WHITE HOUSE, Tenn. — A Sumner County man is outraged that his neighbor strangled his pet kangaroo after it allegedly attacked the neighbor’s wife, saying the kangaroo died unnecessarily.
Chris Lea, who owns several kangaroos, said his 5' tall, 60-pound kangaroo Carter died after his neighbors came onto his fenced-in property. Police said they believe the couple was trying to help get Carter back into his normal enclosure, which he had left.
“(My neighbors) made it sound like (the kangaroos) were out in their property, and they’ll get after dogs and whatnot, but that wasn’t the case,” Lea said. “They never left our property.”
Lea claimed his neighbors called him, asking him if they could help guide the kangaroos back where they normally stay. Lea told News4, a sister station in Nashville, that he asked the couple to hold on as he was racing home. That’s when investigators believe the kangaroo attacked Lea’s neighbor before her husband stepped in and allegedly strangled the animal.
Lea said his neighbor called him on the phone during the incident.
“And he says, ‘I’m strangling the kangaroo now. He grabbed my wife. I’m going to kill him. He’s dangerous. Y’all need to keep your (expletive) animals contained,’” said Lea, recounting what his neighbor told him on the phone. “They were contained. They were still in my perimeter fence on my property.”
No charges have been filed in the incident, but Lea said he’s exploring a potential civil lawsuit.
“It’s a lot of unknown answered questions that will probably never be answered, to be honest with you,” said Lee, who also said he hopes criminal charges will be filed. “We love these animals like they’re our kids. He didn’t deserve to be choked and strangled to death.”
Neither of the neighbors was seriously hurt, but the Leas are hoping for some sort of restitution.
News4 reached out to the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office about the incident but did not receive an immediate response.