“The Putnam County SPCA announces the arrest of Mark Kuhn, a 62-year-old resident of the Town of Patterson. The Putnam County SPCA and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police worked in conjunction after being alerted by the Putnam County Probation Department that Mr Kuhn, who is on Probation for an unrelated crime, admitted to illegally trapping squirrels on his property, spraying them with apple-red colored ‘Rust-Oleum Paint + Primer,’ then releasing them at another location within the Town. After a short investigation, PC SPCA Detectives and NYS DEC Officers interviewed Mr Kuhn at his residence on 1/13/2024. PC SPCA Detectives charged Mr Kuhn with three (3) counts of Poisoning or Attempting to Poison Animals, a misdemeanor in the New York State Agriculture and Markets Law. The NYS DEC Police charged Mr Kuhn with several violations under the New York State Environmental Conservation laws.”
“The PC SPCA seized two traps from the property, as well as the Rust-oleum spray can, allegedly used on the squirrels that were caught. The PC SPCA thanks the Putnam County Probation Department, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Police, Southeast Animal Hospital, and the local Wildlife Rehabilitators who assisted in this investigation,” says the Putnam County, New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in a statement posted to Facebook.