Hop It: Zoo Thug Runs From Angry Crowd

Randy Orton

WC's Resident Alchoholic

HOP IT: ZOO THUG RUNS FROM ANGRY CROWD
Thug who threw rabbit to alligator escapes jail.. but has to flee home to escape animal rights fanatics' 'punishment'
By Patrick Mulchrone
A LOUT who threw a rabbit to an alligator has had to flee his home after terrifying threats from vengeful animal rights extremists.

Damien French, 20, who followed the outrage by sinking 25 pints of lager and going on a wrecking spree, escaped jail yesterday. Instead he was given a suspended six-month jail sentence.

But a far more sinister threat hangs over him. Chris Jackson, boss of the zoo where laughing French carried out his attack, said: "He's brought himself to the attention of the more extreme animal rights people and will have to be extremely careful.

"Personally, I'd find that a worse punishment than prison. We received some letters which made threats to him, one of which we felt we had to report to police. We're glad we never have to see him again."

Tattooed French, who is at a secret address after fleeing his home in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, showed no emotion as sentence was passed. Asked for his reaction, he grinned and said: "No comment."

The jobless yob grabbed the rabbit from the pets' enclosure at the Welsh Mountain Zoo, in Colwyn Bay, and dropped it into a pool where it was savaged by Albert the alligator.


Advertisement


French spent that evening drinking up to 25 pints of lager. Later, he was caught on CCTV smashing shop windows, one belonging to a charity store for abandoned animals.


He was convicted of animal cruelty last month. He also admitted criminal damage. Yesterday Llandudno magistrates put him under a 12-month supervision order, including treatment for alcohol abuse, and banned him from keeping animals for 10 years.


A BRUTE who kidnapped a neighbour's dog and beat it to death with a claw hammer faces six months' jail. Shaun Fergusson, 25, who also threw the dog at a TV and cut off part of its ear, is on the run after fleeing Hull court yesterday. No motive was given for his attack. An arrest warrant was issued.