AR-News: (OH - US)Man traps/cages squirrels, spray-paints nostrils shut for an agonizing death

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KETTERING | John Napier, accused of animal cruelty against a trapped squirrel, was assigned a public defender Thursday in Kettering Municipal Court by Judge Tom Hanna.

Napier, 42, of Dayton, is scheduled to appear for pretrial proceedings May 25.

If found guilty, he could face 90 days in jail and a $750 fine on the cruelty charge; and 30 days in jail and a $250 fine on a charge of trapping a wild animal out of season.

Napier, who said he is staying at 2817 Chinook Lane but lists an address in Dayton, was charged April 7 after a neighbor told State Wildlife Officer Trent Weaver that the man was live-capturing one squirrel at a time, entering his garage and returning with an empty cage minutes later.

Weaver discovered in Napier's attic a caged, dying squirrel saturated with solvent and unable to breathe because its nostrils had been spray-painted shut. The male squirrel was euthanized at a Kettering animal clinic.

Weaver said Kettering has an ordinance banning the killing of squirrels, but said they can be live-trapped and released elsewhere with the landowner's consent.

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