The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a summons to a Pennsylvania man who allegedly knocked a gull out of the air with a towel, then threw it in a trash can in front of a crowded beach at 39th Street in Ocean City on July 24.
Dennis M. Reagle, 37, of Tarentum, Pa., is charged with illegal possession of wildlife, according to Larry Hajna, spokesmand for the state DEP.
Reagle faces a potential fine when the matter is decided in municipal court, or if he were to plead guilty.
A widely circulated social media post on the day of the incident described an adult beachgoer breaking the gull’s wing, then snapping its neck and tossing it in a trash can. Another member of the man’s party swung at other gulls with a closed umbrella, according to the account. Read more: Man Snaps Gull’s Neck to Horror of Ocean City Beach Crowd.
But the man told police a different story when he was questioned that afternoon.
He told police a sea gull attacked his two-year-old child while she was eating, pecking at the girl’s head and face, according to the police report filed in July.
The father said he struck the bird with a towel in an effort to protect his daughter, apparently injuring the wing of the bird so it could no longer fly, according to the report.
The bird fell into the water and was seen struggling to get out. The father told police he did not want small children see the bird possibly drown, so he removed the bird from the water and placed it in a trash receptacle. He claims the bird died before he placed it in the trash receptacle, the report states.
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Hajna did not release any details on the specific findings of the investigation.
The “possession” charge presumably would be related to Reagle carrying the bird to dispose of it. The possession of non-game wildlife section of the state Division of Fish and Wildlife laws appears to deal largely with live animals.
Hajna did not know what type of gull was killed. The most common summer sights — herring gulls and laughing gulls — are not endangered.
He said any potential cruelty to animals charges in a such a case would not fall under the jurisdiction of the DEP.
