I’m not going to fly!
A New Jersey father who decapitated a seagull because it tried to eat his daughter’s fries was sentenced to eight months in prison for a third-degree felony – outraged animal rights activists, who called it a “slap on the wrist.”
Franklin Ziegler, 30, ruffled feathers when he was spotted with the poor headless bird while trying to find a trash bag at the Surfside Pier at Morey’s Piers & Beachfront Waterparks in North Wildwood in July 2024.
Ziegler later pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges and served 262 days behind bars. NJ.com reported this week. He was also fined up to $250, records show.
Ziegler’s attorney Jack Tumelty said his client was then admitted to restorative court – a form of supervised probation for adults focused on drug and alcohol abuse.
“He was released from the Cape May County Jail on February 12 following a guilty plea in Cape May County Superior Court,” Tumelty told the newspaper. “Mr. Ziegler was sentenced to Restorative Court Probation (Special Probation) on Thursday, March 12, 2026 and will receive outpatient treatment.”
A grand jury indicted Ziegler on June 24, 2025, a year after North Wildwood police charged him with third-degree misdemeanor animal cruelty.
Doll Stanley, the senior campaigner for In Defense of Animals’ Justice, on Saturday called Ziegler’s conviction merely “a slap on the wrist” for a serious crime.
“This was brutal torture, committed in broad daylight in front of children,” Stanley told the newspaper.
“It is extremely disappointing that while the FBI recognizes the link between domestic violence and animal cruelty, and Ziegler embodies this risk, the Cape May County Court has failed to protect community members of any kind,” Stanley said.
Some animal lovers echoed Stanley’s views on social media and called for a harsher punishment.
“OMG… He deserves more time. What he did was disgusting and inappropriate,” an observer fumed.
