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Haddon Heights Community Crying Foul After Beloved Turkey Abruptly Euthanized By US Department Of Agriculture

HADDON HEIGHTS, N.J. (CBS) -- Residents in Camden County are mourning the loss of a beloved member of the community -- a turkey often seen roaming the area. Unfortunately, Haddon Heights residents are left to wonder if the animal's death was mishandled.

"I still don't understand why he ended that way," a resident said.

A South Jersey community is crying foul after a wild turkey they came to love was abruptly euthanized this week.

"We absolutely fell in love with Glenny," a neighbor said.

Glenny the Turkey got his nickname last fall when he began hanging around the Glenview Elementary School in Haddon Heights.

"My daughter would see him walking at her school and stuff," resident Meg Angelino said. "And he would hang out with the crossing guard and would ruffle his feather."

People shared pictures and videos of Glenny online, but some became concerned he was strutting too close to traffic on the busy Black Horse Pike and sought to help to move him somewhere safe.

In Mays Landing, Laurie Zelenski runs an animal rescue she quite appropriately named the Funny Farm.

"We have everything from cows, horses, pigs, ducks, chickens, geese," Zelenski said.

Zelenski says at the request of several people in Haddon Heights, she captured Glenny this past Sunday with the intention of letting him roam free.

"We called Fish and Game, the Southern Region and got their approval to make sure it was OK," Zelenski said. "And what we were going to do is have a Glenny Day this Sunday and release him so all the residents could be here."

But Glenny's move ruffled some feathers in Haddon Heights and got the attention of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who sent an agent on Wednesday to get the turkey. What happened next shocked everyone.

The agency euthanized Glenny, saying his exposure to domestic animals at Zelenski's farm made him a disease risk to the wild turkey population.

"I was with Glenny only a few days and I've been crying for three days," Zelenski said. "I can't imagine how the citizens of Haddon Heights feel."

Even New Jersey Assemblymember John Burzichelli is upset, putting out a release saying, "Euthanizing an animal should be the last resort. It was an insensitive act in the eyes of the children and the residents who grew attached to Glenny."

"I'm heartbroken. It was like my own pet," Angelino said.

While some people are pointing fingers about who's to blame for Glenny's death, mostly everyone agrees -- their feather friend deserved better.

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