Animal abuse reported

Huntington Beach police are investigating a report of construction workers recently torturing a wild possum.

A crew of stucco workers allegedly strung up a possum by its neck on a three-story scaffolding at a home construction site on the 500 block of 7th Street June 21, downtown resident Anthony Ourenzo told police.

Ourenzo said he was on his way to work when he heard some squeals from the courtyard next to his backyard. He saw the possum hanging from the scaffolding of the home and “[squealing] like a baby,” he said.

He remembered watching the stucco crew members gathering around the possum and “laughing and cheering” at it, he added.

Ourenzo called the building owner’s superintendent, Julie Strickland, to report the alleged abuse. After meeting Ourenzo at his home, Strickland entered the construction site where she allegedly saw the animal hanging by red painter’s tape from scaffolding on the site. None of the workers were present at that time, Strickland told police.

She also told police that she then located crew members who were aware of the incident and had them cut down the possum, which ran off and was not seen again.

Strickland did not return repeated phone calls for comment.

According to police, Strickland suspected the workers hung the possum to kill and possibly eat it, but was unable to locate the workers responsible for the incident. Because of this, she asked the entire stucco crew to leave for the day.

Strickland took pictures of the torture with her cell phone before having the men release the possum, Ourenzo told police.

He said he didn’t get a good look at the men who were allegedly torturing the possum.

Strickland’s pictures of the possum, taken from a cellphone, were poor quality and she didn’t have any pictures of the suspects, Lt. Craig Juninger said. Investigators can’t make much of a case unless they have leads on suspects, he said.

“If not, then there’s not much more we can do on the case,” he said.

Prosecuting such cases without much evidence is especially hard, said Dalene Northrup of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach. She paid a visit to the construction site the day after the event to confront the workers and reported the attack to the Department of Fish and Game as well as Orange County Animal Control.

“I don’t think there is much doubt that this is a terrible case of abuse,” Northrup said.

Such incidents are a good way to educate the public about abuse to not only domestic animals but also wildlife, she said.

“Pictures and detailed documentation are very important with these cases. Contacting the authorities immediately is also important,” Northrup said. “It is hard to prosecute these cases, especially without much evidence.”

Lisa Birkle, assistant director at the Wetlands Center, blames such occurrences on the momentum of mob mentality.

People need to be kept accountable for what they do to animals, she said.

At the animal center, Birkle said she has taken in animals that were shot at, ducks covered in pool acid and a possum that was used as a football by local kids.

“You get in a group like that, when they’re all doing it they think it makes it OK,” she said. “Don’t just stand by and idly watch. Step up and say that is not right.”