Dog torture and armchair activism
I don't remember if this had been posted here, but in New South Wales (Australia) on October 20 a "seven-month-old fox terrier puppy" was tortured and killed by two men. They have been charged and are awaiting sentencing.
I have copy/pasted two news articles from the Animal Liberation NSW mailing list and put them behind the cut. Please be warned that the text may be considered graphic.
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HORRIFYING DOG TORTURE VIDEO SHOCKS POLICE
12:00a.m. 22nd October 2008
By Bruce McKean of the Mackay Mercury
Hardened police officers have been shocked by the horrifying torture, mutilation and brutal slaying of a seven-month-old fox terrier puppy near Mackay at the weekend.
Two men, charged with the brutal killing, entered no pleas when they fronted a Mackay court yesterday.
They are due in court again today.
If found guilty, they could face up to two years in prison.
The incident is alleged to have happened in the mining community of Moranbah, west of the central Queensland city.
Police have obtained video footage from a mobile phone which shows graphic images of the puppy yelping and howling in terrible pain as it hacked to pieces.
Animal rights experts have described the case as one of the worst and most horrific in Australian history.
Police will allege that a pair of garden shears and a pocket knife were used to torture and kill the little puppy.
Moranbah police said the dog was a family pet.
They said the owners were too distressed to talk to anyone about it.
The dog's nose was cut off, its front right leg and rear left leg were cut off and it was decapitated.
Police will say the dog was stolen from a residence in Railway Parade in Moranbah and was taken to a lookout in the town.
Congealed blood and dog hairs were found on picnic tables at the lookout.
A three-part video series on a mobile phone shows the dog being tortured.
The final stages of the video show the dog's mutilated body parts.
The dog's body was found about 3.50am on Monday near the town's campdraft ground.
It was dumped beside a road.
It is believed that a car crashed into a fence at the campdraft grounds and police were checking if anyone was injured when they discovered the dog's body.
After seizing the mobile phone, police recovered a set of garden shears which had dog hair and blood on them.
Police also took possession of the clothes worn by two men in the car, for scientific testing.
"Senior police officers were visibly shaken after viewing the footage. Police and the RSPCA say that if the allegations are true, this could well be the worst case of animal cruelty ever brought before the courts in Australia," RSPCA's Queensland Chief Inspector Michael Pecic said.
"This is very, very disturbing," Mr Pecic said.
"For legal reasons this is really all I can say at the moment. But when you talk to senior police officers who have seen a lot of carnage in their time and they say it shocked even them, then you begin to get the picture."
Footage from the attack has been suppressed by police until the outcome of the court case.
The maximum penalty under the Animal Care and Protection Act for such an offence is $75,000 or two years in jail; however the maximum penalty ever handed out has been a four month jail term.
Recent incidences of senseless animal cruelty have staggered even the RSPCA, with cases increasing in prevalence and severity.
The two men, aged 20 and 24 were charged in the Mackay Magistrate's Court with stealing a dog, wilfully and unlawfully killing it, wilfully damaging a gate, and unlawful possession of marijuana, all at Moranbah on Monday
source: http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2008/oct/22/horrifying-dog-torture-video-shocks-police/
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OWNERS OF TORTURED PUPPY SPEAK OUT
By David Barbeler | October 28, 2008
THE owners of a puppy which was tortured and killed have condemned its accused tormenters.
Jonathon Connor Blake, 20, and Trent William Cunniffe, 24, are accused of stealing the 10-month fox terrier from its home in the Queensland mining town of Moranbah, west of Mackay, early on October 20.
The pair, from the nearby town of Dysart, allegedly mutilated and tortured the dog for some time before killing it.
They faced Mackay Magistrates Court last week on charges including animal cruelty, stealing and unlawfully killing an animal.
Police who saw video phone footage of the incident said they were sickened by the mutilation, while the RSPCA described it as the worst case of animal cruelty ever.
Owner Danielle Neilson has set up a Facebook page for her beloved fox terrier Peanut, which has attracted close to 2000 members.
"I never want to know what happened to him. All that I like to know is that he died before any of the torture begun," Ms Neilson says on the Facebook page.
"Dogs are no longer pets, they are a family member, treated like humans in our family, and Peanut was taken from us."
Peanut's other owner Karen Neilson said the pup was taken from their home in the early hours of Monday, October 20.
"I (have now) brought (Peanut) home. He is where he is free and loved...".
The court yesterday heard that Trent Cunniffe was admitted to the Mackay Base Hospital's mental health unit at the weekend, according to Mackay's Daily Mercury.
It is believed Cunniffe was taken to the Base hospital twice last week after police officers noticed self-inflicted scars with a razor blade or knife.
It is believed his case may be referred to the Mental Health Court, where they will determine whether he was of a sound mind at the time of the alleged offences.
Jonathon Blake has been remanded in custody to the Capricornia Correctional Centre in Rockhampton.
Their cases are due to be mentioned again in court on November 17.
They have not yet been required to enter pleas.
source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24568268-12377,00.html
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This post is partly to bring this incident to everyone's attention, and partly to ask you to sign a petition calling for the maximum penalty for these men.
While I have issues with the legal system, I find it disgusting that the maximum penalty here is two years jail, and that the "maximum penalty ever handed out has been a four month jail term." If they tortured and killed a human, they'd get life. There shouldn't be that much difference, if any at all, legally and morally, between the torture and murder of different species.
Admittedly, I don't know much about this petition, or what effect it may have, but spending one minute filling out your details and hitting 'sign' will at least show support for those who have just lost a precious member of their family.
Sign the petition here
I have copy/pasted two news articles from the Animal Liberation NSW mailing list and put them behind the cut. Please be warned that the text may be considered graphic.
====================
HORRIFYING DOG TORTURE VIDEO SHOCKS POLICE
12:00a.m. 22nd October 2008
By Bruce McKean of the Mackay Mercury
Hardened police officers have been shocked by the horrifying torture, mutilation and brutal slaying of a seven-month-old fox terrier puppy near Mackay at the weekend.
Two men, charged with the brutal killing, entered no pleas when they fronted a Mackay court yesterday.
They are due in court again today.
If found guilty, they could face up to two years in prison.
The incident is alleged to have happened in the mining community of Moranbah, west of the central Queensland city.
Police have obtained video footage from a mobile phone which shows graphic images of the puppy yelping and howling in terrible pain as it hacked to pieces.
Animal rights experts have described the case as one of the worst and most horrific in Australian history.
Police will allege that a pair of garden shears and a pocket knife were used to torture and kill the little puppy.
Moranbah police said the dog was a family pet.
They said the owners were too distressed to talk to anyone about it.
The dog's nose was cut off, its front right leg and rear left leg were cut off and it was decapitated.
Police will say the dog was stolen from a residence in Railway Parade in Moranbah and was taken to a lookout in the town.
Congealed blood and dog hairs were found on picnic tables at the lookout.
A three-part video series on a mobile phone shows the dog being tortured.
The final stages of the video show the dog's mutilated body parts.
The dog's body was found about 3.50am on Monday near the town's campdraft ground.
It was dumped beside a road.
It is believed that a car crashed into a fence at the campdraft grounds and police were checking if anyone was injured when they discovered the dog's body.
After seizing the mobile phone, police recovered a set of garden shears which had dog hair and blood on them.
Police also took possession of the clothes worn by two men in the car, for scientific testing.
"Senior police officers were visibly shaken after viewing the footage. Police and the RSPCA say that if the allegations are true, this could well be the worst case of animal cruelty ever brought before the courts in Australia," RSPCA's Queensland Chief Inspector Michael Pecic said.
"This is very, very disturbing," Mr Pecic said.
"For legal reasons this is really all I can say at the moment. But when you talk to senior police officers who have seen a lot of carnage in their time and they say it shocked even them, then you begin to get the picture."
Footage from the attack has been suppressed by police until the outcome of the court case.
The maximum penalty under the Animal Care and Protection Act for such an offence is $75,000 or two years in jail; however the maximum penalty ever handed out has been a four month jail term.
Recent incidences of senseless animal cruelty have staggered even the RSPCA, with cases increasing in prevalence and severity.
The two men, aged 20 and 24 were charged in the Mackay Magistrate's Court with stealing a dog, wilfully and unlawfully killing it, wilfully damaging a gate, and unlawful possession of marijuana, all at Moranbah on Monday
source: http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2008/oct/22/horrifying-dog-torture-video-shocks-police/
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
OWNERS OF TORTURED PUPPY SPEAK OUT
By David Barbeler | October 28, 2008
THE owners of a puppy which was tortured and killed have condemned its accused tormenters.
Jonathon Connor Blake, 20, and Trent William Cunniffe, 24, are accused of stealing the 10-month fox terrier from its home in the Queensland mining town of Moranbah, west of Mackay, early on October 20.
The pair, from the nearby town of Dysart, allegedly mutilated and tortured the dog for some time before killing it.
They faced Mackay Magistrates Court last week on charges including animal cruelty, stealing and unlawfully killing an animal.
Police who saw video phone footage of the incident said they were sickened by the mutilation, while the RSPCA described it as the worst case of animal cruelty ever.
Owner Danielle Neilson has set up a Facebook page for her beloved fox terrier Peanut, which has attracted close to 2000 members.
"I never want to know what happened to him. All that I like to know is that he died before any of the torture begun," Ms Neilson says on the Facebook page.
"Dogs are no longer pets, they are a family member, treated like humans in our family, and Peanut was taken from us."
Peanut's other owner Karen Neilson said the pup was taken from their home in the early hours of Monday, October 20.
"I (have now) brought (Peanut) home. He is where he is free and loved...".
The court yesterday heard that Trent Cunniffe was admitted to the Mackay Base Hospital's mental health unit at the weekend, according to Mackay's Daily Mercury.
It is believed Cunniffe was taken to the Base hospital twice last week after police officers noticed self-inflicted scars with a razor blade or knife.
It is believed his case may be referred to the Mental Health Court, where they will determine whether he was of a sound mind at the time of the alleged offences.
Jonathon Blake has been remanded in custody to the Capricornia Correctional Centre in Rockhampton.
Their cases are due to be mentioned again in court on November 17.
They have not yet been required to enter pleas.
source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24568268-12377,00.html
====================
This post is partly to bring this incident to everyone's attention, and partly to ask you to sign a petition calling for the maximum penalty for these men.
While I have issues with the legal system, I find it disgusting that the maximum penalty here is two years jail, and that the "maximum penalty ever handed out has been a four month jail term." If they tortured and killed a human, they'd get life. There shouldn't be that much difference, if any at all, legally and morally, between the torture and murder of different species.
Admittedly, I don't know much about this petition, or what effect it may have, but spending one minute filling out your details and hitting 'sign' will at least show support for those who have just lost a precious member of their family.
Sign the petition here