5 Outrageous Examples of Animal Abuse This Week
Senior Republican and Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee, seeking to "empower the FBI to prosecute animal abuse cases that cross state lines," reintroduced America's first-ever federal animal cruelty bill, the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, H.R. 1494, the Humane Society of the United States said in a press release on Monday.
While the bill has garnered widespread bipartisan support, this kind of animal abuse rarely attracts national attention.
1. Grand View, Idaho
A Grand View couple was charged after Deputy Sheriff Larry Kendrick found over a dozen dead animals on their property.
"It was a horror show," Kendrick told KTVB-TV this past Saturday. "Dead on the ground were six horses and nine cows."
"One of the agriculture investigators [said] that it was the worst he had ever seen," he added.
2. Hampton, Virginia
Vernon Alonzo Silver was arrested on March 8 after police found 21 dead dogs (and one still alive) in his home. Silver has a long history of abuse and was issued over two-dozen summonses in 2014 for animal cruelty.
3. Clearfield, Utah
The Humane Society of Utah has vowed to award $27,500 to anyone with information regarding the perpetrator responsible for torturing Sage, a 6-year-old gray and white cat, who died from his injuries on Thursday, March 9.
“They broke his ribs, his little toes, beat his face, glued his eyes shut, tried to glue his penis and anus shut, burned him with hot glue and put silicone on him,” president Debbie Barnes said. “This is the worst abuse case I have ever seen.”
4. North Providence, Rhode Island
Nicholas Tsonos has been charged with one count of mistreatment of animals after repeatedly leaving his German shepherd dog outside for hours at a time in freezing temperatures. King, who is just two and a half, remains at the North Providence Animal Shelter while the investigation continues.
5. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
A PETA eyewitness exposed secret laboratories at the University of Pittsburgh, where thousands of animals, including dogs, cats, monkeys, rabbits, mice, and rats, are being experimented upon. The university receives nearly $500 million in federal research grants annually, much of which is spent on these experiments.
