Gopal Pushes Bill Relating To NJ Raccoon Slaying

A New Jersey state senator introduced a bill Friday in response a video in which a teen beat a raccoon to death. Lacey police said in December that state and local authorities are investigating the attack.

Sen. Vin Gopal's bill would prohibit anyone under age 18 from receiving a trapping license. The raccoon got stuck in a leg trap near a tree in a wooded area. The video, which circulated on Twitter before its removal for graphic content, shows a boy beating the raccoon with an aluminum bat while another teenage boy eggs him on.

Read more: Video Of Teen Beating Raccoon To Death In Lacey Probed

"Last December, I was shocked and angered by a disturbing and widely circulated video that showed two teenagers cruelly beating an innocent racoon whose leg had become caught in a trap," Gopal said in a statement. "This is not an isolated incident, and its implications are troubling."

Gopal also said studies link animal cruelty as a child with engaging with "adult proclivity toward serious and potentially domestic abuse."

"Moreover, from Columbine to Parkland, we have seen an alarming trend of mass shooters who have a record of abusing animals in their youth," Gopal said in the statement. "It is clear that we must act to cut off this practice at the root."

Users initially retweeted the original video hundreds of times and prompted comments across the country before its removal. In the video, one teen hits the raccoon repeatedly while the other says, "Hit him! Hit him! Hit him hard now!"

Officials have not been able to comment on the status of the investigation because of the involvement of minors.