Authorities in California are looking for whoever taped a turtle to
several balloons and sent it flying in an Oceanside neighbourhood. The
incident happened last Sunday afternoon. The turtle was spotted
duct-taped and dangling from balloons that were caught high up in a
eucalyptus tree. Some neighbours next door saw what was going on and
tried to help the turtle.

"We look up and there's green and blue balloons up there," said resident Chanelle Wright. [url=http://www.10news.com/news/31374254/detail.html]"He was just swinging his arms trying to get out of it. [/url]Somebody
had taped him to the balloons." Wright said: "I called the Humane
Society to try to get the fire department out here, but it took about an
hour for everybody to actually show up." In the meantime, the turtle
hung dangling in the wind. That's when Joel Rabagos' mother got out her
camera and started taking video of the hanging turtle.

"When
something like this happens, she always takes the video camera, no
matter what it is," Rabagos said. The Oceanside Fire Department
eventually arrived with a big ladder truck, but as they were about to
rescue the turtle, a gust of wind blew him down to earth. A Humane
Society employee cut the turtle free from the balloons. The employee
said it was a box turtle. The animal wasn't physically hurt, but both
Wright and Rabagos are outraged that anyone could treat an animal in
such a cruel way.
"What were you thinking? I mean, a turtle is still life. There's no
reason to be putting him up in a balloon and sending him off," Rabagos
said. "It's animal abuse. If you didn't want the turtle, give it away,
take it to a pet store," Wright said. The turtle is now being held at
the Oceanside Humane Society while an investigation is conducted. If
detectives can find out who taped the turtle to the balloons, they could
face charges of animal abuse.