Salon.com > Animal cruelty

Her fiancé beat up the dog

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Dear Cary,

I recently visited my best friend from college -- we had not seen each other in three years and have been talking over Skype on a weekly basis until now. She is getting married on Friday to a monster I had the great displeasure of meeting this last week. On the first morning I was with her at her house, I noticed her 1-year-old dog had a problem with her eye, ear and back. I asked what happened and she responded, "I'm not going to lie, my fiancé beat the shit out of her."

I was in shock. I didn't know what to say to her until later in the afternoon when I said I was very concerned for her safety. She shrugged me off and said he has never been bad to her, he is very stressed at work, and then said, "That's what battered women say, right?" When the violence occurred, she was not home -- when she came home and found her dog blinded on one side and more than likely bleeding internally, she did not take her to the vet. Instead, she told her fiancé that if he ever hit the dog again, she would be gone. She has been afraid to seek help for the dog, who is obviously suffering.

6 states that might criminalize taping animal cruelty

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:18:00 +0000

Farm lobbyists and supporting lawmakers want to close the shutters on video cameras exposing animal cruelty across the country. If they have their way, animal rights groups say they will lose an important tool for holding animal abusers accountable.

Examples of factory farm exposés leading to prosecutorial action seem to pop up every year. There was that time last year in North Carolina where a Mercy for Animals video showed Butterball workers kicking and dragging turkeys on the ground, along with a slew of other abuses. Once revealed, six of those workers were charged with animal cruelty. In 2011, a video from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) showed workers chemically burning the legs of Tennessee walking horses. Federal prosecutors quickly charged and convicted the suspects and credited HSUS for providing “evidence instrumental to the case.”

Mexicans protest dog detentions

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 22:30:00 +0000

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Dozens of protesters chanting "Free the dogs, arrest the criminals!" demonstrated outside Mexico City police headquarters Friday, demanding the release of 57 stray dogs seized over five suspected mauling deaths in recent weeks.

The protesters said the dogs are innocent, and many claimed the victims were probably killed by humans. They acknowledged the famished dogs that live in a hilltop park in an east-side slum where the bodies were found may have bitten the corpses after they were already dead.

"Dog friends, the people are with you!" the protesters chanted, as well as, "The dogs aren't criminals, the police are inept!"

"We are completely certain ... the dogs are innocent," said Nominis de Esparza, an animal activist who has adopted 30 cats.

Autopsies determined that the three women, a teenage boy and a baby found in the park since mid-December died of loss of blood due to bites from multiple dogs.

But those findings have been met with widespread skepticism in a country where drug gangs frequently dump bodies of their victims in public spaces, and prosecutors seldom thoroughly investigate such crimes. The idea has taken hold among many that killers dumped the bodies in the park, hoping that packs of stray dogs would destroy the evidence.

Humans reveal dark side in turtle experiment

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 21:59:00 +0000

An unnerving number of people swerve in order to kill small animals when driving, according to the findings of a student at South Carolina's Clemson University. As the AP reported, Nathan Weaver, 22, inadvertently witnessed the sadism in action when he placed rubber turtles on a busy road and observed as part of a project intended to help box turtles -- a species in the decline -- to safely cross the road. One in 50 cars purposefully aimed to kill the fake creature -- which, Weaver noted, is a significant number given that a real turtle can take around 10 minutes to cross the street.

"This was a bit shocking," said the student.

According to the AP, Weaver's observations align with a study by Western Carolina University psychology professor Hal Herzog, who found that 34 people out of his class of 100 had intentionally run over a turtle or been in a car with someone who had at some point. Two-thirds of those who admitted this were male.

"They aren't thinking, really. It is not something people think about. It just seems fun at the time," Herzog said. "It is the dark side of human nature."

Landmark Ohio bill protects puppies

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 19:34:00 +0000

According to Think Progress, Ohio is "one of the epicenters of cruel 'puppy mill' style dog breeders" with virtually no legal oversight of breeders -- until now. A new law passed Tuesday goes some way in restricting breeders' ability to mistreat dogs. Via Think Progress:

The new Ohio law, among other provisions, “requires state licensing and inspection of breeders who annually sell 60 dogs or at least nine litters; authorizes Ohio’s agriculture director to specify standards of care; and denies licensing to anyone convicted of animal cruelty in the last 20 years.” These reforms are badly needed: a recent puppy mill case involving 241 dogs has resulted in 723 counts of animal cruelty because “dogs and pups [were] living in horrid conditions and many were sick, emaciated and had visible infections and sores.”

Ohio animal activists remain concerned that veterinarians who conduct the newly legislated inspections could be in the pockets of the the "puppy mill" industry, but, as Think Progress noted, the new bill is seen as a step in the right direction in a state with an abysmal animal rights track record.