Pitcher Reportedly Aims At, Hits Osprey With Baseball
Pitcher Faces Possible Jail Time
POSTED: Wednesday, April 23, 2003
UPDATED: 1:46 pm EDT April 23,
2003
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A minor league pitcher in Daytona, Fla., faces possible animal cruelty charges and jail time for allegedly beaning an osprey with a baseball before a game, according to Local 6 News.
Witnesses said that Daytona Cubs player Jae-kuk Ryu threw several baseballs at an osprey known as Ozzy as the bird nested with its mate and several little chicks at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
Ryu eventually hit Ozzy during a pre-game practice and knocked it off the top of a 40-foot light pole in left field. The bird landed in a pile of feathers, according to the report.
When the bird was inspected, its eye was gushing blood, according to a St. Lucie Mets trainer.
After word spread about what the Ryu reportedly did to the bird, angry phone calls and e-mails have poured into the park, according to a park manager.
Most e-mails are suggesting that the pitcher should be punished for his actions, Local 6 News reported.
Ryu, who has 22 strikeouts so far this season, was unavailable for comment.
Ozzy was being treated at the Animal Clinic of Edgewater and is expected to survive.
Anyone who wounds or kills an osprey can be charged with a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500 and 60 days in jail.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
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