CARMEL – The Putnam County SPCA has arrested a 62-year-old Town of Patterson man for several violations of the state environmental conservation laws.
Authorities said Mark 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 + Primary” and then releasing them at another location in the town.
SPCA detectives charged Kuhn on Saturday, January 13, with three counts of poisoning or attempting to poison animals, misdemeanors under state Agriculture and Markets law.
The Putnam County SPCA seized two traps from the property as well as the spray-paint can, allegedly used on the squirrels that he caught.
Assisting in the investigation were the Putnam County Probation Department, State Environmental Conservation Police, Southeast Animal Hospital, and the local wildlife rehabilitators who assisted in the investigation.
