Gangs Terrorize Neighborhood

The residents of the Olde Lexington Gardens subdivsion had a gang problem.

The two leaders of the gang were attacking residents, kicking and biting them. The gang leaders would get right in the face of anyone who crossed their path, chasing residents back into their homes.

Then the whole gang of six, including several females, would attack; climbing onto the homeowners roof, refusing to come down; tearing up their lawn.

Sometimes the entire gang would gather in the street, making a ruckus and blocking traffic in the neighborhood. Neighbors decided they'd had enough, the gang had to go. A plan was hatched to kill the two gang leaders.

Armed men were contacted and on Tuesday morning, both gang leaders were hunted down and killed. All of the gang members are wild turkeys. A group of turkeys is called a gang; like a herd of cattle or a gaggle of geese.

The two toms in the gang had become used to humans and turned aggressive. After they attacked several people in the neighbor, the Department of Natural Resources was called and it was decided to euthanize the toms.

DNR officials said moving the turkeys would only transfer the problem to another location. The female turkeys, known as hens, will be allowed to stay in the neighborhood since they weren't aggressive towards humans.

Residents of the Olde Lexington Gardens subdivsion said with the gang leaders gone, they won't feel like they're trapped inside their homes.

Airport Stops Man With 44 Lizards In Pants

We know what you might be thinking but don't even go there:

A German reptile collector has been jailed for 14 weeks and must pay a 5,000 New Zealand dollar ($3,540) fine for plundering New Zealand's wild gecko and skink populations, a judge has ruled.

Hans Kurt Kubus, 58, is to be deported to Germany as soon as he is released from prison, Judge Colin Doherty ordered Tuesday. Kubus was caught by wildlife officials at Christchurch International Airport on South Island in December, about to board an overseas flight with 44 geckos and skinks in a hand-sewn package concealed in his underwear.

He admitted trading in exploited species without a permit and hunting absolutely protected wildlife without authority, pleading guilty to two charges under the Wildlife Act and five under the Trade in Endangered Species Act.

Department of Conservation prosecutor Mike Bodie told Christchurch District Court that Kubus could have faced potential maximum penalties of 500,000 dollars and six months in prison. Bodie told Doherty that the department sought a deterrent sentence for "the most serious case of its kind detected in New Zealand for a decade or more." The geckos may have been worth 2,000 euros ($2,800) each on the European market, he noted.

"Internationally, this type of trade is prevalent and is on the increase worldwide and can be lucrative," he said.

Customs records showed that Kubus had also been to New Zealand in 2001, 2004, 2008, and 2009. In 2008, he had been with a Swiss reptile dealer. Doherty said Kubus had come to New Zealand and set about poaching the animals in a premeditated way which would have had an impact on particular colonies. There was a potential for Kubus to end up with far more animals than he could have housed in his own collection and the rest would have been sold.

"I don't think you necessarily came here to steal to sell, but I am sure the fact that you might have had excess was figured into your thinking," said the judge, describing the offending as "pretty close to the worst case."