Wichita ? The Humane Society of the United States is asking that a sixth-grader who stabbed three ducks to death be charged with animal cruelty.

The Wilber Middle School student allegedly used a pencil last week to kill a mother duck and two ducklings that had nested near the school.

The Humane Society said it did not want the 11-year-old to be jailed, but it wants to be sure he receives “the intervention crucial to preventing future recurrences of violence,” said Mary Lou Randour, the group’s professional outreach coordinator and a Maryland-based psychologist.

“A conviction of animal cruelty would not only convey to the student the serious nature of his alleged crime,” Randour said, “but would also help ensure that he remains under psychological counseling and observation.”

District Attorney Nola Foulston said Monday that her office was investigating the case.

An animal cruelty charge, she said, isn’t the only way to ensure that the boy gets counseling or treatment.

The boy was suspended last Wednesday, and school officials say a hearing will determine whether he will get to return to school. They say he admitted to classmates that he mutilated the ducks.

Foulston said the case could be filed as a “child in need of care” case, but that depends on what the investigation reveals about the student’s actions, behavior and home life. Generally, child in need cases involve children abandoned, neglected or abused by a parent.

Randour said people who abuse animals often eventually commit violence against people.

“Using a pencil to kill is very deliberate and prolonged and very intimate,” Randour told The Wichita Eagle. “This isn’t like using a BB gun to kill a squirrel.

“It is crucial that this type of aggressive and anti-social behavior be stopped and dealt with before it escalates.”