Report: Florida man 'laughed' while killing flamingo

TAMPA, Fla. — A witness detailed the events that transpired Tuesday when a Florida man lifted up and violently threw “Pinky” the flamingo down at Busch Gardens, which resulted in the animal having to be euthanized.

The witness said the man was “laughing” while he harmed the bird.

Amy Lech Wallace told WTVT that she was visiting Busch Gardens in Tampa on Tuesday when she witnessed Joseph Corrao reaching into the corral and grabbing a flamingo. "He was loud and obnoxious, screaming, 'I got it! I got another one,' while shaking the flamingo up over his head before he violently slammed the flamingo to the ground," she said.  "He also laughed out loud after he slammed the flamingo to the ground."

WTVT reports the assault led to chaos in the corral with park visitors chasing after Corrao and his family.

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"After he injured the second flamingo, the mother grabbed him by his arm and tried to rush him out of the area," she told WTVT.  "My husband and another man actually ran after him and told him to stop, kind of containing him in one area until security could get there."

WTVT added that one of the vet techs at the park “cradled the wounded bird” and was “in tears.”

"Pinky was a beloved member of the Busch Gardens Tampa Bay family, and she will be sorely missed," Joel Manby, president and CEO of SeaWorld, told WTVT.  "Our ambassador team members are appalled by this incident, and I am sure they share my view that our state must have a zero-tolerance policy for this kind of cruelty."

Corrao was arrested on a charge of felony animal cruelty; he has bonded out of jail.

Cox Media Group