Refusing to turn a blind eye

(Photo Cleo)

Almost daily, sometimes multiple times a day, we all witness some form of animal cruelty playing out in the news or on social media. Some of the more horrific incidents tend to gain a lot of press attention, leading to thousands calling for justice for the animal involved. Some of the more well-known cases are Smurf the cat, Chunky the dog, Minnie the cat and Georgie the cat. These animals did nothing wrong, they just had the misfortune of crossing paths with some of the evil monsters that unfortunately walk this planet among us. In all but one of these animals' cases, no one was ever found or prosecuted. In Chunky the dog's case, the teenagers who admitted to kicking and punching Chunky, breaking his leg and neck, then feeding him drugs before setting him on fire and leaving him for dead at a rubbish tip, only received a ban from keeping animals for five years and were given a 12-month referral order! Amazingly, Chunky, Minnie, Georgie and Smurf all survived and made recoveries. Not all abuse victims are so lucky....

Another well-known case of animal abuse that brought the animal loving community to a standstill was that of Cleo the cat. While simply relaxing on her own property minding her own business, local thug Amos Price decided to open the garden gate and release his dog on Cleo. Gary Truefit, Cleo's owner, later watched his property's CCTV footage which showed Amos Price opening a gate and releasing his animal which savaged Cleo in Pelsall on 23 October 2019.

In the CCTV footage, Price can be seen looking around for witnesses whilst not so brightly looking directly into the lens of a security camera and determining the coast is clear. He then pulls his hood up and positions his lurcher-type dog directly in front of Cleo ensuring, thus, that the dog is made aware of the "target." Then, Price proceeds to shine a powerful torch at Cleo to startle her right before motioning his dog to conduct the attack. All of these elements have a probative value: they clearly prove that Price was experienced and knew exactly how to carry out this despicable form of animal abuse known as "lamping." Most importantly, Price was in full possession of his faculties.

Lamping involves using lights in pitch darkness to startle animals before shooting them or using dogs to chase them, and the dogs used are typically lurcher types. Price, along with family members, are believed to have carried out lamping activities prior to the incident with Cleo, and photographic evidence uploaded on social media of these alleged incidents was sent to us during the period West Midlands police were searching for Amos Price. Obviously, we made sure West Midlands police were in receipt of such evidence shortly after we were.

Amos Price from Pelsall in Walsall (pictured), who West Midlands Police described as "a yob", was jailed for 18 weeks after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. He was banned from keeping animals for life at Walsall Magistrates' Court. Cleo’s owner, Gary Truefit, has since confirmed that Price only served 9 weeks of his already disgustingly low 18-week sentence, even though Price was warned by Magistrate Brian Benton that he’d have been locked up for longer if the law had permitted him to impose a stiffer sentence. Gary has sadly been unable to find Cleo's remains to lay her to rest and, although Price claimed to be sorry for the act he carried out, or perhaps the fact he was caught, Price continued to refuse to give him any information as to where he dumped her so he could say goodbye and lay Cleo to rest. To sign the petition for the West Midlands authorities to keep an eye on Amos Price, see HERE.

Unfortunately, cases tend to hit the headlines and soon become next day's chip papers. As time goes on, people tend to forget about the animals and the perpetrators of the crimes against them. For the animals and owners that loved them, that heartbreak, mental torture and anger never go away. One person makes it their mission to keep animal abusers in the public eye, and tries their best to get justice for the animals when the broken system has failed them. While most either refuse to look, or get upset and swiftly move on, one person forces themselves to conduct investigative work in aid of seeing justice done.

Another case they has been busy with is another case of cat cruelty. They were able to find the name and address of the person who uploaded a harrowing video of yet another dog attack. Paula Terry uploaded a video on her YouTube channel in which a defenceless kitten that appears to be less than 2 months old is being mauled by a dog while everybody is laughing hysterically and hollering. No one in the video attempts to thwart the attack but just continue cheering as if watching a football match. Rather than simply report to YouTube, where the video will, at most, be taken down, the petition asks Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office to prosecute. You can help by adding your signature HERE.

To report animal cruelty in the UK, you might find the following links useful.

To report cruelty in the name of ‘sport’, contact Animal Crimewatch HERE.

If you see, or suspect, that a person may be treating an animal badly, whether this is physical violence, neglect o other forms of cruelty, you can report this to the RSPCA's 24-hour cruelty line on 0300 1234 999 or visit the website HERE.

Under section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is against the law to cause an animal unnecessary suffering. Intentional harm caused by a person towards a domestic pet belonging to someone else can also be an offence under the Criminal Damage Act. Most incidents tend to be referred to the RSPCA, but you can still contact your local force with concerns HERE.

Issues surrounding the welfare and transport of livestock can be reported to DEFRA. Further information can be found HERE.

Local government authorities, usually the environmental health department inspectors, are responsible for licensing animal premises and welfare in dog breeding, pet shops, riding stables and most places where animal are kept. The Animal Welfare Act has discretionary powers for national and local authorities to appoint ‘inspectors’. Speak to your local authority HERE.

For further help and advice on prosecution cases, see HERE.

For further information for Scotland, see HERE.

For further help and advice in US, see HERE