CAT CRUELTY

This piece of news just made my blood boil. I find it disturbing that humans are possible of inflicting great harm on defenseless creatures.

A group of teenagers appeared in court today
to admit hurling a cat off a fifth floor balcony in Birmingham - the
gang was caught after their own shocking mobile phone footage of the
appalling attack was given to the RSPCA.



The youngsters dropped the terrified animal off the 60 feet balcony up
to four times, each time going downstairs to fetch the cat before
repeating the attack. The cat was so severely injured it had to be put
to sleep to end its suffering.

Two boys, aged 17 and 18 and a 16-year-old girl - who cannot be
named for legal reasons - appeared before Birmingham Magistrates Court
and pleaded guilty to cruelly ill-treating and terrifying a cat at
Druids Lane, in October 2005.


A 14-year-old girl admitted aiding and abetting the cruel ill-treatment of the cat.



RSPCA Inspector Rob Hartley said: "This type of sickening cruelty
inflicted on a living animal cannot be tolerated and that is why I am
glad the matter has come before magistrates. This case ranks high
amongst the worst I have dealt with and has proved both challenging and
upsetting to investigate."


The RSPCA became involved in the case after receiving a copy
of the mobile phone footage via the police. Appeals in the media led to
the owner of the cat being identified. Simone Warmington, aged 26, had
taken her cat Khalo to the vet in October 2005 after she believed he
had been involved in a road traffic accident. Upon arrival, Khalo was
found to have received a severe injury to the head, causing brain
damage. He was put to sleep to end his suffering.


Simone had owned Khalo since he was a kitten. Speaking today,
she said: "I would like to thank the RSPCA and the police for their
investigation. Without their intervention I would never have known the
truth about Khalo's death and the youths involved would never have been
brought to justice.


"In October 2005 my cat Khalo had died. At the time I believed
he had been hit by a car. He was brain damaged on arrival to the vet
and it was evident he was in a great deal of pain and stress. He had
lots of blood coming from his mouth. Khalo had to be put to sleep. I
was devastated. He was a beautiful and loving cat.


"I later found out from the RSPCA the truth about Khalo's death. It
left me feeling very distraught and sickened by the torture and level
of cruelty that was inflicted on my one-year-old cat, which resulted in
his death. This inhumane act was despicable" said Miss Warmington.


The 18-year-old is due to be sentenced at Birmingham
Magistrates' Court on Friday 14 July 2006. The others are due to be
sentenced by the Birmingham Youth Court on Tuesday 4 July.
Source rspca