Philipstown Resident Arrested for Killing Bat in Cave
A Philipstown resident was charged Tuesday with animal cruelty for allegedly killing a bat in a cave in Putnam Valley.
According to the Putnam County SPCA, it was contacted in April by an officer of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in regard to a Snapchat video that was forwarded of an adult male inside the Sunken Mines Caves in Putnam Valley killing a bat resting against a wall.
The SPCA stated Caleb Shuk, 19, took a large rock, with no justifiable reason, and appeared to crush the bat multiple times, causing it extreme pain and ultimately its death, all while yelling expletives about coronavirus and laughing.
DEC Police and the SPCA Law Enforcement Division were able to locate Shuk and interviewed him at the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department. Following the interview, Shuk was charged with the Class A misdemeanor.
He is scheduled to be arraigned May 13 in Putnam Valley Justice Court on the SPCA charge and additional DEC Police charges.
The SPCA was assisted by the Cold Spring Police Department, Putnam Sheriff’s Department and the Putnam County Probation Department.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
