Throwing kitten against wall
Bradford, ON (CA)Incident Date: Wednesday, Jul 21, 2004
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Michael Steinfath
On July 21 the Ontario SPCA responded to a call from a Bradford resident who claimed to have witnessed a person throwing an approximately 12-week-old kitten against a wall. The kitten had then been left to suffer in agony from the injuries it sustained. Sadly, those injuries were so severe that the kitten had to be euthanized.
Michael Steinfath, 18, of Bradford, Ontario has been charged by the Ontario SPCA with five counts under the Criminal Code of Canada: causing unnecessary suffering; failing to provide adequate care; abandoning an animal in distress; injuring without lawful excuse; and killing an animal without lawful excuse.
The witness, living in the same residence as the accused, is alleged to have reported to the Ontario SPCA investigating officer that Steinfath had thrown the kitten against the wall in a rage because the kitten had defecated on his bed, and then he had left the house. The investigation also alleges that Steinfath later admitted leaving the kitten laying on the floor, knowing it to have been alive, and showed no remorse for his action.
The kitten, drifting in and out of consciousness, had been rushed by an Ontario SPCA Inspector for emergency veterinary attention at the Ontario SPCA Provincial Animal Centre. The injuries were determined to be extremely severe and consistent with being thrown at force: massive destruction of the liver and extensive internal bleeding that were well beyond surgery. "Such cases are very disturbing," said Ontario SPCA veterinarian Dr. Nancy Mehi. "The kitten suffered in extreme pain, and death would have been inevitable."
Steinfath is to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice, Bradford, on 14 September 2004. References
|
