MARMORA, Ont. — A 34-year-old Marmora, Ont., man has been found guilty of animal cruelty after leaving a squirrel in a cage under the hot sun this past summer.
The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says Stanley Geertsma was found guilty in a Belleville court on Dec. 19 of permitting distress to an animal and was fined $1,000.
They say they received a report about a squirrel in distress on Aug. 24 and an OSPCA officer found the rodent in the cage on a day where temperatures reached 29 C.
The OSPCA says the squirrel was taken out of the cage and appeared to be unconscious and gasping for air.
They say they rushed the rodent to an animal hospital, but it died en route, and a necropsy revealed the cause of death to be severe dehydration due to exposure.
