PATTERSON, N.Y. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A Hudson County man was arrested over the weekend and accused of trapping squirrels so he could spray them with toxic paint.
Mark Kuhn, 62, that he illegally trapped squirrels on his property in Patterson, near the New York–Connecticut border, according to the Putnam County SPCA.
He allegedly caught the rodents so he could spray them with apple red Rust-Oleum Paint + Primer, reportedly to deter them from returning to his yard.
"He said he didn’t want the squirrels in his backyard," Putnam SPCA Chief Ken Ross told the New York Post. "It makes his dogs bark, and he felt by spray-painting them they wouldn’t come back."
A photo released by the SPCA shows two traps and a can of red spray paint seized in the case.
After catching and spray-painting the squirrels, Kuhn released them at a different location in the town, according to officials. He was interviewed at his home Saturday by SPCA detectives and police officers from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The Putnam SPCA and DEC were first alerted by the Putnam County Probation Department, as Kuhn was on probation for an unrelated crime, officials said.
Kuhn was charged with three counts of poisoning or attempting to poison animals, a misdemeanor. He also faces several violations under the state's environmental conservation laws.
The painted squirrels have not been found by animal rescuers, but they've reportedly been spotted several times by surveillance cameras and residents.