LEEUWARDEN, Netherlands, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- A 48-year-old man from the Dutch town of Dokkum will pay a fine of $625 for "disadvantaging" his canary by beheading the bird, a court says.
Radio Netherlands said Wednesday since killing an animal is not seen as a criminal offense in the Netherlands, a court in the city of Leeuwarden instead fined the unidentified Dokkum resident for "disadvantaging" the animal.
Police officers responding to a report at the man's home in 2008 found a decapitated canary hanging from a box in the residence.
Authorities said the man informed police he killed the small bird because it was unable to fly. The man said he squeezed the canary and then decapitated the dead animal to put it out of its misery.
Radio Netherlands said the presiding judge in the man's case rejected the man's reasoning for the 2008 killing, saying it was not necessary for the bird to be beheaded and hung from a box.
