Story By: Kathryn Quinn, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
A teenager has been left in shock after finding this dead squirrel nailed to a tree – and she thinks the animal might have been affixed to the trunk while it was still alive.
The 18-year-old was walking down a street in Bad Liebenwerda, a spa town in the Elbe-Elster district, in southwestern Brandenburg, Germany when she saw the dead squirrel nailed to the tree.
The woman told local media: “I am sorry for my choice of words, but for such people, I have no words left. This small creature was found nailed completely to a tree.”
It is not known whether the squirrel was dead when it was nailed to the tree or whether it died whilst nailed there.
The young woman, not named in local media, said: “It breaks my heart to see how some idiot can treat a defenceless animal this way.”
The case also outraged animal organisation PETA who have offered a 1,000-EUR (855-GBP) reward for clues leading to the culprit.
PETA spokesperson Lisa Kienzle said: “The person who discovered the squirrel said there were scratches on the tree and thought that the squirrel was nailed alive to the tree.”
“If the person nailed the animal alive to the tree, he or she needs to be found and face the consequences. We demand strong punishments for people who mistreat animals as we need to deter people from doing so. If they attack defenceless animals for fun, they probably don’t care about hurting other humans either.”
Bad Liebenwerda Mayor, Thomas Richter was also shocked by the incident and said: “What has become of people’s values in life.”
Police are investigating.
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