Morning Read 2: Two Adirondackers stone great blue heron to death
Two men in the Adirondacks were arrested last week after allegedly stoning a great blue heron to death on the banks of the Ausable River. This from the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.
A number of people watched as Ryan F. Slater, 22, of Wilmington, and Michael Martindale Jr., 28, of Jay, threw a large rock at the bird Monday on the east branch of the AuSable River near the Jay Covered Bridge, according to a report from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Wendy Hall, who operates the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge and Rehabilitation Center in Wilmington, told the newspaper that efforts were made to save the “severely injured” bird.
When Hall’s onsite veterinarian examined the bird Tuesday, the vet told her that there was nothing that even Cornell’s experts could possible do for it.
The heron’s wing was severely damaged – shattered – and would have needed amputation. His leg was completely severed at the knee, so that would have needed to be cut off, too.
The two men are expected back in court later this month, though Hall questioned whether a $500 fine — the maximum penalty — is sufficient. She told the Enterprise, “People should be punished severely.”
So what do you think? Tougher laws needed? How should we respond to this kind of alleged behavior? And remember, please keep it civil.
Tags: crime, environment
According to Google and the Press Republican, this same Ryan F. Slater was also arrested in a string of robberies a few years ago. Clearly a bad apple.
And stoning the heron — what a wicked thing to do. The mind reels, trying to comprehend why anyone would want to destroy such a magnificent creature. My only guess is that Slater and Martindale must come from brutal homes.
After reading this distressing news, I confess to daydreaming about vigilante justice.
Past experiences have shown that people who are cruel to animals very often “graduate” to being cruel to humans; such people need professional help and, at a minimum, need to be removed from society until they get such help.
500 fine? That’s it? You can’t be serious. Get these two off the street.
Raise the fine to several thousand, add mandatory counseling and community service for starters. Herons are a migratory bird. Aren’t there any federal laws in the migratory bird regulations that could be piled on here? These guys are idiots!
This is so sad. And troubling.
It’s grotesque and disturbing. But not every bad action can be matched by a legal response. This is one way media serves a positive purpose. By broadcasting the names of these losers, their punishment can be their stigmatization. I don’t think there’s much hope for people like this, but, at least, their negative example can inspire everyone else to want to be different from them.
We had a camp on the Hudson River, where the river is wide and slow between hydro dams upstream from Glens Falls. We spent summers there when I was a kid. For a couple summers around 1960 two American Egrets came to feed in the huge weedy shallows out in the middle. They are the birds with the fabulous long, showy topknot so sought by hat-makers that they were almost hunted to extinction. Picture the famous Audubon print. We were all thrilled, especially when they came back a to spend a second summer in our world.
Anyway, guys shot them. Right through the neck.
Guys also shot a huge old snapping turtle — 36″ at least — in about the same spot. It was still alive, barely, when they hauled it on shore. They said turtle is good to eat. Right.
It is bizarre on the punishment. What is the punishment for shooting a migratory bird out of season essentially poaching.
But what about cruelty to animals, I thought that had a tougher fine? Those people that don’t feed their horses or take care of their livestock get into more trouble it seems, and this is intentional cruelty?
But will is right sometimes shaming is the most effective deterrent.
@Martha Foley: Could NCPR do some sort of story on these men? Maybe find out more about them, try to give the listeners a fuller picture of who they are and what they’re like?
I sat and watched his beautiful bird and his graceful motions many times. I am deeply saddened by his violent death
Here’s a shot of Slater from his old MySpace page, which he hasn’t updated since going away to his shock incarceration program for stealing ATM machines:
http://www.myspace.com/2slater0/photos/1589181
And here’s an earlier shot of him from the Press Republican, when he was 19 and arrested for his first major theft:
http://pressrepublican.com/0100_news/x155203583/Teens-charged-with-theft-of-copper
RE: The vigilante comment. I am generally a forgiving sort of person but occasionally when I hear or read stories like this I have an “eye for and eye and tooth for a tooth” reaction. Perhaps they should be stoned.
We will be reporting more on this story in the days ahead. Remember that the men accused of these crimes are innocent until proved guilty.
I know this is a tough one, folks, but suggesting, even in jest, that people be stoned lies outside our bounds of civility.
–Brian, NCPR
Brian,
Animal abuse tends to invoke the same sort of emotional response as would child abuse.
I am generally not confrontational, but I do not know what I would have done if I saw these two stone the heron.
I assume that once the bird dies (it should have been euthanized by now it sounds like it was suffering from the description) then the folks that did this should be charged with “killing” protected wildlife (plus the prior “wounding charge”). Someone obviously killed this bird.
What would you have done Kieth? I would have said something then called the authorities, which is I think what was done.
But in general in my experience our fantasies of rambo like revenge never work out in the real world, fights always suck even if you are in the right and they often have unintended consequences. I mean lets say you had really hurt one of these bozo’s, then who is the ***hole? Then who is going to jail, not them.
I’m self-rightous enough to stand up for those who are unable to do so themselves, animal or human, and i have done just that in the past.
The boundaries of civility left the table when those boys threw the first stone, I would have confronted them right then and there, right or wrong i’ll explain myself to my maker when that time comes.
…and i bet the boys were “stoned”, it could be the only explaination for the behavior.
Sure you can confront people, but without violence. Using violence puts you in the same boat as them, maybe children were around would you get in a fight with little kids there? What if you pushed one of them and they cracked their head open and died? This happens; it is not crazy to speculate. I mean yeah confront them and tell them you are calling the police, believe me these losers are probably known by the police and probably do not want the police around.
It is my belief that the two who did this to this helpless creature deserve much more than a ‘possible’ $500 fine. Mental counseling and jail time. If this $500 figure is accurate, it needs to be changed. I’ll be interested to see what the court does. I say, write to those who can make a difference in the laws.
Gloria, yes it sounds like the punishment does not really fit the crime here?
I noticed that in New Zeland the penalty for killing protected wildlife, even some that have hunting seasons, is $100,000.
The penalty for shooting a deer out of season is probably mote than these cats are gonna get. Something is wrong here.
Unfortunately, this kind of behavior is all too frequent. This year alone, five Whooping Cranes were shot in the states of Alabama, Georgia, and Indiana. I bring these distant disasters up because, besides being protected under the Migratory Bird Species Act, these birds are protected under the Endangered Species Act. They too, from the reports I’ve seen were killed for no good reason, and brutally. The fines and penalties in the Indiana case were minimal, in no way adequately valuing the incredible individual loss of the birds, their genetic value to a species only just hanging on in the wild, and their fairly incredible individual life stories. It would be interesting to see if our Adirondack community will follow this story, and find legal, civil ways to ensure that such actions are met with a level of disapproval and distaste that deters others. Sickening, angering, frustrating.
Seems to me that this is also a parole violation. Its obvious the Shock program didn’t work here. This person’s previous crimes caused suspicion and rifts through the community, and this “alleged” one is also painful. He is antisocial, and needs to do full time for his earlier crimes, however little they are able to charge him here. Unfortunately, I suspect we’ll be hearing from Slater again over the years, and not in a good way.
It is always bizarre to me how anti-social people, violent people are usually afraid to leave where they were born. At heart they are cowards.
Lets see how far throwing rocks at birds gets him in the City, how impressive that pathetic act is around real gangsters. In the words of Kid Rock, “why they always picking on me, lock me up and throw away my key, I ain’t no gangster I’m just a regular failure, I ain’t straight out of Compton I’m straight out of the trailer”. That is what they are just regular North Country failures.
Terence left some information in the comment section beneath the original story (ncpr home page) .. I’ve already written to the Asst. DA, and posted the story and the contact information on my Facebook page. It does little to fix the deplorable penalty for the destruction of wildlife, but let’s not forget that a few voices can be pretty damn loud when they all speak up together:
“The Essex County prosecutor handling this case is Michele Bowen.
Everyone, please send her an e-mail and ask her to push for the maximum fines and jail time for Slater and Martindale.
Assistant DA Bowen: [email protected]“
We live on the Oswegatchie River, just south of Ogdensburg .. and just as I sent that last message, I heard a heron bark and looked out to watch it come in for a landing on our neighbor’s shore. I would love to see these two thoughtless and cruel idiots suffer in some way for what they’ve done.
It’s difficult to believe in the “innocent until proven guilty” thing when there were so many witnesses ..
To All You Who Want To Judge:
A number of people sat around and watched this happen? Well, maybe if someone would have said something to them maybe this wouldn’t have happened. But NO, all you can do is sit here and talk how someone was raised and how they must have came from a brutal home. Maybe you all should get your facts straight before you start slandering someone but its people like you who sit by and watch things happen then get on here and start slandering people. So who are the REAL COWARDS here? Everyone of you!!!!! Your all real brave when your sitting behind your keyboards trash talking people. Half of you have family relatives who have gotten in trouble so how would you like it if people were on here slandering them? You know nothing about these kids and their families but all of you are quick to make judgments about them when you know absolutely NOTHING!!!… Is it right what they did? NO but who are you to start slandering when you know nothing about these kids? Oh Marvel, your such a real GANGSTER!!! North Country failures? People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones but like I said your just one of those keyboard GANGSTERS your all tough behind that keyboard aren’t you? Its all you cowards who sit by and watch things happen around you then your all tough with your words about how you would have done this and that? Terence, you must really not have a life where you have to go out of your way to find someones old MYSPACE page, GET A LIFE!!!! you obviously have way to much time on your hands. So when you all sit back at your little keyboards commenting on my reply just remember I could careless about what you think about me or what comments you make about me. Just remember these kids have parents and how would you like someone slandering your kids? Oh, thats right your kids wouldn’t be out doing something like this right? The difference is they just haven’t got caught yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kick them out of the Adirondack’s for good. It is obvious they do not respect the wilderness that is there.
@lynn
Let’s get one thing straight, these are not KIDS. They are adults, and I am no keyboard hero, I will stop someone from doing wrong in person just as quick as I do it here. If it was one of my relatives I would expect people to be as disgusted as they are here. Stop making exscuses, yes I do believe those people that were standing by watching have some blame, but like you said “know the facts first” maybe those people were in an area that they could not get to them or maybe they were scared of them.
WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?
Apples don’t fall far from the tree.