Earlier this month, a man who allegedly ripped off the head of a seagull on a New Jersey pier touched a nerve with some people who were shaken by the violent attack.
Franklin Zeigler, 29, was charged with third-degree animal cruelty after witnesses reported a decapitated animal on July 6 at Morey’s Pier in Wildwood, New Jersey, the North Wildwood Police Department said in a statement.
Zeigler is accused of killing the bird that stole his daughter’s french fries, WPVI-TV reported, citing court documents.
Social media quickly took notice, with people disgusted by Zeigler’s actions vocalizing their condemnation.
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Earlier this month, a man who ripped off the head of a seagull on a New Jersey pier touched a nerve with some people who were shaken by the violent attack. (Hauke Christian Dittrich/Photo Alliance via Getty Images)
“What is wrong with these people?” one person wrote on Facebook, while another called him a “danger to society”.
“But ultimately I think it comes down to what is acceptable in our society for non-human creatures,” the source added.
A third simply called Zeigler a “nutcase.”
A fourth wrote: “A seagull snatched my reading glasses in Circular Quay, Sydney because he was holding McDonald’s chips. I ended up dropping them at the Opera House. Luckily it didn’t fall into the harbour but there’s no way someone could damage them like that. What a horrible person.”
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The beheading occurred at Morey’s Piers in Wildwood, New Jersey. (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Another person stated on X: “That’s unacceptable. Men bring their children into an environment with seagulls and expect the seagulls to know what is expected of men. SMH.”
“The world we live in is terrifying,” a sixth added.
Despite Zeigler’s arrest, a petition with nearly 45,000 signatures calls for him to also receive mental health counseling and never be allowed to keep animals.
The petition had garnered nearly 45,000 signatures by Thursday evening. (Thepetitionsite.com)
“If he is allowed to continue living without any real consequences or repercussions, who knows what the target of his next violent outburst will be,” the petition claims. “Another animal? A human? A child?”
“The sheer barbarism displayed by this man must have been horrifying,” it said, adding that Zeigler had reportedly gone to a waterfront shop demanding rubbish bags while still holding the decapitated seagull.
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Police said Zeigler was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after he “became agitated and uncooperative with officers during an unrelated investigation,” with animal cruelty charges added during a subsequent investigation.
