ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An electrical lineman in Alaska accused of gassing a stray kitten to death with exhaust from a company vehicle is charged with animal cruelty.
Anchorage police say 40-year-old Mike Nylund killed the cat Sept. 2 at a utility lot in Eagle River where stray cats had been a problem.
Matanuska Electric Association employees had been advised to cage the animals and notify animal control.
But a police spokeswoman told the Anchorage Daily News that Nylund backed his company vehicle up to the cage, placed a tarp over it and gassed the black kitten. He then threw the body in a trash bin.
A company spokeswoman says Nylund was a seasonal worker who has since been fired.
He faces a fine of up to $1,000 and a year in jail if convicted.
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Information from: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com