On July 6, 2024, a disturbing incident occurred on the North Wildwood boardwalk at Morey’s Piers in New Jersey when a man decapitated a seagull in broad daylight after it tried to snatch a French fry from his daughter.
The man, 30‑year‑old Franklin C. Ziegler, was seen publicly holding the dead seagull and then asking nearby staff for a trash bag to dispose of the remains, according to police reports.
Witnesses, including families and children enjoying the boardwalk, described the scene to local police, prompting an animal cruelty investigation by the North Wildwood Police Department.
