A New Jersey man is facing an animal cruelty charge after allegedly beheading a seagull that was stealing his daughter's French fries, police said.
The North Wildwood Police Department this week announced charges against 29-year-old Franklin Zeigler of Cape May in connection with the incident at Morey's Piers in Wildwood on July 6.
Police said officers responded to an animal cruelty incident at Morey's Piers on Boardwalk Avenue on July 6, and witnesses reported that Zeigler had "decapitated" a seagull with his bare hands.
Zeigler was initially arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest because he was allegedly "irate and uncooperative with officers on an unrelated investigation," police said.
A followup investigation conducted by a detective and the department's Humane Law Enforcement Officer, which looked at Zeigler 's statements, witness statements and available photographs, resulted in an additional charge of third-degree animal cruelty.
According to the probable cause statement for his arrest, Zeigler allegedly ripped the seagull's head off with his hands after it tried stealing French fries from his daughter. Witnesses reported that Zeigler asked Morey's Piers staff for a trash bag while holding the decapitated bird.
Zeigler was issued a summons and released pending a future court date, police said.
--with reporting by TMX
