A UNITED States man accused of beating a gull that tried to eat his wife’s ice cream is appealing against a $275 fine stemming from the incident in California.
The Orange County Register reported that Dragan Djuric, of Kansas, contested the fine levied by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for violating the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Police say Djuric beat a Heermann’s gull with a stick and broke its wing in Laguna Beach on New Year’s Eve.
Djuric says he was acting in self-defence after the bird swooped down, hit his wife’s head and tried to grab her ice cream.
Fish and Wildlife officials said witnesses told authorities the ice cream fell on its own and Djuric struck birds that descended to eat it.
