OK, this just happened in lovely, orderly Riverside, California.

A guy had a problem with rabbits shredding his garden. He did not shoot them, poison them, club them with a ball bat and sell their fur, or loose seven pit bulls on them. Instead, he lived-trapped them and released them in "the wild." As in "wild animal," q.v.

Chapter Two. He was reported to the police. An extremely conscientious [!?] Assistant D.A. charged him with willful abandonment and littering, and requested a fine, jail time, and removal of the man's dog from his home until such a time as he [the man, not the dog] should complete a course of sensitivity training with regard to animals.

Chapter Three. The judge, in a rare judicial lucid moment, said (in Latin of course)--"Not on my watch, you moron. Sit down with the defense attorney and give me something REASONABLE." No jail. No fine. No impounding the dog. Ah, but the DA gets to count this as a "conviction" so her average doesn't suffer, and she's still in line to move up through the ranks to District Attorney, Assemblyman, Governor of California, Governor of Florida, President.

Good thread, Amos

Chicken Charlie