How harshly should cat abusers be punished? What percentage are punished? Firstly we have to recognize that, sadly, most cat abuse is unreported. That’s my opinion. However, when a cat abuser is caught, occasionally because he does not think he is abusing a cat, what punishment fits the crime?
Don’t worry, I think the video is just about watchable to a cat lover.
Above is a v.short video of a man, Matthew Coffin, who holds a cat by her tail and lifts her up and down twice. Fortunately, the cat is young and light. There was no injury. There could have been spinal injuries. The man was convicted and sentenced thanks to the RSPCA. His sentence was:
- 10 year ban on keeping animals
- Fine of £150 and he had to pay court costs of £257.50
By the way, I am surprised the woman next to him did nothing to stop it or at least protest loudly afterward. She is quite possibly the cat’s owner.
A lot of people might think the punishment harsh because he was “just larking around” and the cat was unharmed. This little case of cat abuse is quite interesting in that the punishment may surprise some people from countries other than England. Behind closed doors this sort of thing probably happens all the time.
However, Mathew Coffin, appears to have no concept of how to behave decently towards animals. As a consequence he cannot be trusted to be around animals, which is why he has been banned from keeping an animal for ten years. Incidentally, a ban might not be a punishment at all because he may have no intention of keeping an animal. Although it may affect long term relationships.
You could argue the ban should be indefinite until a probation officer is convinced that he was safe around animals. Perhaps the sentencing should include a course of training on cat caretaking and/or animal husbandry. Is that too idealistic an idea? Is it impossible to correct the mentality and attitude of this sort of person? My preferred sentence would be a lifetime ban until the perpetrator demonstrated he/she was able to interact with an animal with sensitivity and respect. I think this should apply to all convicted cat abusers.
I can remember an article by Elisa of a police officer shooting dead a litter of kittens. Elisa complaining bitterly. Nothing appears to have happened. No punishment. Quite a contrast with the Mathew Coffin case. I am not saying that the UK is better than the USA. This is a case-by-case comparison.
I can remember a divorce case in Switzerland. The divorcing couple were splitting up. They had a domestic bust up and they decided to split up their domestic animals. I forget the species but it was a highly social species which had to be kept in pairs or groups. When the police turned up to deal with the domestic violence they charged the divorcing couple under the animal welfare laws! They were convicted and fined for splitting up the animals causing distress to the animals. This is an exceptional example of keen animal welfare enforcement.
The animal welfare law across nearly all industrialized “advanced” countries are similar. The punishments for cat abuse are similar. The big variations are in enforcement. A lot of the law is window dressing. The law gives the impression that the country is concerned about animal welfare. Without proper enforcement and punishment the law is next to useless as cat abusers are rarely punished.
One of the worst countries for animal welfare window dressing and little enforcement is Mexico.
One of the most important reasons why cat abuse often goes unpunished is because it is impossible to prosecute because of a lack of evidence. The criminal standard for a successful prosecution “beyond reasonable doubt” is high. You need good evidence. Cat abusers are able to avoid leaving sufficient evidence to convict. They commit crimes secretly and out of the public gaze.
A tattoo I think Marc, a stripey shirt would have to go in the wash sometimes, a tatt is there day and night 🙂
I couldn’t watch the video but your description seems to cover it.
Great idea – just like sex offenders they should be made public permanently so that everybody is warned of what they did – whether its a tattoo or a stripey shirt – I don’t care – as long as they have to live with what they did.