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Putnam County SPCA Chief Ken Ross said that Caleb Shuk, age 20, of Philipstown, has pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty following an incident in May last year that led to his arrest.
Shuk was arrested on May 4, 2021, and charged with torturing a bat resting against a rock wall in the Sunken Mines Caves location in Putnam County.
Ross said that Shuk used a large rock to crush the bat repeatedly - all while shouting curses about COVID-19 and laughing - causing the bat to suffer in extreme pain before it ultimately died.
His arrest came after the Putnam County SPCA was contacted by an officer of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police in regard to a Snapchat video that was forwarded to that agency of the incident.
According to the SPCA, as part of his guilty plea to the misdemeanor animal cruelty charge, Shuk has been sentenced to two years of probation.
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