PETA asks animal cruelty charges be brought against man accused of starting Fort Lyon Fire

BENT COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- The organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is asking cruelty-to-animal charges be brought against the man accused of starting the Fort Lyon Fire in Bent County.

Charles Champney, a code enforcement officer in Bent County, is already facing charges for allegedly starting the wildland fire that burned nearly 3,000 acres and destroyed homes.

In a press release, PETA said it sent a letter to 16th Judicial Attorney William Culver asking him to add the additional charges because the fire killed numerous chickens, pegs, and an unknown number of wild animals that once lived in the "now-decimated land."

“Gentle pigs and chickens—and surely an untold number of other terrified animals—endured agonizing deaths in the Fort Lyon River fire,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch in a press release. “These victims deserve acknowledgment, and PETA is calling for cruelty-to-animals charges to be filed against the person responsible for their deaths.”

In the press release, PETA referenced a case where a man was charged with cruelty to animals for the deaths of 12 endangered condors in California's Dolan Fire. CNN reports the fire destroyed a sanctuary for the endangered birds, injuring several and ravaging nesting structures.

According to CNN, Ivan Gomez was found guilty of 16 felony counts, including arson, cultivating marijuana, and 12 counts of cruelty to animals.

California condors, once on the brink of extinction, are still considered “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). About 200 adult birds remain in the wild today, according to the IUCN.

That fire also critically injured a firefighter and destroyed several homes.