Brooklyn police get 911 call when man is spotted barbecuing a guinea pig in Prospect Park; he could have gotten into trouble if it had been a squirrel

The alarmed resident who called 911 last Saturday to report a man “mistreating a squirrel” in Prospect Park got it all wrong. It was actually a guinea pig.

Ecuadorian man grilling a guinea pig in Prospect Park. It was okay since it wasn’t a squirrel.

Police responded to the emergency call around 9:30 a.m. to find a man grilling the animal with a 4-foot wooden skewer over a barbecue grill near the park’s Ninth Street entrance. The man, who told DNAinfo New York that he is from Ecuador, confirmed that the animal was a guinea pig, which is a popular dish in South America.

Police did not take any action against the man, as it is legal to grill meat as long as it’s in one of the park’s designated barbecue areas, an NYPD spokesman said.

It is illegal to hunt or trap park animals such as squirrels. Squirrels also can’t be kept as pets in NYC.

Bon appitit.

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Credit: Pix11, http://pix11.com