named Jaws at Preston Junior High School in front of a few students. The turtle, which is deemed an invasive species in Idaho, was seized and euthanized by officials.
MIKE PRICE: ‘A science teacher who ignited worldwide controversy after feeding a puppy to a snapping turtle was found not guilty of animal cruelty… Crosland fed the sick puppy to a turtle named Jaws at Preston Junior High School in front of a few students… The turtle, which is deemed an invasive species in Idaho, was seized and euthanized by officials with the Idaho Department of Agriculture in March… Following an investigation by Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, Crosland was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty…
Based on witness testimony from the trial, the timeline leading up to the snapping turtle eating the puppy is as follows: Crossland’s son, Mario Crosland, received the puppy from a farmer he knew. One of the farmer’s dogs had recently given birth to a litter of puppies, and the farmer was worried the pups were feeding off of the mother too much causing her health to decline. As a result, he started giving the puppies to others.
When Mario received the puppy, he noticed it was sick. He said in his testimony that the puppies eyes were cloudy and it refused to eat. He said he and his sister tried to nurse the puppy back to health, but after a day it was clear the puppy was going to die. He said no matter what they did, it refused to eat. They gave the puppy to their dad who decided he would feed it to either his python, Monty, or the snapping turtle’. SOURCE…
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