Idaho charged a middle school teacher with animal cruelty for letting a snapping turtle eat a live puppy, according to a Sunday report.
The state charged Preston Junior High School biology teacher Robert Crosland with a misdemeanor for animal cruelty after the March incident, reported The Washington Post.
Mother Farahlyn Hansen, whose two sons made up two of the three students present when Crosland fed the puppy to the turtle after school, said the occurrence was misrepresented.
“The puppy was dying,” she told The Preston Citizen. “I felt like it was the more humane thing for Robert to do than to just leave it [the puppy] to die.”
Hansen said the puppy’s owner gave the puppy to Crosland with the hope the teacher could save it. The teacher could not do so and fed it to the turtle to keep the second animal alive. But one staff member who heard the puppy started screaming.
If convicted of animal cruelty, Crosland could face a $5,000 fine and up to six months in jail.
Preston Superintendent Marc Gee said the situation was “regrettable” but emphasized that it happened after school and not in front of an entire class, according to KTVB. (RELATED: Florida Teacher Allegedly Drowns Two Raccoons In Front Of Students [VIDEO])
A Florida teacher came under public pressure after allegedly drowning two raccoons in May, but authorities refused to charge Dewie Brewton III, who retired during the scandal, claiming the teacher did not mean to torture or hurt the nuisance animals.
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