Categories: Canada

No law bans kitten killing, experts say

A woman was fined just $5 for drowning two kittens

by Rachel Mendleson on Friday, March 20, 2009 3:38pm - 22 Comments

No law bans kitten killing, experts say Two recent animal cruelty cases are drawing attention to a strange and grisly question: when is it okay to kill your pets?

Last week, animal rights activists in Nova Scotia were outraged when a woman who pled guilty to animal cruelty charges was fined just $5 for drowning two newborn kittens in a bucket of water. Meanwhile, last month, a New Brunswick man was acquitted of animal cruelty altogether in the deaths of his five Pomeranian puppies, which he killed with a hammer. (He was, however, found guilty of neglect, and of injuring a puppy that survived the blow.)

According to University of Ottawa law professor Daphne Gilbert, these cases aren’t as simple as they seem because it’s perfectly legal to kill pets in Canada. Animals are considered personal property under the law, and people have the right to dispose of their pets as they choose, she says, as long as it’s not done “in a way that was intended to inflict suffering.”

So while taking a hammer to puppies may seem inhumane, the judge ruled that since the blow rendered the dogs unconscious, they didn’t suffer. As for the kitten-drowning, prosecutor Bill Fergusson said he offered to settle with the woman for $5 because if he had gone to trial, he would probably have lost the case.

Sean Kelly, chairman of the investigation committee for the SPCA, is furious about the small fine, and is filing a formal complaint with the Public Prosecution Service. But Gilbert says she agrees with the prosecutor. “Drowning isn’t necessarily a cruel method,” she says, adding that the case was further complicated by the fact that the woman had asked the SPCA to remove the kittens’ stray mother before they were born, and the organization refused, citing a lack of resources.

Gilbert says a movement is under way to amend the 100-year-old animal cruelty law, which could “make it clear what constitutes cruelty,” and elevate the status of pets above mere property. If pets had “some kind of independent standing,” she says, “then you could question the decision to euthanize two healthy kittens.”

Tags: animal rights, Daphne Gilbert, kittens, SPCA

More by Rachel Mendleson

D

This is disgusting. Maybe someone should hold her head under water for 5 minutes. Everything belongs to God not to us. People don’t have the right to kill anything–pure, plain & simple. How would she feel if someone killed someone or something she really loved. Then how would she feel. There are places to take unwanted animals and get them fixed so you don’t end up with unwanted babies. I’m really disgusted over the judgement and punishment she received. That’s not justice that is a joke!!!!!!!!!!

Lawrence

This is a practical means of dealing with unwanted kittens. The courts are absolutely right to keep out of this issue and the SPCA is completely offbase in pushing their bleed hearting heart agenda against innocent cat-drowning individuals. The SPCA is the true criminal in this instance.

dc

How is that a “practical means of dealing with unwanted kittens”?
Do you think next time there’s a Terry Shiavo case that maybe instead of unplugging the feeding tube and waiting, we should just sledge-hammer her and get it over with?
It’d certainly be more practical, right?

Lawrence

Cats are not people. What would you do with this kittens? Put them in a ditch to strave. Take them to the animal shelter for disposal? By what means. Cats are not people.

Sherri

Cruelty does not become acceptable when its victims are not human.
http://www.ottawahumane.ca/faqs/faqs.cfm#2b Steph C

Animal shelters, at least the one in Ottawa, do not kill kittens. They have “no kill” policies and accept abandoned kittens every day.

Isabella M.

This is not a practical means, the woman could have put them in a cage and brought them to an animal shelter. And just because cats aren't people doesn't mean they feel like we do both emotionally and physically, it doesn't mean they don't have traits like we do, it doesn't mean they don't solve problems like we do. I have no clue how old these kittens were, but if they were younger than eight months, I'm sure that their mother is grieving, just like a human mother would. I have a pet myself, and he is much like a child, he gets lonely, he wants to play when he's bored, he needs to be taught to behave. True, cats are not people, but people are animals too, and as animals, most of us have similar traits, with our own unique personality. (And in case you say that we are not animals, we have a genus and species, and are under the kingdom Animalia )

Darrell

There were several attempts to pass better animal cruelty laws, but the Senate opted for a bill that increased penalties without closing the loopholes.

They were told repeatedly this would be the result.
http://www.myspace.com/cat_luv Irish

Ye joking right?…cats are not people,okay then,how about then babies being drowned by own parent,ye know wot,this topic is too ludicris for me to respond to,I just hope I come back as a exotic cat and have the pleasure of drowning ye sorry arses!…I know wot it feels like to (almost drown) ye fools,hope the same happens to ye!
JimD

Cats are not people, cats are not people, CATS ARE NOT PEOPLE!!!. Neither are cows, pigs, dogs or chickens. I hope to god all you idiots crying about this are vegans. If you’re not, shut up, or at least visit a farm before passing judgements. From a legal or logical standpoint, how can anyone reconcile the act of killing a cow if you think it should be illegal to kill a cat? Sorry, but emotions and the legal/judicial system usually don’t mix too well.

I’m completely against animal cruelty, and I think the penalties for deliberate or negligent cruelty should be more severe. I have owned pets my whole life and I treat them better than the majority of pet owners. But they are not my family, they are my possessions. It seems that some people want that aspect of the law (animal possession) changed. How would that work? If your pet is no longer your possession, what would give you the right to confine it? Or sell it? That this is even being considered must have a lot of lawyers shaking their heads.

I also was raised on a hobby farm, and worked on dairy and chicken farms growing up. I glad I did, because apparently that is the only way one can gain the necessary emotional detachment required to kill an animal. I do not enjoy killing animals, but I would rather see one be killed than suffer.

Drowning is certainly a more humane way to kill an animal than locking in a cage, putting in your car and driving for 20 minutes, taking it into a strange vet’s office, having them shave a spot on its front leg, and injecting it with a needle. But a vet won’t make $100 if I do it myself – maybe that’s the real issue. Drowning a kitten is certainly a lot more humane than subjecting it to confinement in bank of cages at the SPCA for months.
Felix

Those are some interesting suggestions for kitten and pomeranian disposal. I was hoping this forum would showcase effective ways of killing kittens and pomeranians…you know for people not wanting to waste water in that manner or avoid the possibility of hitting your own thumb when you do it with a hammer.
madeyoulook

Uh-oh, will the commentariat here have my hide if I lay out the mousetraps again in the fall? I guess the slingshot is out of the question for the neighbourhood skunk, too…

madeyoulook

Full confession: I am the designated spider squisher in my family. Oh, and I have taken antibiotics, and have eaten meat. And I have driven a vehicle that collects all sorts of insect carcasses on the windshield. Is there any hope for me?

Mike T.

Well, we can eat them, so it must be OK to kill them. So long as it is not done in an overly cruel manner, it is upsetting but acceptable.
http://1159pmgmt.blogspot.com Guy Macher

If only we got this worked up about killing babies! We honour baby-killers with the Order of Canada!
drowning

Um, drowning is not painless. Anyone who has held their breath knows what it feels like just before you finally open your mouth and take a gasp of air.

kitty

I have a situation that worked out well. We had been wanting a kitten but were having trouble luring some strays even with daily feedings. So two days ago the girl at the front desk of my vet's office told me a woman brought in a stray kitten to be "euthanized" simply because she didn't want it in her yard. The woman told the vet to get rid of the kitten and just bill her account. The vet told her "ok" but couldn't bring themselves to do it. So instead they examined it, tested it for leukemia (negative), de-wormed and de-mited it, then put it in back with food and litter. One look at it and that was it. He is now napping on my couch. So it was a win-win. The woman got rid of her problem, we have an adorable new kitten, the vet got paid for it's "services," and instead of being sent to the gallows the cat got medical attention and a new home.

drowning

It's not that easy. Your kitten was lucky. The other 20-30 cats they put in cages and gas on a daily basis (maybe not there, but kill shelters do) weren't. There are far more cats than there are homes for them. Even if it was a law that every adult in the US had to own a cat, there wouldn't be enough.

But, drowning doesn't seem totally painless, it's less painful then being stabbed, or other cruel methods obviously. The only real method I can think of that's totally painless would be carbon monoxide. I'm guessing suffocation would probably be the same thing as drowning, or maybe not. I've held a pillow close to my face before and it felt pretty much like holding my breath, but I've never been in a room where the air was slowly removed. I don't think you'd fall asleep like you would with the CO, it'd be more like drowning.

Heck, even snapping it's neck quickly, or even decapitating it (quickly as well) would be less painful.

Amanda

I come from a place where the nearest vet clinic is 3 hours away. The area is populated by a very large percentage of people who reside below the poverty line. This was common practice when I was a child, and likely still is. When my parents cat was mauled by our family dog a few years back, I was shocked to hear my folks had made the effort to save him, by bringing him to the vet. Especially as my childhood dog was shot by the neighbour while she was in the middle of a heart attack fifteen years ago. I have all sorts of thoughts and feelings on animal cruelty and the factory food industry, have dated vegetarians, and have pets currently. 3 of 5 of them, recovered strays who now have a home because someone cared enough.

However, I don't think it's fair to judge someone who tried to do the humane thing, rather than let two little ones starve to death, when she's already taken in the mother. Especially when this woman is fined by the same people who turned the kittens' stray away in the first place.

Most people try to find homes for these animals. The east coast isn't populated by cottages and rich people. It's descendant of a poor, struggling people who, for the most part, are still poor and struggling. Maybe the seal industry has given us all a bad name, but, is it really better of her to let these poor darlings fend for themselves in the wild? Call it ignorance if you like. But, until the decision is in your hands, and you're faced with the lack of resources and lack of governmental support and animal facilities, hold your judgments for the higher ups, please. They obviously agreed with her.

This law is in place because we've obviously not gotten the facilities to do anything about it. Talking about its silent victims won't rectify the problem so much as an evaluation of how we do things.
Guest

Is this a Canadian law only, that pets are property? What about the US and other countries? Is it legal to do the same in those places as well?
David

SPCA in Vancouver enjoys humiliate people with pets and they made a big fuss by calling the RCMP with the warrent to accompany them to search one's premises and have two big vans parked outside for a pekingese puppy. I think they are racist since the person they searched is not a white Canadian.
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