A Morgan Hill man killed a wild bobcat because he thought it killed some of his roosters, according to authorities.
Henry Arnibal, 38, told police he ate the bobcat after killing it, according to South Santa Clara County supervising deputy district attorney Steve Lowney.
He was charged with possession of methamphetamine, being under the influence of methamphetamine, possession of illegal cockfighting implements and the unlawful killing of a bobcat, Lowney said.
Arnibal was arrested Nov. 8 when sheriff’s deputies searched the property he lived on, near Sleepy Valley Road and Armsby Lane, for an illegal marijuana garden.
No marijuana plants were found, but deputies contacted Arnibal, who occupied a trailer on the property. Authorities determined that he was under the influence of methamphetamine.
Police found in Arnibal’s possession about three-tenths of a gram of the drug, Lowney said.
Also found on the property were seven cockfighting gaffs, implements that can fit over a rooster’s leg for the purpose of illegally fighting the animals, police said.
A bobcat carcass was also found on the property, police said. Lowney said he did not know why Arnibal ate the bobcat, but he admitted he killed the wild animal because it attacked his roosters. He allegedly shot the bobcat with a .22-caliber rifle, which was also found on the property.
About 50 roosters were also on the property. Authorities think the roosters had been trained or used for cockfighting, though they could not prove that Arnibal was responsible for that offense, Lowney said.
Arnibal will be arraigned in Santa Clara County Superior Court Nov. 22.
