Prosecutors in Massachusetts said financial constraints are the only reason they are declining to appeal the overturning of an animal cruelty conviction.

ADVERTISEMENT

Bristol County District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter said prosecutors disagree with New Bedford (Mass.) District Court Judge Thomas Kirkman's decision overturning the animal cruelty conviction of Joshua Linhares, 26, who was sentenced to one year of probation for running over a duck in a mall parking lot, The (New Bedford) reported Wednesday.

Sutter said his office does not have the funds to appeal the decision because of a $700,000 budget cut this fiscal year, which also caused seven people to lose their positions.

"If this was a different time, we would appeal this decision in a heartbeat," Sutter said. "We, like virtually all governmental agencies, find ourselves in an era of limits."

David Jorge, Linhares' lawyer, persuaded Kirkman to overturn the guilty verdict due to a lack of evidence indicating the motorist struck the duck on purpose.