Man accused of killing opossum on Danville police ride
Published: July 6, 2009
DANVILLE — A Vernon Hill man is facing an animal cruelty charge after police say he killed an opossum while on an approved ride-along with a Danville police officer.
Police say 22-year-old Evan Bryce Schuler was participating in the department’s ride-along program in June.
While stopped at a gas station, police say Schuler left the vehicle and ran toward an opossum. According to a news release, Schuler kicked the opossum several times, killing it.
When confronted by two officers, Schuler called his behavior “instinctive” because he lives on a farm and opossums routinely kill his chickens.
Danville police endured criticism last month after an officer shot and killed a miniature dachshund that growled at him while he was trying to serve a warrant. Police said the action was justified because the dog was threatening, but neighbors described the 11-year-old dachshund as a mild-mannered house dog.
Following an investigation, Schuler was arrested and charged with cruelty to animals. He was released on a summons to appear in Danville General District Court. A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 31.
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Reader Reactions
I read the article and the following
questions came to mind:
1. Did the individual who is accused
possess a valid Virgina Hunting License?
2. Was the animal harvested with a
lawful means?
3. Was the animal harvested in an
area where taking of such game is legal?
4. Was the season of harvesting such game open at the time of said harvest?
These are all questions for the Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland
Fisheries, not and emotional public.
Animal lovers and eccentric readers
should keep in mind that the Commonwealth has in place guidelines
and regulations
for the harvesting of Game
Animals within the Commonwealth.
All of these heart-felt and emotional
epistles of concerned individuals are
ill-advised and unnecessary reactions
to editorial type reporting.
The reaction of the young individual
demonstrates two things:
1. The basic tenant that a farmer or
keeper of livestock has a right to protect their stock or property. Opossums are notorious for their
appetite for chickens and eggs.
2..The need or desire of some people
to demonstrate their prioress in the
field of nature; (having the ability
to vanquish a threat).
This is a classic example of legal
intervention vs: human nature and will
be very interesting in a Court of Law.
just my $.02 worth
Maybe the miniature dachshund and the opossum felt threatened by them in return. Since they did not have a gun or couldn’t kick- and the humans were a lot bigger- they were out of luck. Either one usually does not attack unless they had to- and they cannot tell their side of the story because they are deceased and before that- they could not talk. Unfair advantage for them.
Right! I mean, perhaps this guy ‘felt threatened’ by the opossum & feared getting rabies. So he went over & kicked the crap out of it. He only had a split-second to think, after all.
OH! That’s right…this guy wasn’t a uniformed officer. He can’t depend on excuses & lies.
I believe this man deserves an award for protecting those police officers. If you’ve ever seen an opossum you know that they look ten times scarier than a dachshund. If they eat chickens then god knows what else they’ll eat. And the story doesn’t mention how large this opossum was. They might have pretty big opossums in Danville.
Apparently Danville is almost as weird a place as Wasilla. Funny how they pretend to respect life and The Lord but torture and kill The Lord’s Creatures whenever they can. Oh, if only everyone could hunt from planes with machine guns. What a fine world this would be.
Wow !!! It’s time to turn the lights off and wait awhile to start again. We have lost all common sense . Are only the foolish, crazy in charge?? Please stop trying to be politically correct or being afraid to make the correct decision. Let common sense prevail before we perish.
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