You, You Dirty Rat

Frank Balun found that a rat which had been eating his garden plants had been caught in a squirrel trap, but was still alive. When it tried to escape, he killed it. Naturally, the Hillsdale, N.J., area Humane Society gave him two citations, charging him with “needlessly” killing the pest. The administrator of the local board of health praised Balun’s actions, and promises to support him if the case goes to court. The Humane Society said the rat should have been “humanely put to sleep by injection” or “set free in a nature environment” instead of being killed by Balun. (AP) ...Brooklyn, take note: guess what “nature environment for a rat” means in Jersey?