WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (CBS/WFOR/AP) Holly Crawford thought there was nothing wrong with piercing kitty cats with a 14-gauge needle and selling them as "gothic kittens" over the Internet. But a jury thought otherwise and convicted her in February of animal cruelty.
Now, the northeastern Pennsylvania woman has been sentenced to six months of house arrest and is being forced to close her animal grooming business for more than two years.
Luzerne County Judge Tina Polachek Gartley allowed the 35-year-old from Ross Township to keep her pets, which include a dog, three cats and three snakes.
Prosecutors alleged that Crawford pierced three black kittens because "she thought it was neat" to sell gothic kittens on the Internet.
Defense attorneys argued that parents allow children to get pierced ears at young ages, and it would be wrong to hold cat owners to a higher standard.
Absolutely. Painful mutilation of a living creature that cannot consent? Yeah, sounds like a crime to me.
Punish eBay while we're at it. It gives dumb people the idea that you can sell anything through the internet. Reminds me of the 17 year old boy who sold his virginity through it. Wouldn't be as hilarious if the winning bid wasn't from a middle-aged man.
ear croppin, tail docking, de-clawing, branding, tatooing, tagging.....
Come now.... Its a piercing for the love of dog!!!!! :lamo
Umm...no, it shouldn't be a crime. Not as long as chopping off part of infant's penis is legal. Or piercing a toddler's ears. Or docking a dog's tail. Or ears. Or branding. Or neutering. Or declawing.
I agree. What about cruel factory farming practices? I'd be in favor of laws protecting those animals from poor treatment.
Me, too. Let's make it illegal to inflict cruel, disfiguring treatment on dogs, cats, and other animals.
Why are your polls always so weird?
I agree that the earrings look a bit heavy for the cat's ears. I don't think I'd consider that "cruelty" though. I would never DO that to a cat, and if I saw someone else do it, I'd mention that they looked too heavy for the ears. But the piercing itself? A non-issue as far as I'm concerned.
I'm FAR more bothered by the completely legal and unrestricted practice of docking tails and ears.
A woman got 6 months house arrest for piercing the ears of kittens and selling them as Gothic Kittens. Do you think this should be a crime?
"Gothic Kittens" Cruelty Case: 6 Months House Arrest for Piercing Cats' Ears - Crimesider - CBS News
I do some work in animal rescue; we maintain some feral cat colonies around town.
We capture ferals and have them vaccinated, sterilized, and ear-tipped, and then release them back onto the street.
When a cat is ear-tipped (part of one of its ears cut off), animal control knows it's part of a managed colony and won't pick it up and euthanize it.
I don't see the point of modifying a cat's ears for no valid reason; at the same time, I know from experience that modifying a cat's ears doesn't really hurt or bother the cat any, in the long run, so I guess it's not that big a deal.
Just showed this article to my teenaged daughters. They think it's ridiculous. One brought up animal testing, which is way crueler than this. The other said "You're allowed to pierce little children".
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