Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Man Faces Steep Animal Cruelty Charges For Abandoning His Pet Fish After Eviction

Man Faces Steep Animal Cruelty Charges For Abandoning His Pet Fish After Eviction
WECT News

Please. Do. Not. Get. A. Pet. If. You. Think. This. Is. Okay.


Authorities in New Hanover County, North Carolina, arrested Michael Ray Hinson on animal cruelty charges after he "allegedly failed to provide fresh water and food to his pet fish and abandoned it after he was evicted from his home last month," according to a report from WECT News.

Officials say this is the first time that animal cruelty charges have been brought in the county in a case involving a fish.

Hinson was charged with three counts of misdemeanor cruelty to animals and one count of abandonment of an animal. He was released on a $4,000 bond, is set to appear in court Thursday.

According to Lieutenant Jerry Brewer, a spokesman for the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office, Hinson was evicted March 22 from his home in Wilmington. Deputies checked on the home three days later and discovered a fish tank in "deplorable" condition. The Oscar fish that was living inside the tank was suffering from hole-in-the-head disease, which is caused by a parasite.

The fish was taken to the Fish Room, an aquarium in Wilmington, where employees have been nursing it back to health.

"Hole in the head is a parasite that starts in the intestines and works from the inside out, slowly killing the fish," said Fish Room employee Ethan Lane.

As he told The State newspaper:

"It came in with a disease, hole in the head, which is a parasite that is caused by poor water quality and malnutrition It was a pretty severe case of the disease, which opens sores and lesions on the fish's head. It is an infection that can be fatal."

Although authorities have not confirmed it, Lane says the fish survived by eating cockroaches that fell in its tank. It didn't eat for several days after it was brought to the Fish Room because it could not recognize what the food pellets in its tank were.

Hinson, meanwhile, faces criticism.





Take care of your pets, people.

More from News

Cartoon Network headquarters; Pride flags
AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images; Noam Galai/Getty Images

Cartoon Network Trolls Homophobes Hard For Melting Down Over Pride Month Fan Art

The cable TV channel Cartoon Network, like most normal people, is celebrating Pride Month this month, and it did so with a post on Instagram that, predictably, has conservatives crying in their Cheerios like a bunch of triggered babies.

The post featured fan art depicting characters from the network's roster of shows over the years waving various LGBTQ+ Pride flags and the like.

Keep ReadingShow less
screenshot of AI generated video of Donald Trump
@WhiteHouse/X

White House Dragged After Sharing Doctored Video Of Bar Erupting In Cheers Over Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill'

On Tuesday, the official social media account for the White House tried to drum up support for MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, but only on right-wing platforms.

The legislation to further Project 2025 through more tax breaks for the wealthy and cuts to programs that serve the poor and working class has struggled since the start.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump speaking to military members at Fort Bragg
Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

Trump Gets U.S. Military Troops To Boo Democrats And 'Fake News' During Alarming Speech

Members of the military stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, erupted in boos when President Donald Trump goaded them during a speech in which he attacked former President Joe Biden, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and the "fake news" covering the ongoing protests in L.A. in response to the Trump administration's immigration raids.

The military has a longstanding tradition of remaining nonpartisan so it was striking that those in attendance, many of whom wore military fatigues, booed in the first place.

Keep ReadingShow less
Shot of a neon shop sign saying "body piercing." The word body is blue, and piercing is red.
Photo by Kaylee Eden on Unsplash

Regrettable Things People Did To Their Body They Wish They Could Reverse

When we're young and impulsive we rarely think about impact, consequences, and the future.

That's the downfall of youth.

Keep ReadingShow less
Stephen King; Donald Trump
Rick Kern/WireImage; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Stephen King Just Trolled Trump With A 'TACO Tuesday' Image That's Total Nightmare Fuel

Famed horror author Stephen King had fans recoiling after he trolled President Donald Trump by sharing an image of Trump as a taco that was generated using artificial intelligence.

For those who missed it, Trump recently criticized Wall Street analysts over their new "TACO" acronym insult, which stands for "Trump Always Chickens Out."

Keep ReadingShow less