Not gonna fly!
A New Jersey dad who decapitated a seagull because it tried to eat his daughter’s French fry was sentenced to eight months in jail for the third-degree felony — outraging animal rights advocates, who called it a “slap on the wrist.”
Franklin Ziegler, 30, ruffled feathers when he was spotted clutching the poor headless bird while trying to find a trash bag near the Surfside Pier at Morey’s Piers & Beachfront Waterparks in North Wildwood in July 2024.
Ziegler later pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges, and served 262 days behind bars, NJ.com reported this week. He was also issued up to $250 in fines, according to records.
Ziegler’s attorney Jack Tumelty said his client was then admitted to recovery court — a type of supervised adult probation centered on drug and alcohol abuse.
“He was released from Cape May County Jail on Feb. 12 following a guilty plea entered in Cape May County Superior Court,” Tumelty told the outlet. “Mr. Ziegler was sentenced to recovery court probation (special probation) on Thursday, March 12, 2026, and will be receiving outpatient treatment.”
A grand jury indicted Ziegler on June 24, 2025, a year after North Wildwood police charged him with third-degree animal cruelty offenses.
Doll Stanley, the senior campaigner for In Defense of Animals’ Justice, on Saturday called Ziegler’s sentencing just “a slap on the wrist” for a the serious felony.
“This was a brutal act of torture committed in broad daylight in front of children,” Stanley told the outlet.
“It is extremely disappointing that while the FBI recognizes the link between domestic violence and animal cruelty, and Ziegler embodies this risk, Cape May County Court has failed to protect community members of all species,” Stanley said.
Some animal lovers echoed Stanley’s opinion on social media, calling for a harsher sentence.
“OMG … He deserves more time. What he did was disgusting & uncalled for,” one observer fumed.
