The last option was the one that an Ohio woman decided on when she found a whole family of feral cats living in her woodpile [link]. They were aggressive and covered in fleas, and she had a bunch of kids, so she what any sensible parent would do. Called Animal Control and asked them to come take them away.
But when the Animal Control guy came, instead of capturing them and removing them, he decided to euthanize them right there on the property.
Um ... okay, I could see how that might be necessary. If they were aggressive it might not be safe to remove them. So he must have had some sort of humane way of doing it right?
Yeah ... no. Turns out that "euthanize them on the property" meant take out a gun and shoot the mother cat and the five kittens right there. In plain sight of the house. While the woman's kids were watching.
Sometimes the stupidity and thoughtlessness of some people just blows me away. Seriously? Shooting kittens in front of a bunch of kids? Are you trying to traumatise them so much they'll need years of therapy to get over it, Mr Animal Control Guy?
As such, I hereby award you my Douchebag of the Week award. Congratulations, I don't know if it would have even been possible for you to be more of an asshole.
Edit: It was pointed out to me by KP that I'd misinterpreted the article and this guy didn't work for the SPCA. He actually worked for Animal Control. I've since altered the post to correct this. So my apologies to the OSPCA, I can only blame it on the fact that I'm Australian and didn't understand the difference in departments.
Oh my good Lord! I can't even imagine such a thing. That man should be fired and brought up on animal cruelty charges. The cat and her kittens should have been caught and taken away before ANYTHING else. This makes me angry as someone who volunteered with our local SPCA and whose husband still does. He's giving all the people associated with the SPCA organization a bad name. He makes me sick.
ReplyDeleteI certainly hope he has to answer to someone about it.
DeleteJeez.. this guy needs to be fired.. that cannot possibly be how the SPCA would normally handle a situation like this for heaven sakes.
ReplyDeleteTurns out he wasn't from the SPCA but was from Animal Control. But the point still stands!
DeleteI agree with Chris on the animal cruelty charge. If it had to be done, there are more humane ways to do it. This way is just despicable.
ReplyDeleteS
And a bit psycopathic, in my opinion.
DeleteA bullet to the head is probably as quick and humane a way to put down an animal as there is, but in front of children in a residential area is WRONG!!
ReplyDeleteDouchebag award is spot on in this case.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that firing a gun in a residential area for anything less than an emergency is probably a bad idea.
DeleteUgh how horrific!!! There is no way that the SPCA would condone this action. None. Charges need to happen right the hell now.
ReplyDeleteOkay okay wait. I went and re-read the article. The officer was working with the humane society/ local animal control, which makes more sense as SPCA shelters generally operate as no-kill, and don't generally do citizen response like this. The line about the OSPCA is because the OSPCA, having heard how the area animal shelter employee responded to this call, is calling for this employee's dismissal and charges to be filed.
I struggle to believe that anyone working in conjunction with an animal services organization/ department didn't have anything less severe with him to address the problem. Gloves to catch the kittens? A carrier? A catch pole? A live trap? FOOD? Or, you know, even medical equipment to euthanize the kittens in an ethical/ less violent manner? I'm angered by the department's follow-up commentary as well - feral kittens are still KITTENS. They're not lost causes, give them some deli ham and a little love and they would come around to people.
Thanks for letting me know, I've changed the post.
DeleteI certainly agree with your reaction, Kellie, and those of all your commenters. Despite the outcome, we cannot overlook that this woman did the right thing on behalf of the cats. Too many people put food out for ferals, thinking they are being kind. Instead, the cats breed out of control and suffer from the elements, hunger, traffic mishaps and cruelty. The most humane way to deal with a situation like this is to contact an animal shelter. Most will either humanely euthanize, or find an INSIDE home for a kitten with a promise that it be SPAYED!
ReplyDeleteHear, hear, hear. Feral cats are a huge problem to native wildlife. They're like pythons in the Everglades. (So are cared-for pets who are let outdoors, for that matter.) So I do not, as a cat AND BIRD lover, have anything against their removal. But you don't get out your pistol and blast them away like that in front of the kids in the middle of a city. Sheesh. I still haven't gotten over my uncle's whacking the head off a chicken in front of me when I was six. Although--we city folk are delicate, aren't we?
DeleteHmm. Feral cats can be difficult if not impossible to catch. I suppose he should have tried that route first. I've learned from experience that it is better to catch the feral cats first (fleas and all) and then call animal control (if anything) to avoid a situation like this.
ReplyDeleteI'd imagine it'll be a long while before she calls them again.
DeleteGood grief.... not even a tranquilizer dart?
ReplyDeleteIt makes you wonder, doesn't it.
DeleteA bullet in the head is never humane. (unless the cats are living in some third world country!!)
ReplyDeleteHorrible man.
It's definitely not acceptable, nor is shooting a gun in a residential area for anything less than an emergency.
DeleteWhat???? This happened in Ohio??? I would fully expect this type of target shootin' from my redneck homies in West By God Virginia, but folks in the Buckeye State are much classier than that. I mean they would at least slip some poison in the cat food.
ReplyDeleteI know, what's the world coming to!
DeleteI heard about this story and it sickened me. Yes, I can understand the need to put down some animals when necessary...but in a humane manner. Not like this. Not in a douchebag sort of way. And certainly not in a douchebag sort of way in front of children. Ever.
ReplyDeleteI just find it astounding that some guy thought it was appropriate to fire a gun in a residential area for THAT reason!
DeleteI think this guy needs to be fired and then put on some kind of watch list.
ReplyDeleteThat girl who pierced some kitten's ears to make "goth kitties" got home detention, maybe he'll get the same.
Deleteyeah, have to agree with you there. Awful thing for kids to see. BTW, I guest posted on a friends site, I would be honored if you would read.
ReplyDeleteI'll go and check it out :D
DeleteWorking with animals I have heard parents say to their children " if it costs more than a shovel to fix, we'll just get you a new kitten", or putting down a dog that bit a child who was torturing it and DEMANDING the animal be put down.... Humans are ASSHOLES! Sad, but seriously not surprising.
ReplyDeleteSome people definitely don't deserve to be around animals.
DeleteOh my God! My jaw actually dropped when I read this. I keep saying this but it really does seem as though common sense, really isn't that common anymore.
ReplyDeleteIt really is terrifying what some people will do, isn't it.
DeleteKellie, that would BREAK my heart. I swear, I would be totally traumatized. If some person got a gun out, I would be throwing my body over the flea ridden, clawing clan of kitties. I realize some animals need to be euthanized but I hope to never be present. Personally, I need to see that every attempt to help an animal is exhausted before making that decision, anyway. How people can be that insensitive to a living thing is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteI would have been too. The idea is horrifying.
DeleteUm...wow. How does this guy even have a job????
ReplyDeleteI guess he might not for much longer.
DeleteWow. What a heartless bloke. I'm sure the attorneys are all in line to hand her their cards.
ReplyDeleteI can understand putting them down so as not to infest the truck and any other animals on board with fleas, but sheesh. There are better ways it all could have been handled.
It just seems so unnecessary. It can hardly be the only time they have to do something like that, and you can't tell me that they whip out a gun every time it does.
DeleteI don't think I can click on that link! Unreal! Seems carrying a needle and removing "sleeping" cats would make a smidge of sense?
ReplyDeleteYeah, common sense seemed to have been pretty thin on the ground.
DeleteI am getting pangs in my stomach just reading this. How could he do something like that. Those poor kids. As I am typing my daughter has been reading and yet I am not going to let her read the whole thing as she will be sad and feel the pain even before going to bed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing though. I will never call animal control to help me.
It's definitely not something you'd want a kid reading about.
DeleteThis is utterly disgusting and he should be FIRED! I don't think he should be working with animals at all, he obviously does not care about their well being and he is probably a malicious individual who likes to exert his power over poor creatures.
ReplyDeleteLets just hope they investigate it properly.
DeleteI hope he got fired. Then rehired. And fired again.
ReplyDeleteSomeone should put this guy in a sack and drown him in a lake. This is horrible.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely disturbing, isn't it.
DeleteThat's some sociopathic shit right there.
ReplyDeleteYep, it's definitely terrifying.
DeleteI hope he comes back as a feral cat in some lady's back yard.
ReplyDeleteIf there's any justice in the world he will.
DeleteGreat post!
ReplyDeleteNew post on my blog:
http://www.cultureandtrend.com/2013/06/checkerboard.html
people are insane...but interesting post!
ReplyDeleteThanks :D
DeleteSo much for sanity in animal work. The animals deserve better than that. And the kids even moreso.
ReplyDeleteWhat next?
Blessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry).
It's awful, isn't it.
DeleteRegardless to where this guy works, that's just not how you carry out such things. He must have been having one hell of a bad day, and decided to take it out on the cats. As for the children watching, let's hope that none of them decide that's the way to deal with kittens, you just kill them if they're wild. Sounds crazy, but it's surprising what kids think about when they are playing in the woods.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the mother discussed it with them.
DeleteFucking Sick Bastard!!!
ReplyDeleteI can't even think about it. So terrible. Creep! Some people have no sense.
ReplyDeleteIt's terrifying, isn't it.
DeleteHi! New follower here!
ReplyDeleteOH HOLY HELL THOUGH. That's insane, what he did!
Me, I liked this option of yours: Train them to be your evil minions of the night.
:)
And evil kitty minions are definitely the best!
DeleteI was angry when I first heard about this. What makes it worse is that the guys boss said he didn't do anything wrong, so there's room for this behavior to continue.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely awful to think that just because they didn't write a rule against it, he didn't do anything wrong. Logic would dictate that shooting animals in someone's back yard isn't a good idea.
DeleteHey, I'm a new follower from the Wednesday hop. This is horrible. I first read about the article in Yahoo, it said that he was apprehended but released after with no charges. :(
ReplyDeleteI'd love it if you can follow me back :)
xoxo
ochibernadas.blogspot.com
What's the difference between shooting the animals 'right on the spot' and 'safe distance away from home', when one knows that is what going to happen anyway. I feel it's important to be truthful to kids, especially when they are young. That way, perhaps they would be less hypocritical, and deal with animals/nature better than us?
ReplyDeleteDestination infinity
I do find it disturbing the idea that he did that to those cats, in front of those kids, but to be honest the thing that disturbs me the most is that he fired a gun in someone's backyard multiple times.
DeleteWhat the heck, though? Animal control shouldn't have done that either. That sounds like a lawsuit to me.
ReplyDeleteI'd be astounded if it doesn't end that way.
DeleteWe should give guns to a bunch of Persians and Siamese kitties and let them hunt him down....
ReplyDeletePersians and Siamese would show no mercy!!!
Definitely a job for the kitty minions.
DeleteI am slightly skeptical of this story only because I am trying to imagine one man, one gun, 6 cats.... and success at killing every one of them with is gun? Unless it was semi automatic, I highly doubt he could have killed all of them because the others would have high tailed it right out of there. Unless he first put them in a cage and then killed them, which means they were not too aggressive to deal with and thus this was just an excuse to use his gun. Seriously, there's a reason there's a joke about herding cats. There is no way they all hung around waiting to be shot.
ReplyDeleteWow, talk about a lack of common sense and decency. How terrible.
ReplyDeleteWhen we've had trouble with wildlife we always ask ahead of time what the person's plan is so we know up front if the animal will be relocated or euthanized. I think as the property owner you should be given that option, unless the animal is suspected of having rabies.