Police searching for suspects, motive in bird killings

Sue Doyle

COSTA MESA -- Slugs from a pellet gun were detected Monday in X-rays of a

duck that was killed at TeWinkle Memorial Park.

The duck survived the shooting for a brief time, but died Sunday night at

All Creatures Care Cottage, an animal hospital in Costa Mesa. Four other

birds were found dead at the park.

Authorities will use the X-rays in their investigation of the crime. One

dead bird was a mallard, a migratory species, which makes its killing a

violation of state and federal laws, punishable by up to six months in

jail and a $50,000 fine.

Sunday morning, local park-goers were getting ready to feed the wild fowl

at TeWinkle Park when they found the dead birds.

“I am outraged. People must be accountable and responsible for their

actions,” said Greg Hickman, the hospital administrator at All Creatures

Care Cottage.

Costa Mesa Police Lt. Ron Smith said they do not have any suspects and

are still searching for a motive.

“In the past, it’s for hunting -- not for food, but to be malicious and

cruel. I think that’s what happened here,” Smith said.

Unfortunately, much of the fowl residing at TeWinkle Park have already

suffered some sort of injury, crippling their ability to leave the park.

Many are unable to fly and become full-time citizens of the pond there.

Sometimes, wounded animals carry pellets inside their bodies for weeks

and die a slow death, Hickman said. Other times, their bones recover from

the wound and the animals survive, he said.

The shooting has an all too familiar ring for some. In two separate

attacks in 1997, seven of the park’s birds were shot and killed and three

others wounded by a pellet gun attack.

Animal cruelty isn’t something that Hickman encounters on an everyday

basis. He has worked at Huntington Beach’s Wildlife Care Center and has

seen animals mangled by fish hooks. But the fish hook injuries were not

intentional, Hickman said.

“This was intentional. They had to aim and shoot. That makes all the

difference,” Hickman said.