This is an update on a story out of Iredell County where 90 cats were rescued from the home of a Mooresville, North Carolina woman. PoC covered the case here back on March 4. Two dead cats were found in the home and another had to be humanely euthanized shortly after the cat arrived at the shelter. Several others suffered from behavioral or medical issues.
Catherine Gayle Craig, 60, was facing one count of animal cruelty for each of the cats found in the home. Eighty-six counts were eventually dismissed, leaving Craig facing four counts when she faced Judge Edward Hedrick on Tuesday in what Iredell County Animal Shelter Director Brad Gate called “the largest in years” and stated “these cats were living in conditions that were just creating a factory for disease.”
According to court records, Craig will serve 18 months of supervised probation. Iredell County Animal Services and Control representatives will visit her home on occasion to ensure Craig isn’t keeping any animals.
Craig had originally told Iredell County Animal Services and Control she had 20 cats. Hopefully, AC will continue to check on her home even after her probation has been served, just in case.
Elisa
Source 1
It is amazing to me that this person who spayed and neutered 1000s of cats over in a TNR program over a 20 year period gets this sentence. But the Marion County public official Marion Richardson who lied and shot cats he said he was taking to live in safety at farms AFTER THE SHELTER SPAYED AND NEUTERED THEM TO GO TO PLACEMENT gets off scot free!
It is amazing to me that this person who spayed and neutered 1000s of cats over I a TNR program over a 20 year period gets this sentence. But the Marion County public official Marion Richardson who lied and shot cats he said he was taking to live in safety at farms AFTER THE SHELTER SPAYED AND NEUTERED THEM TO GO TO PLACEMENT gets off scot free!
No kidding. It is so disgusting that citizens are prosecuted for animal cruelty when the people who are truly cruel are getting paid.
One the one hand we have people who don’t care at all and on the other those that care too much ,and often those who started out with the best of intentions do often end up being the ones most prosecuted. There is not enough support for the right reasons to help the right people. The ones who have a heartfelt compassion for animals.
Of course not all rescuers are balanced and stable individuals, but we should all try much harder to do what is best for everyone involved and for the welfare of God’s amazing creations.
I practice law in NC and have handled a number of these cases, though this is not one of them. I wish we could approach such situations in a more enlightened way, though I know that is asking a great deal. These cases need to be seen against the backdrop of many underfunded, understaffed public animal control facilities that have a very high kill rate and some practices that are far from ideal. Individuals who get into trouble with too many animals are very often trying to provide an alternative to what is going on in their counties. Of course this doesn’t justify their own lapses, but it explains their motivation and negates the notion that they are being deliberately neglectful or cruel. They generally are wearing themselves out in every way to take care of the animals they have taken in.
Obviously things can get out of hand, and asking for and receiving help can be difficult because many of these individuals are socially isolated. Raids of the type described are often very traumatic for both the animals and their keepers, and statistically they have often resulted in mass euthanasia in the past. I wish we could develop programs of support and oversight rather than simply criminalizing these activities.
And unfortunately rescues are full and I’ve read some told their social media friends to not even thinking of asking for their help with their personal cats because rescues concentrate on cats in shelters. So if an individual does get into trouble the only alternative is to take the cats to the shelter, since Craigslist is known to be dangerous for cats in need of a home. It’s a no-win situation all around. Spay/neuter is key no matter how you look at it. It would cost a shelter a lot less to offer free spay/neuter programs than it does to care for a cat in the shelter. And it would cut down on hoarding if that’s where the cats are coming from.
Absolutely correct. Nobody helps, and nobody cares, unless the animal is in a shelter (where pledges can be collected) and/or is purebred or a cute, cuddly kitten.
That is the truth so many times once a cat is off the KILL list no one cares how the rescuers suffer!