CHICAGO, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- A 75-year-old Chicago man has been charged with illegally trapping a squirrel, then scalding it to death with boiling water in the cage.
John Grivas denied the charge in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, saying he only shook the cage, but Illinois Conservation Police officers found evidence the squirrel had been scalded.
"They found it, near death, with some burns to the top of its head," said Chris McCloud, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Grivas said squirrels have damaged the windows in his garage, chewed a hole through a garage door and dug holes around his yard.
A neighbor called police Sunday when she said she saw Grivas poking at the trapped squirrel with a stick. Then, he went into the house and returned with a teapot, the woman said.
"When he started pouring, I could see the steam coming out," she said.
Grivas faces misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty and unlawfully trapping a squirrel. The cruelty charge carries penalties of up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.
Grivas has vowed to fight the charge in court, the newspaper said.
