The Palm Beach Post’s Jose Lambiet reports there’s a member of the Florida Marlins pitching staff who has accomplished the near impossible (ie. making Scott Olsen and David Samson look sensible by comparison) :
The environmental group that saw 27 of its members arrested last month in a protest against FPL is telling the Marlins they need to rein in pitcher Logan Kensing, or else.The off-season rancher finds it rewarding to track wild hogs and coyotes with a helicopter hovering over his native Texas, then gun them down from above.
“We want the Marlins to make him agree to stop,” said the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition’s co-chair, attorney Barry Silver.
On Saturday, he sent a strongly worded letter to Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria. “They have 10 days from Monday to reprimand the player for behavior that isn’t one of a role model. If they don’t, we will be persistent. We’ll infiltrate the fans and pull out signs. We’ll picket. If we’re willing to have 27 people arrested, it’s obvious we’re committed.”
In a Feb. 21 interview with The Palm Beach Post, Kensing talked about his hobby in these terms: “The pilot’s pretty good. He gets right next to them. We spot them, he flies in sideways, glides and we shoot them.”
As a matter of fact, Kensing thinks it’s so much fun that he now wants his own chopper.
An outraged Dan Liftman, a green-minded aide to U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, took the clipping to the monthly meeting of Silver’s crew.“I thought it was pretty sick,” said Liftman, who took part in the FPL protest but wasn’t arrested. “That’s his fun? Shooting animals from a helicopter? I think that’s a little crazy.”
Said Silver: “When killing becomes mechanized, it’s all too easy. Scientific literature makes it clear that when someone engages in violence against animals, that person is more likely to commit violence against people.”
When asked for a recap, Kensing seemed anything but apologetic.
“It doesn’t bother me,” he said. “They can come at me if they want to.
“We make money off our land. Those pigs destroy everything. Each litter, which happens three times a year, is gonna have 12 pigs, and 60 percent are females.”
This isn’t totally bad news for Loria — another two dozen tickets sold to protesters could well double paid attendance at an April home game.