ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A former Colorado man who ripped the head off a live, tame duck in a St. Paul hotel has been sentenced to 21 days in the workhouse and 80 hours of community service.

Scott D. Clark, 26, pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty in January. He apologized in Ramsey County District court on Wednesday and said he takes full responsibility for his actions.

Clark was at the Embassy Suites in downtown St. Paul on Sept. 22 when he cornered a duck from the hotel's lobby pool and ripped its head off. Police say he was drunk.

Clark was living in Denver at the time and now lives on a farm in Missouri. He spent four days in jail and lost his $56,000-a-year job as an auditor with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A felony conviction bars Clark from government work.

Clark said he was extremely sorry and had never hurt an animal before.

A hotel security guard saw Clark walk into the hotel's atrium, where tame ducks were in an ornamental pond. The guard said Clark grabbed a duck and killed it by tearing its head off. As bystanders watched, Clark said, "I'm hungry. I'm going to eat it," according to police.

When officers arrived, Clark asked them whether he was in trouble. They told him he was.

"Why?" he asked, according to a criminal complaint. "Because I killed it out of season? Big deal, it's just a f****** duck."

He told police that he worked for the federal government and he would "have the officers' jobs" when it was all over, according to a criminal complaint by police. He was in St. Paul on government work.

Clark was cited in 2006 for illegally killing a turkey in Missouri. He paid a $168 fine in that case.

The duck was one of eight specially trained waterfowl the hotel keeps in the pond in the lobby. They cost about $400 each, according to the hotel's general manager.