Idaho group blasts acquittal in puppy-fed-to-turtle case

Robert Crosland smiles at his attorney Shane Reichert after he was found not guilty of misdemeanor animal cruelty, Friday, Jan. 4, 2019, in Preston, Idaho. Crosland was on trial for feeding a live puppy to a snapping turtle in front of students at Preston Junior High School. (Eli Lucero/Court Pool via AP)

BLACKFOOT, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho animal welfare group is blasting the acquittal of an eastern Idaho teacher who was accused of feeding a live puppy to a snapping turtle in front of several students.

The Idaho Humane Society called the Franklin County jury’s decision on Friday to find Robert Crosland not guilty of misdemeanor animal cruelty a “grievous error in judgment.”

Witnesses testifying during Crosland’s trial say the Preston Junior High School teacher first tried to feed the living puppy to a large snake last March.

When that failed, the witnesses say Crosland dropped the puppy into the snapping turtle’s tank, where the turtle killed and ate it.

During the trial on Friday the jury heard Crosland say in a recorded interview with investigators that he thought he was doing the right thing because the puppy was sick and likely to die.

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4 Comments

  • Joseph January 6, 2019 at 11:00 am Reply

    There is undoubtedly an vicious evil lurking in the recesses of this mans mind regardless of how subtly his “smile” hides it. I certainly do not want someone with this sadistic and cruel mental state to have anything to do with “teaching” my children.
    He should be ostracized and persecuted unceasingly. Someone this degraded mental ly is nonredeemable.

  • Karen Freeman January 6, 2019 at 8:36 pm Reply

    The people of this jury are just as sick as
    the teacher.

  • Susan Smart January 6, 2019 at 8:53 pm Reply

    It is Crosland who was/is sick and the people of Idaho too it appears if they accept his sick behavior.
    What a heinous thing to put in front of children with his sick rationale of his straight out animal cruelty. How can any sane person question otherwise.

  • Deedee January 7, 2019 at 7:50 am Reply

    Seems like the commenters on here are from the humane society in Blackfoot. If you read KSL comments on the story you’ll see that 98% of commenters support the teacher and find this outrage unpropotional to the crime. A farming community is a little closer to reality of both and dying all the time. Animals die and some very young. It’s nature. Predators eat the ones that are not the healthiest. It is the circle of life. Why not put your energy into saving babies first. Abortion was the highest murder rate in the USA last year. That’s a huge worry. Not a turtle having lunch.

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