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Luis Moreno, who plays in Colombia, shocked the public with his cruel treatment of a helpless owl.
Representing Deportivo Pereira club, the Panamanian player kicked the owl that had landed on the field after being hit by a flying ball. He ignored the fact that the match was stopped by the referee and would have allowed stadium workers to safely remove the injured owl.
This angered the fans of the "Atletico Junior" team, whose symbol is an owl. They started chanting "killer, killer."
Moreno himself seemed confused and later apologized, saying: "I want to apologize to the fans. I did not intend to harm the owl. I just wanted to see if it could fly."
The Pereira club plans to punish Moreno, and Colombian football authorities may also take action. However, animal rights activists sadly noted that there are no laws in the country aimed at cruelty to animals.
"I was shocked that he kicked the animal," said Luia Paezas, representing "Atletico Junior." "I told him straight to his face. I was really angry."
Despite the injuries, the owl will survive.
