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Anyone who’s spent enough time at the beach has likely had to resist the urge to tear a seagull limb from limb at some point in time, and a man in New Jersey who was unable to prevent those intrusive thoughts from winning has found himself facing criminal charges as a result.
As someone who’s been lucky enough to reside near the shoreline for the bulk of my life, I can firmly assert seagulls at the beach are the equivalent of ants at a picnic or Canada geese literally anywhere; soulless, discourteous creatures whose mere presence has the potential to spoil what should be an enjoyable day.
While seagulls naturally prey on fish as well as the variety mollusks and crustaceans they seemingly take pleasure in scooping up before sending them plummeting to the ground so they can feast on their innards, they’re also incredibly advantageous scavengers who will eat basically anything and everything they can get their beaks on.
As a result, seagulls tend to be an absolute scourge at the beaches, boardwalks, and piers where they frequently post up in search of their next meal, and if you’re consuming food in one of those locales, you need to keep your head on a swivel to avoid falling victim to an attempted heist.
According to 6ABC, one man who was spending some time at the Jersey Shore with his family earlier this month learned that lesson the hard way courtesy of a seagull that attempted to steal some french fries from his daughter at the Morey’s Piers amusement park in North Wildwood on July 6th.
The outlet reports that 29-year-old Franklin Zeigler managed to grab the seagull and subsequently decapitated it before asking employees for a trash bag to dispose of the dead bird he was holding when he approached them.
Police officers in the area were subsequently summoned to the scene during an interaction that turned hostile to the point where Zeigler was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after he allegedly admitted to killing the animal, and he was later charged with animal cruelty after a Humane Law Enforcement official examined the evidence that was collected.
I can’t say I endorse the extreme measure he opted for, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t understand it.