Former Rapper May Have Trouble Getting Animals Back
POSTED: 9:49 am EST November 18,
2004
UPDATED: 5:46 pm EST November 18,
2004
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New hit songs may not be coming for Vanilla Ice, but the rapper's animal troubles are.
Rapper Vanilla Ice
The singer who had a 90s hit with "Ice Ice Baby" called animal control officials Wednesday to report that a wallaroo and goat found wandering around Port St. Lucie over the weekend had escaped from his backyard, city officials said.Slideshow:Wallaroo, Goat Roam NeighborhoodThe rapper, whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, may have problems getting his pets back. The wallaroo, a cross between a wallaby and a kangaroo, is considered an exotic animal and is not allowed in Port St. Lucie. Farm animals such as the goat also are banned.The animals were picked up Saturday by Port St. Lucie Animal Control after a woman reported them, saying the 60-pound wallaroo had scratched her and kicked her car.Van Winkle was not at his Port St. Lucie home Wednesday. A schedule on his Web site said he was in California taping a motorcycle commercial.In January, Bucky the wallaroo accidentally scratched his face. That forced him to cancel photo shoots and interviews for his appearance on VH1's "Surreal Life" reality show, which featured celebrities whose fame had faded.Van Winkle, 36, bought the wallaroo from a Florida breeder after his Arctic Canadian lynx died three years ago, he has said in interviews. Van Winkle was cited twice in 1998 for keeping the lynx in his backyard.
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Slideshow: Wallaroo, Goat Roam NeighborhoodThe rapper, whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, may have problems getting his pets back. The wallaroo, a cross between a wallaby and a kangaroo, is considered an exotic animal and is not allowed in Port St. Lucie. Farm animals such as the goat also are banned.The animals were picked up Saturday by Port St. Lucie Animal Control after a woman reported them, saying the 60-pound wallaroo had scratched her and kicked her car.Van Winkle was not at his Port St. Lucie home Wednesday. A schedule on his Web site said he was in California taping a motorcycle commercial.In January, Bucky the wallaroo accidentally scratched his face. That forced him to cancel photo shoots and interviews for his appearance on VH1's "Surreal Life" reality show, which featured celebrities whose fame had faded.Van Winkle, 36, bought the wallaroo from a Florida breeder after his Arctic Canadian lynx died three years ago, he has said in interviews. Van Winkle was cited twice in 1998 for keeping the lynx in his backyard.
