Homeowner Faces Charges for Spray-Painting Squirrels

A 62-year-old Putnam County homeowner, Mark Kuhn, found an unconventional “solution” to deal with the nuisance of squirrels invading his backyard. Tired of the critters disturbing his dogs, Kuhn resorted to an eccentric and cruel method – spray-painting the squirrels with toxic red paint.

Kuhn, facing three counts of poisoning an animal, a misdemeanor, reportedly trapped the harmless squirrels, placed them in cages, and sprayed them with apple red-colored Rust-Oleum Paint and Primer. His rationale? By marking the squirrels with the distinct red hue, he believed they wouldn’t return to his yard. Additionally, he hoped to identify if the same squirrels were revisiting.

Putnam County SPCA Chief Ken Ross revealed that the department was alerted by the county probation department, as Kuhn is currently on probation for an unrelated incident. The SPCA, armed with law enforcement powers, interviewed Kuhn over the weekend, resulting in three charges of poisoning or attempting to poison animals under New York State Agriculture and Markets Law.

Surprisingly, the whereabouts of the painted squirrels remain unknown, but they have been spotted on surveillance video and reported by residents. Ross commented on the unusual case, stating, “This is a first. This is not something that we deal with every day. I mean, animal cruelty takes a lot of different forms and every day there’s something new.”

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