Henry Arnibal was not charged with eating a bobcat. That's not illegal, but killing one without a permit is against the law, Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Steve Lowney said. Arnibal didn't have a permit.
All the charges, filed Monday, are fish and game violations, except for the penal drug charge. All are misdemeanors.
Arnibal was arrested Nov. 7 on Sleepy Valley Road in unincorporated Morgan Hill. He was allegedly high on meth. Deputies found 50 roosters, gaffs, sharp hooks that are attached to roosters' legs for illegal cockfights, and the preserved carcass of a bobcat.
Arnibal told authorities that the large feline had eaten five of his roosters, according to Lowney. He killed it with a .22-caliber rifle, authorities allege.
Arnibal was released on his own recognizance last week, and is scheduled to face charges in court on Nov. 22. Court records indicate he had no priors in Santa Clara County. He was unable to be reached for immediate comment.
Last week, Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies were looking for a marijuana farm in that area, because there had been one there a year back, Lowney said. When deputies went to investigate, they found it was only shrubs that had grown back. But it was then that authorities say they found Arnibal living in a trailer on the property and using crank. man eating bobcat, man charged eating bobcat, man on meth eating bobcat,
Deputies alleged the roosters were being raised to cockfight, perhaps in the Philippines. But Lowney said there wasn't enough evidence to prove that. The roosters were taken away by animal control authorities. .
Source:insidebayarea
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