COOPER CITY, Fla. (WSVN) – A Cooper City man is speaking out and demanding accountability a day after he witnessed several boys riding ATVs run over dozens of ducks and geese near his home. He said he was looking for it.
Brian Schaffler spoke to 7News on Sunday about what he described as a bird massacre.
“They’re all over, they’re all dead. This is terrible,” Schaffler is heard saying on the cellphone video. “Fifty of them should be dead.”
On Saturday night, Schaffler took out his cellphone and recorded dead and injured birds in a field behind his neighborhood near SW 49th Street and 120th Avenue.
“One more, one more, two more. That guy is hurt and in pain,” Schaffler is heard saying on the cellphone video.
Shuffler said he was eating dinner when he heard the RV coming from behind the house.
“I turned around and saw (ATVs) climbing side by side to kill and slaughter an Egyptian goose,” he said. “It wasn’t just one pass, they came back and ran it over.”
Shuffler said there were four or five children, believed to be high school students, on the ATV.
“Where we live, we probably have about 100 geese behind our house, so this was definitely done on purpose,” he said. “They were walking back and forth, laughing.”
Upset and furious, Schaffler called the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
“One more thing, one more thing. It’s like a complete genocide, more genocide,” Schaffler can be heard saying on the cellphone video.
Schaffler then collected the dead birds in a truck and took them to a BSO station for display.
BSO deputies said they searched the area and wrote in a statement:
“The circumstances of the incident remain under investigation.”
“We’re seeing more and more ATVs behind where we live, so I’d like to see the city get involved and put a barrier in the back. There’s a lot of wildlife out there.” Shuffler said.
Schaffler now wants those responsible to be held accountable for their actions.
“Just cruelty, really, really bad cruelty. I don’t want to see any animal or anything get hurt,” he said.
As of late Sunday night, it remained unclear whether BSO detectives plan to charge anyone in connection with this disturbing discovery.
If you have any information about these killings or the juvenile perpetrators, please call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
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