Bay Ridge

Harris calls Bay Ridge animal killings ‘horrifying’

Calls for stricter laws against abuse

March 4, 2016 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Assemblymember Pamela Harris says tougher laws are needed to punish people who abuse animals. Eagle file photo by Paula Katinas
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Calling the recent spate of animal poisonings in Bay Ridge “horrifying,” Assemblymember Pamela Harris called for tougher laws to be created to punish people who abuse animals.

“We must ensure that laws better protect our animals from those who seek to abuse them. In light of this, I will be pushing a measure that would move animal cruelty out of the state’s agriculture laws, and into the state’s criminal statutes,” Harris (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-Coney Island) said in a statement on March 2.

Moving animal abuse into the criminal statutes will help prevent future acts of animal cruelty, Harris said.

The NYPD confirmed this week that it is investigating allegations that a serial animal killer is on the loose in Bay Ridge.

“There is an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad into allegations of animal poisoning within the confines of the 68th Precinct,” an NYPD spokesperson told the Brooklyn Eagle via email.

The 68th Precinct covers Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights.

The perpetrator has been pouring a substance believed to be anti-freeze on the ground and into bird feeders at several locations, according to Councilmember Vincent Gentile, who added that the individual has also been mixing shards of glass with cat food and dog food and leaving it on the sidewalks next to trees for animals to eat.

It’s not known how many cats, birds, squirrels and dogs died after ingesting the poisonous mixture.

One local resident, Brian Baglioni, set up a video camera on his fire escape in an effort to catch the animal killer in action.

On Jan. 18, the video camera captured images of a man using a pole to knock a bird feeder out of a tree, removing birdseed from the feeder and then leaving the scene. The video shows the mysterious man returning to the scene and pouring a bright green liquid around the base of the tree.

Harris said the situation is shocking and disturbing.

“The recent spate of animal killings occurring in the Bay Ridge area is horrifying and must be put to an end. The responsible individual for these egregious actions against our community’s animals must be stopped, prosecuted and held accountable,” she said.

Harris, who said she has been touch with the 68th Precinct on the matter, urged local residents “to report any suspicious activity with the local police or my office.”

The phone number of Harris’s district office is 718-266-0267.

 

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