OCEAN CITY, Md. - A Maryland man seen tackling a federally protected pelican on video has been arrested on animal cruelty charges out of Florida. Maryland State Police said in a Friday release that 31-year-old William Hunter Hardesty was arrested at a hotel in Ocean City, Maryland. News outlets report the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigated the video of Hardesty trying to capture a brown pelican at Florida’s Key West Historic Seaport. The video was taken March 5 and posted on his Facebook page March 8.

Source: thestar March 15, 2019 15:56 UTC