Couple Arrested for Eating Rare Iguana...on Facebook
People are weird.
The latest oddball story concerns an American couple's meal of an endangered iguana that landed them in Bahamian jail. Like so, so many other idiots, they were caught after the country's officials saw pictures of the feast on Facebook.
The couple -- Vanessa Starr Palm, 23, from Illinois and Alexander Daniel Rust, 24, from Indiana -- posted incriminating snapshots that included "the suspects catching an iguana, parts of an iguana on a grill, two men eating the iguana pieces, and a man and a woman cleaning what appears to be undersized conch," according to police. It's unclear exactly how it got to the police, but apparently many people reported it.
Palm and Rust have been charged with violating an animal protection act and were released on $500 bail each. They'll be back in court next Tuesday. As if that wasn't enough, a Bahamian official said the pair "could also be charged under U.S. law which makes it illegal to commit an offence in a country that has a relationship with the U.S." Good.
While we usually stick to tech, we'll impart some travel advice in this case: stick to the buffet. [From: The Chicago Tribune]
The iguanas are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Florida.
Note to self: Stop eating so many iguanas. [From: Metro.co.uk]
Facebook Crime and Punishment
Self-Incrimination
Do we really have to explain this? Just look up the shoplifter who posed with her stolen merchandise, the many photos of drunk underage teens, and, most recently, the album featuring a couple who killed and ate an endangered iguana in the Bahamas.
Blackmail
Sending any personal info or incriminating pictures to someone on Facebook is a huge mistake for many reasons. One of the worst possible outcomes is getting blackmailed for money, sex, or, well, anything these sickos dream up. Really, whether they're using a fake profile or not, it's a horrible idea. Read up on the story of an 18-year-old who blackmailed 31 male classmates after he posed as a girl and asked for nude pictures. That's lesson enough.
Impostors
Sure, it can be harmless to impersonate a celeb online or create a fake profile for a movie character. But seriously, there's a definite line you shouldn't cross when pretending to be someone else and it can lead to dire consequences for you. Maybe it's not as extreme as the Moroccan man who was jailed for 43 days after creating a fake Facebook profile of a prince, but you never know. Just steer clear of it.
Self-Incrimination
Do we really have to explain this? Just look up the shoplifter who posed with her stolen merchandise, the many photos of drunk underage teens, and, most recently, the album featuring a couple who killed and ate an endangered iguana in the Bahamas.
Suicide
Social networking sites has been blamed for a lot of things, fairly and unfairly, but in our opinion, the worst offense has been their indirect involvement in suicides. Obviously, there are a lot of factors responsible in each case, but there does seem to be links between social networking and a rash of suicides, and obviously tehre's the case tragic of Megan Meier, who killed herself after a classmate's mom impersonated a teen boy and harassed her over Myspace.
Nigerian Scammers
Oh, you thought this only happened via poorly worded emails, right? WRONG. Once people got wise to their old ways, these con men are turning to social networking sites for new targets. This time, they're hacking into people's accounts and impersonating them to ask for money, usually with some weird sob story. You can check out a transcript of one of these conversations here.
Cooperation
Even if the law isn't on a case, a victim, his friends, or empathetic strangers might be. Since it's easy to get word out for anything online, people are using blogs, forums, and social networking sites to help track down criminals. In one such case, a vehicle thief was tracked down by a bunch of anonymous car enthusiasts after the victim posted his story on a forum. In the end, they identified the guy through his Facebook profile.
Murder
We've reported on numerous incidents of people getting in trouble because of their online behavior. Now, people are becoming victims because of what they're doing on the Web too. In England, a man was convicted of murdering his estranged wife after she changed her relationship status to "single." So, be careful of who can see your profile and what you're doing, no matter how harmless it seems.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
jodi said 11:12AM on 2-11-2009
while in Belize about 10 years ago, I observed a lot of iguana hunting and eating, and told it tasted like chicken (doesnt everything?) in fact one morning while hitching a ride in the back of a pick-up truck, there was a sack near me, which started to move and had the tails exposed out the top! I jumped right out the truck (they dont go so fast in Belize because of the roads)
So they eat them there... Just my two cents
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rootie said 6:07PM on 2-16-2009
"The iguanas are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Florida"???? FLORIDA??? I didnt know Wild Floridians were protected by an International convention treaty! I will have to remember that one. Hope nobody tries to eat a wild Floridian in the Bahamas.
Tara said 9:25AM on 8-25-2009
Thats the problem. Irresponsible people...or very very desparate poor people DO exploit them and eat themThats why theyre endangered. Educated people who have access to real food and know the dangers of eating an iguana anyway{excuse me, YUCK!!!}should know better.
Ken said 4:55PM on 2-11-2009
just what would you expect the uneducated people of Berlize to eat?
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jharrison531 said 7:07PM on 2-16-2009
I'll bet they're at least educated enough to spell Belize.
CANDY said 3:06PM on 2-16-2009
BELIZE, NOT BERLIZE
Mark said 6:02PM on 2-16-2009
What motivates you to comment that 'Belizeans are uneducated'???? Obviously you are, you should visit Belize and certainly after you do, you will change your opinion of Belizeans.
Mark
Paul Ahkolik said 4:26PM on 3-12-2009
Berlize.....Isn't he the Chief Operating Officer at Jok Foe?
Aaron said 12:22AM on 2-14-2009
I'll stop eating iguanas as soon as they stop being so tasty.
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bccmrj said 2:20PM on 2-16-2009
Hahahaha......serves them right, tasty little buggers.
John Byrd said 2:31PM on 2-16-2009
Yea the FDA is just pissed because they can not regulate it and scear people in to thinking it will kill us like everything eles we eat,what a joke
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gary said 3:04PM on 2-16-2009
Guess they ran out of Cats on the Island.
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LeeAnn said 3:41PM on 2-16-2009
Reminds me of a Chinese Restaurant in Huntington, NY (on Long Island) that back in the 60's everyone was wondering what happened to all the cats that use to roam the nearby area of this place. (Vicinity of Route 25A aka Jericho Turnpike and West of the Huntington Town House going towards Route 110).
Turned out, this establishment decided to use them as part of their cuisine. I remember this as a very big news story back then and the place being closed down, but I have never eaten Chinese Food since that time.
Gives "PU PU" Platter a whole new meaning! HERE KITTY!
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MariSchess said 8:57PM on 2-16-2009
Way to go! I live in SE Wisconsin, and just south of me in Antioch IL, I learned that 'sanitation engineers' found, shall we say, 'kitty kat' remains in dumpsters behind one of the local oriental restaurants.Needless to say, I will NOT eat any oriental food that contains red meat or chicken...I am afraid it will meow or bark back at me! The folks who cook cats are unreasonably cruel to dogs in their native lands, which in spite of cultural difference,is unspeakable to me!
Iguanas,alligators and the like should (I say this as a past professor of ethics) remain in their natural habitat and do their animal thing.Folks buy them up as pets, and when they're unmanageable, they release them into local lagoons or lakes.I don't care for amphibians or snakes, but leave them be and do their natural thing.
ozzy said 4:04PM on 2-16-2009
if everything tastes like chicken, what does chicken taste like ? hmmmmm
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watdafuk said 7:53PM on 2-16-2009
Iguana ?
Angela said 4:18PM on 2-16-2009
These young adults were from Illinois and Indiana, what did you expect??? Also, they may eat them in Belize but this isn't Belize, this is the U.S. and that is considered animal cruelty. Plus, I had an iguana when I was a kid and I would have beat somebody's ass if they tried to hurt it! Get a burger people......
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Me said 6:05PM on 2-16-2009
What the hell is that supposed to mean? In Illinois, that is about as far away from the norm as you can get. I can't speak for them Hoosiers though....
obiwan2112 said 4:51PM on 2-16-2009
So does endangered iguana taste more like spotted owl, California condor, or Florida manatee? Please advise.
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patricia said 5:04PM on 2-16-2009
If it taste like chicken...just eat chicken..Idiots...Not like theres not enough other things to eat in the world that you have to eat something thats endangered...what idiots...
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