Meredith Wilder, who lives in the Upper Canyon area, had a sink hole next to her condo. The hole was on shared property in the area, she said.
On Sept. 24 Wilder's neighbor had fallen into the hole, which was 10 to 12 feet deep, she said. The neighbor had caught himself by putting his arms out before he fell to the bottom.
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| A backhoe collapses a sink hole beside an Upper Canyon residence where the resident believes a live skunk was trapped. (Courtesy photo) |
When a man with a backhoe showed up on Sept. 30 to fill the hole in, Wilder was concerned about a skunk that had been seen in the bottom of the hole, both by herself the same day and by someone else several days earlier, so she called animal control.
Wilder said the animal control officer and several policemen showed up. A state environmental officer also was there. The environmental officer said the hole was a hazard and had to be filled in immediately. But Wilder said she feels the animal could have been removed first and police and animal control personnel were unwilling to listen to her concerns.
"They gave the man permission and he proceeded to crush the animal right in front of my home," she said. "Not only did they kill that animal needlessly, but they left the hole with the ground still unstable."
Wilder said she believes it is inhumane and illegal to bludgeon or bury a living animal, according to Animal Protection of New Mexico.
Ruidoso Police Department Chief Joe Mcgill said, according to the animal control officer, the property representative called an excavation company to assess the hole and the company determined it had to be addressed immediately.
"The safety officer declared an emergency hazard," McGill said. "The animal control officer agreed with the assessment."
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| Meredith Wilder points out the location of a sink hole near her home where she feels a live skunk was buried alive when a contractor filled it. (Elva K. Österreich — Ruidoso News) |
McGill said the skunk had been there for five days and it had been determined the hole extended back under the ground toward the house.
"The skunk probably had a means to get in and out," he said. "Whether it is alive or dead is unknown. The backhoe operator filled in the hole based on the environmental officer's recommendation."
He said the animal control officer felt it would have been a dangerous situation for anyone to try and rescue the skunk.
Animal control officer Robert Simpson's report states skunks are not protected by local ordinance and are considered a nuisance animal.
"There was no malice or intent to do any harm to the skunk," Simpson said in the report.
Officer Simpson is either #1 a complete moron who doesn't know the laws he'd paid to uphold and enforce or #2 a lazy and/or uncaring person who knows the law but thinks skunks "don't matter" or #3 he's ignorant of the laws he's paid to uphold/enforce AND he doesn't care about animals. My money's on NUMBER THREE. Officer Simpson should take a moment to read the New Mexico law regarding animal cruelty:
§ 30-18-1. Cruelty to animals; extreme cruelty to animals; penalties; exceptions
A. As used in this section, "animal" does not include insects or reptiles.
B. Cruelty to animals consists of a person:
(1) negligently mistreating, injuring, killing without lawful justification or tormenting an animal; or
(2) abandoning or failing to provide necessary sustenance to an animal under that person's custody or control.
C. As used in Subsection B of this section, "lawful justification" means:
(1) humanely destroying a sick or injured animal; or
(2) protecting a person or animal from death or injury due to an attack by another animal.
D. Whoever commits cruelty to animals is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978. Upon a fourth or subsequent conviction for committing cruelty to animals, the offender is guilty of a fourth degree felony and shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978.
(Ruidoso News - Oct 7, 2014)
