Squirrel Man, the animal loving feeder of furry rodents, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for shooting his Boulder County neighbor in the back.

That’s a tough sentence for a 60-year-old man, who was passing out leaflets at the time of the shooting that explained to his neighbors his penchant for feeding the critters made him feel closer to his deceased parents.

Unfortunately, his self-defense claim didn’t hold up in court, because he shot the neighbor in the buttocks.

As Boulder District Judge Maria Berkenkotter noted, even if the neighbors were being mean to Squirrel Man, that doesn’t give him license to shoot an unarmed man in the back.

As an animal lover, Squirrel Man should have known better.