UGA Student Charged with Animal Cruelty

ATHENS, Ga. - A University of Georgia student is facing animal cruelty charges amid allegations he killed several mice after using them in an art project.

Mark Starling’s arrest centers around a modern art project, which is seen in a photo from his university website. The piece, which he called ‘Red Button’, features a black and white TV set with mice visible on the screen.

According to the arrest affidavit, Starling forcefully hit those mice in the head with the blunt end of a 2x4, killing them. UGA’s student-run newspaper, The Red and Black, wrote that Starling’s teacher told him not to kill the mice, and that police say he killed them in front of other students.

According to UGA’s Lamar Dodd School of Art website, Starling was featured in at least one student graphic design show last summer.

In describing the project involving the mice, Starling wrote that its intention was to, “examine the artist’s responsibility and the detachment of real actions through a television screen.”

Other modern art video pieces were found online that were linked to Starling’s website, including one that showed a plastic bag “breathing” out of an urn. Another showed a laptop sitting under a propped-up casket, and it was called Facebook Trap.

Starling’s mother spoke with FOX 5’s Chris Shaw on Saturday from her home in Harlem, Georgia, just outside of Augusta. She said she did not want to discuss the allegations, but she did say her son was arrested Friday, and was in Athens staying with friends as of the weekend.