This guy is insane.
A man by the name of Chris Paulson in British Columbia decided that a wild lynx wasn’t going to get away without a stern talking to after it raided his chicken coop. He posted a video of him holding the lynx up by the back of neck as he walked it around the carnage and pointed out all that was wrong with the chicken killing spree it had just gone on.
Now not only is what this farmer did dangerous, it’s also illegal. It’s against the law to disturb wild animals like this, even if they did just get into your chicken coop and gobbled a couple of chickens up. I understand where Paulson was coming from wanting to hold the lynx accountable, but still… this is some crazy stuff.
According to the story, the farmer caught the lynx in action and somehow managed to pick it up by the back of neck in order to give it a lecture. Paulson then got it all on selfie video as he walked the growling big cat through the scene of the crime and said things like:
“Should we go see the damage you did? How many chickens did you get? You got some of our new ones. Not good is it? No. Let’s have a look at this damage.”
He was literally treating this wild animal like it was his pesky house cat. Lynx aren’t usually viewed as violent, though they will use their sharp teeth and razor-like claws if they feel threatened. I’d say this wild cat had definitely crossed the threshold of feeling unsafe, but it must have been disarmed by being held at the back of the neck.
Sgt. Ron LeBlanc, a B.C. Conservation officer, had this to say about the scary incident that Paulson put himself in, and explained that they chose not to charge the farmer for his questionable actions:
“There could have been a couple of enforcement actions, but none were taken in this instance. We’re just glad that this incident didn’t end in a different way.”
Yeah, farmer Paulson could have lost a lot more than a couple of chickens that day. The video was posted by CTV News, and the caption for the footage helped to remind people that disturbing wildlife like this, even if it might be somewhat warranted, is against the law and incredibly dangerous:
“Chris Paulson managed to grab the lynx by the scruff of its neck when it refused to leave the henhouse. B.C. officials are reminding people that those kind of interactions with wildlife are dangerous and illegal.”
