Critter put on Death Row

NOT many animals can claim to have been agents declared the mongoose an invasive saved from execution by John F Kennedy, but species. They didn’t just demand Mr Magoo’s then Mr Magoo the mongoose was unique. deportation, they sentenced him to death.

On the north west coastline of Lake Superior The citizens of Duluth were not taking the is the city of Duluth, Minnesota. A lot of cargo death sentence lying down. They demanded he comes into Duluth: coal, iron ore, grain, be allowed to live out his days in peace. clothing and, in November 1962, a A campaign, brilliantly nicknamed mongoose from India. ‘No Noose for the Mongoose’, was

The merchant seamen decided backed by more than 10,000 citizens. he deserved a life on dry land so Whether or not JFK directly presented him as a gift to the city’s intervened we do not know, but at the Lake Superior Zoo. Lloyd Hackl, the eleventh hour, Mr Magoo was pardoned. director of the zoo, was delighted and PLEA John When Mr Magoo died peacefully in named his new mongoose Mr Magoo. F Kennedy January 1968, the new zoo director, Basil

It wasn’t going to be that straightforward Norton, vowed never to replace him: “Another though, was it? This was the USA in the 1960s mongoose could never take his place in the and people were all twitchy about foreign hearts of Duluth people”, he said. Mr Magoo invaders with their fancy ideas. The federal was stuffed and displayed at the zoo.