GRAPHIC VIDEO: SHELL TO HELL Mercy For Animals Investigation – Petition To Sign

“This is a sadistic, disgusting & shameful way, in which the Canadian hatchery’s treat baby chicks. Employees laugh & find it hilarious when chicks get stuck; or are thrown to a basket but miss & end up being injured. Seriously these workers have no morals or empathy for these new-born chicks; they are literally heartless. God help any animals they have at home, if they think it’s funny to watch these gentle innocent little chicks be ground up alive! As sentient beings, chicks are more than capable of feeling pain & distress etc. this practice needs to end: PERIOD. So please sign the petition. All animals who’s lives end for human consumption; should be treated with respect & kindness; from their first breath to their last!”

SHELL TO HELL Please sign the Petition:-http://mercyforanimals.ca/hatchery/#petition

A new Mercy For Animals Canada undercover investigation at a Maple Leaf-owned hatchery in Ontario reveals chicks thrown by their fragile wings, drowned in scalding water, and ground up alive.

MAPLE LEAF MISERY

Thrown, Drowned & Ground Up Alive: Canadian Hatchery Exposed

From February to March of 2014, a Mercy For Animals Canada undercover investigator worked at Horizon Poultry — a Maple Leaf-owned hatchery in Hanover, Ontario. Our hidden camera captured horrific animal cruelty and neglect, including:

EXPERT OPINIONS

After reviewing the undercover footage, Dr. Sara Shields, a leading expert in chicken welfare, stated: “[I]n a commercial hatchery, there is very little consideration for the behavioral biology of the animals, the pain, stress and fear they may experience as they are conveyed through the equipment, and little regard for the occasional animal who is mauled by the machinery. Much better safeguards are needed to ensure that every chick is treated humanely.”

Veterinarian Dr. Mary Richardson agreed, concluding: “Because there are huge numbers of birds being processed and speed is important, birds are given no more care than if they were widgets. The workers fling, throw and drop the birds without any regard for their welfare.”

NATURE

Newly hatched chicks have well-developed nervous systems and are sensitive and fragile. In nature, chicks are protected by their devoted mothers who have been known to put their own lives at risk for their babies.

HATCHERIES

In hatcheries, each worker is expected to process over 1,700 chicks an hour by callously grabbing and throwing them. The animals are treated as inanimate objects rather than the sensitive and intelligent animals they are.

NATURE

In nature, a mother hen peeps to her chicks while they are still in the eggs, and the chicks peep back to her. When hatched, chicks stay close to their mother and find warmth, comfort, and protection under her wings.

HATCHERIES

In hatcheries, mother hens are replaced with massive machines, fast-moving conveyor belts, harsh handling  and frightening noises. Young chicks are sorted, discarded, and treated as mere cogs in a machine.

HELP END CRUELTY TO CHICKS

In nature, newly hatched chicks find warmth and comfort under their mother’s wing. In hatcheries, their mothers are replaced with massive machines, fast-moving conveyor belts, harsh handling, and frightening noises. Young chicks are sorted, discarded, and treated like mere cogs in a machine.

Although cruelty and violence are standard practice for Canada’s hatcheries, caring consumers can help end the needless suffering of chicks and other farmed animals by choosing a compassionate vegan diet.

CRUELTY CRITICS

“Workers are clearly desensitized to the animals’ suffering, joking and laughing about playing ‘football’ with chicks who have fallen from the machines, animals being boiled alive or mangled in the macerator.”

John Sorenson, PhD

In  a commercial hatchery, there is very little consideration for the behavioral biology of the animals, the pain, stress and fear they may experience as they are conveyed through the equipment, and little regard for the occasional animal who is mauled by the machinery.”

Sara Shields, PhD

“Because there are huge numbers of birds being processed and speed is important, birds are given no more care than if they were widgets. The workers fling, throw and drop the birds without any regard for their welfare.”

Mary Richardson, DVM

WHAT THE INVESTIGATION EXPOSED:

• Chicks flung by their fragile wings and slammed into metal dividers
• Live chicks sent through a scalding washing machine, burned, and drowned
• Chicks overloaded and roughly crammed into macerators to be ground up alive

WATCH: Baby Chicks Ground Up Alive at Maple Leaf Hatchery

Published on 14 Apr 2014

New hidden-camera video taken by a Mercy For Animals Canada investigator exposes horrific cruelty to baby chicks at a Maple Leaf chicken hatchery. Workers fling birds by their fragile wings, slam them into metal dividers, drown them in scalding hot industrial washing machines, and roughly cram chicks into a macerator machine to be ground up alive. Learn more and take action at:http://www.MercyForAnimals.ca/Hatchery

Petition & News Link:-http://mercyforanimals.ca/hatchery/#petition – http://mercyforanimals.ca/hatchery/readmore.php

Tony The Tiger Gets Pool, But Not Wet (Video Link)

“I have written many post’s on Tony, including my own personal thoughts; if you wish to read any click this link:-https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/?s=Tony+the+tiger

GROSSE TETE — How do you get a 550-pound Bengal tiger that lives in a cage at a truck stop to crawl into his newly built pool?

Drop a bloody hunk of mixed, ground horse meat and beef on a corner of the tiger’s new wooden pool deck?

Nope. That didn’t work.

Pour electric blue-colored Dawn dishwashing liquid into the pool water to create a bubble bath?

Nope. That didn’t work.

I couldn’t embed the video code, so watch video here:-http://theadvocate.com/news/6852719-123/tony-the-tiger-enjoys-pool#comments

Tony isn’t interested in his new pool!!

Even though the temperature was north of 90 degrees Thursday afternoon, Tony the tiger just wouldn’t budge.

“Too many cameras around. He must be nervous. He’s curious though. I’m sure he’ll get in later when everybody is gone,” said Mike Sandlin, Tony’s owner and owner of the Tiger Truck Stop off Interstate 10 in Iberville Parish.

Instead of jumping in right away, Tony paced inside his 3,200-square-foot steel cage, then plopped down in a far corner.

Tony and his newly built pool are about 96 miles from the Louisiana Supreme Court in New Orleans, where justices will decide in weeks or months to either take up an appeal by Sandlin to allow the tiger to remain at the truck stop or allow a ruling by the state’s 1st Circuit Court of Appeal to stand.

If the appellate court’s ruling stands, Sandlin will be forced to send Tony, his “baby,” to another location.

“As long as God provides me breath and money, I’ll keep fighting to keep Tony here,” Sandlin said between patting beads of sweat on his neck with a hand towel.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund, the nonprofit group that wants Tony removed from the truck stop, didn’t seemed impressed Thursday with Tony’s new pool.

“The bottom line is they can put all the bells and whistles they want to out there. You still have a tiger in a truck stop,” Animal Legal Defense Fund attorney Matthew Liebman said.

“Legally speaking, the pool doesn’t change anything,” Liebman said by telephone from California.

The state 1st Circuit Court of Appeal in Baton Rouge ruled in April that Tony cannot continue to be housed in an exhibit at the Grosse Tete truck stop where he has lived for 12 years.

The appellate court has refused to reconsider its decision.

Sandlin’s truck stop has been displaying tigers for 25 years.

Tony, a 13-year-old tiger, was sold to Sandlin by a Texas exotic animal breeder when the creature was 6 months old.

State District Judge Mike Caldwell ruled previously that a 2006 Louisiana law bars the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries from renewing Sandlin’s permit to house Tony at the truck stop.

The 1st Circuit’s April decision affirmed that ruling.

The appellate panel, however, overturned Caldwell’s decision to allow the Animal Legal Defense Fund to intervene in a civil lawsuit on the side of four Louisiana residents who wanted Tony sent to an accredited wildlife sanctuary.

Caldwell concluded the state agency violated its own rules by exempting Sandlin and Tiger Truck Stop from permit requirements for owners of big cats.

The judge ruled a state permit can be issued only to an individual, not a corporation.

Tiger Truck Stop was the permit holder, not Sandlin, the judge said.

The truck stop’s last annual state permit expired in 2011.

Sandlin contends he has held a federal permit to keep tigers at the truck stop since 1988.

Tony’s ultimate fate hinges on what the state Supreme Court does with Sandlin’s appeal.

In the meantime, Tony has a new pool to cool off in thanks to the man who raised the $3,800 to build it, Joe “Joe Exotica” Schreibvogel.

Joe Exotic

Schreibvogel, who arrived in Grosse Tete on Wednesday with a construction crew of five, said he raised the money for Tony’s pool from viewers of his daily Internet television show, “Exotic Animal TV Starring Joe Exotic.”

Sandlin has said if he is forced by the courts to eventually send Tony away, he will send the tiger to Schreibvogel’s animal park, G.W. Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, Okla.

Schreibvogel said he owns 173 tigers.

“I can tell you that I’ve been out here three times,” Schreibvogel said Thursday afternoon. “And I can tell you this: There is no animal sanctuary in America that has this nice of a cage.”

When asked about concerns for Tony voiced by animal rights activists, Schreibvogel shot back, “If they cared so much for Tony, why didn’t they build him a pool?”

Lynn Dool, a truck driver from Ontario, Canada, said he read about Tony’s story online and stopped by Thursday to get a glimpse of the tiger.

“He seems domesticated. He’s been here for 12 years and there haven’t been any problems. I say let him live here,” Dool said.

News Link:–http://theadvocate.com/news/6852719-123/tony-the-tiger-enjoys-pool

Response from ‘Free Tony The Tiger:’-

Via The Animal Legal Defense Fund: The Advocate recently wrote a story about a pool that was built in Tony the Tiger’s enclosure. Our response?

“The bottom line is they can put all the bells and whistles they want to out there. You still have a tiger in a truck stop,” Animal Legal Defense Fund attorney Matthew Liebman said. “Legally speaking, the pool doesn’t change anything.”

Please leave polite but firm comments in support of freeing Tony at the following link: http://theadvocate.com/news/6852719-123/tony-the-tiger-enjoys-pool

Another Horrific Case Of Animal Abuse : R.I.P Lilly

“This makes me so fxxxxxg mad, why have a bloody dog & keep it chained in the basement?? I just don’t understand the mentality of these blatant abusers! Poor Lily, she never even got to know what being loved felt like, which makes me so sad that my tears won’t stop! I wish I could be there for all those animals, whose time has come… just to hug them, hold them close & whisper in their ear that they are loved, even if only for several minutes before their final journey! Lilly’s suffering was so bad, she was put to sleep. I hope she was loved & hugged very closely before her final breath!  R.I.P Lilly; run wild & free now you have crossed Rainbows bridge!

“To all the bastards that do this to countless animals, karma is a bitch, your time will come…just a shame I can’t get there first! For everybody else reading this, if you have a pet, go give them a hug, hugs are great, they fit all sizes…tell them they are loved…to be loved cost’s absolutely nothing!”

CORNWALL, Ontario – Last month a Cornwall couple, Glenn and Angie Nielsen, were found guilty of three charges of animal cruelty under the Ontario SPCA Act.

The charges included permitting distress to an animal; failing to provide adequate and appropriate medical attention and failing to provide for the general welfare of an animal.

On Feb. 8, Ontario SPCA agents attended the residence of the Nielsens after receiving a complaint concerning a beagle-type dog named Lilly. Ontario SPCA Officers found the beagle in the basement in a horrific condition.

Lilly was suffering from bare and irritated red skin, similar to alligator skin, large warts, nails so long they were growing into the pads of her feet, difficultly standing or walking and a strong odour was coming from her.

Ontario SPCA agents issued compliance orders to have Lilly examined by a veterinarian within 24 hours. The orders were not met and the Nielsens surrendered Lilly to the Ontario SPCA.

Lilly was taken directly to a local animal hospital in Cornwall where she was examined by a veterinarian. The dog was found to be severely ill and in immediate distress due to abuse and chronic neglect. The only appropriate course of action was to have Lilly humanely euthanized.

The Nielsens received a two-year probation, a fine of $1,100 and a lifetime ban from living with, caring for, or owning an animal.

Update Graphic Image:Sudbury Man Sentenced In Dog Shooting

“Is that all that dogs life is worth, a measly $2,000 & 5 year ban on owning another dog…what a load of crap & what if the next dog pisses him off & he decides to shoot him too!! Poor Buddy had over 50 pellets taken out of his face & neck back in March…I think the sentencing on this case is so F-ing wrong…it stinks!!” R.I.P Buddy x (sorry playing catch up)

Follow up on story Nov 5th: Sudbury judge hands down sentence in high-profile ‘Buddy’ case after Simeon Smith makes guilty plea

Buddy, a German Shepherd mix dog, was found on the side of a Sudbury, Ont. area road after sustaining gun shot wounds to the face. He was rescued and treated at Walden Animal Hospital, but later died from heart failure. (Walden Animal Hospital)

A Sudbury area man has been given a $2,000 fine and a five-year ban on owning a dog after pleading guilty to animal cruelty charges.

On Monday morning, the case of Buddy — a German Shepherd mixed-breed dog found shot in the face and neck and left to die on the side of a St. Charles area road — was put to rest in a Sudbury court room.

 Simeon Smith did not appear in court for his sentencing, but earlier pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges in the shooting of the dog in March.

The dog later died of heart failure in an animal hospital.

Smith was charged with four counts of animal cruelty under the Ontario SPCA act, including one count each of causing the animal to be in distress, permitting the animal to be in distress, failing to provide adequate and appropriate medical attention and failing to humanely kill an animal.

Justice Pierre Leclerc issued the fine and the ban, along with a stipulation the SPCA may investigate his property during the five-year dog ownership ban

News Link:–http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/story/2012/11/05/sby-buddy-dog-sentencing.html

“The following petition is still live, even though the person above was caught?”

http://www.change.org/petitions/justice-for-buddy-the-hero-dog-make-sure-justice-is-served-for-budy-the-hero-dog?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=friends_wall

• Related
• https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/animal-cruelty-case-half-his-face-and-neck-was-blown-away/
• https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2012/03/17/animals-petition-justice-for-buddy-the-hero-dog-make-sure-justice-is-served-for-budy-the-hero-dog-change-org/

B.C. pit-bull owners rally in Vancouver to protect breed

 

VANCOUVER, B.C. : SEPTEMBER 30, 2012 — The Pit Bull Awareness walk begins, September 30th, at Vancouver‘s Science World.

Pit-bull owners spent Sunday showing off their prized pooches near Science World in Vancouver.

With the growing debate about breed-specific legislation, the pit-bull owners wanted the public to judge for themselves whether they deserve to be banned.

Kim Walters, 30, was at the awareness walk with her four-year-old pit bull Bruce.

She got Bruce as a rescue dog from Ontario, where pit bulls are banned under legislation enacted in 2005. In Ontario, it’s illegal to breed or bring them into the province even for a short visit. Pit bulls born before 2005 must be sterilized, muzzled and kept on leashes.

Walters said her dog has a great disposition and has never bitten or attacked anyone, and isn’t the least bit aggressive when around other people or dogs.

She feels the issue comes down to the owners. Walters also feels the owners of pit bulls who are responsible for their pets have been wrongly maligned.

“Pit-bull owners are not gangsters and drug dealers and we don’t need to be treated as such,” she said.

Walters feels Bruce is a perfect example of a dog that needed to be given another chance.

“I think of all the dogs like Bruce who are put down,” she said of the type of legislation in Ontario that can be a death sentence for a pit bull.

Ann Cooper helped organize the walk and said the group is worried about legislation similar to what’s in Ontario being enacted in B.C.

”We are speaking out about breed-specific legislation in Ontario, “ she said. “We feel there are alternatives such as strict enforcement on dogs that haven’t been trained or managed properly.

“We are having the walk to educate people on pit bulls — they are fantastic family dogs.”

Rob Hogan has a pit bull named Squeeze that is 14 months old and he’s had him since he was a pup.

“This dog is beautiful, he loves to cuddle,” he said. “It is all about how the dog is brought up.”

A number of recent pit-bull attacks on children have renewed calls for a pit-bull ban in B.C.

In White Rock, four-year-old Emma-Leigh Cranford had her throat ripped out by a dog belonging to a friend of the family. The young girl survived, with 40 stitches across her jaw after two hours of surgery at B.C. Children’s Hospital.

A few days later, a three-year-old Kelowna boy received 32 stitches in his face after he reached down to pet a pit bull.

The B.C. SPCA has said a pit-bull ban wouldn’t work.

News Link:-http://www.theprovince.com/news/bull+owners+rally+Vancouver+protect+breed/7322716/story.html

 

 

13,000 horses face slaughter if Ontario racing industry collapses

“If this is the case then they should put a ban on all race horse breeding NOW or else many more will be slaughtered because of pure greed…everybody wants that one special colt that will grow into a real money maker! They breed & breed looking for this special one, the ones that don’t make the grade like  Stardust Dancer (in picture) will simply go to slaughter…they won’t spend money on a horse, even if it’s just for food…if it’s not going to bring that money back! They don’t talk about these horses as sentient beings, they talk about them as if their inanimate objects! “

Toronto – The horseracing industry in Ontario, Canada is struggling and some believe it will face a complete shut down next year. If that happens, a government panel believes as many as 13,000 horses would be killed.

Oroville, California – Stardust Dancer pictured here, was owned by Gary Barber, CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer before being sent to slaughter auction at the age three for failing to win enough races.

The Toronto Star reports that it’s expected that at least two-thirds of the racing tracks are going to face a shut down and for those that remain open, they will have fewer race days and smaller purses. That all adds up to owners and breeders trying to justify maintaining expensive animalswith little chance of getting back their investment.

Thoroughbred owner Ian Howard says, “The question is, if (a horse’s) value is zero, how do you justify feeding them when you have no way to make a living anymore because the tracks you need to be in existence are gone?”“That’s when it gets ugly.”

Things got bad for the industry in the spring when the provincial government decided to cancel the agreement it had, to share money from the slots program with racetracks and the money ($345 million in 2011-2012) would be used for provincial health care and education instead.

Then The Star says a Horse Racing Industry Transitional Panel report last month estimated that about half the horses now racing, between 7500 and 13,000 animals, would be euthanized as a result, and there was little help offered in terms of moral or financial support. A finance report last week suggested that Ontario’s 17 racetracks will need to be consolidated to just 7 or 8 tracks for the industry to remain viable.

Glenn Sikura, president of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society’s Ontario division says, “It’s a sad reality.” “We’ve been so cautious not to talk about (mass euthanasia) in the industry because first of all, we’re all animal lovers and god forbid anything like that would happen.” The report estimates that between 20,000-30,000 people working full-time in the industry would also lose their jobs.

All eyes will be on the annual thoroughbred yearling auction at Toronto’s Woodbine Racetrack this week. How many horses sell and for what prices will signal how much confidence is left in the shaky.

Sikura says the sale makes up about three-quarters of the annual income for breeders and if prices fall below the $25,000 average from last year’s sale, it will spell disaster for some owners and put them out of business immediately. He adds, “If a $20,000 horse becomes a $10,000 horse, then the horse that used to bring $10,000 is now a giveaway,” estimating it costs about $30,000 a year to care for a horsethat races regularly.

Some are now rallying to try to win public support to keep the industry alive, with an online petition hoping to collect 50,000 signatures. But since it started in February less than 10,000 names have been added. There’s also a website and a Facebook page that has collected fewer than 500 members.

News Link:-http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/331983

“Take a look at the following video, this was obviously before the government decided to stop money from the slots program! It’s all gone tits up now, & the horses will pay with their lives”

Value of the Ontario Horse Racing Industry

Published on 3 May 2012 by value4moneyca

The Ontario Horse Racing Industry is part of a highly competitive global market. The industry contributes 60,000 jobs, $1.1 billion to the provincial government and $2 billion in recurring expenditures – all of which would be lost if the Slots at Racetracks Programs is cancelled in Ontario.

Humane society seeking help in possible animal cruelty case

“This is horrendous…it seems I just get over posting one story about a cat or dog set on fire, then another appears! So I’ll repeat myself again, somebody must know something, so keep those eyes & ears open, if someone intentionally did this, they will probably be bragging about it on face book; which seems to be the norm for these sicko’s ! No matter how trivial you think any information you may have is, please call the number below!!”

A severely burnt cat that may be the victim of animal cruelty has prompted the Humane Society to seek the public’s help.

The orange tabby that’s about five years old was found July 20 from Esdras Street in the Riverside area and executive director Melanie Coulter said the cat may have been intentionally harmed by being locked in a structure such as a crate or shed which was set on fire.

“All the fur was completely gone in very large spots on the side of his body. He had burns on his face and paws as well,” she said Thursday of the first and second degree burns on the tabby who is recovering.

The really sad part, she said is the cat named Charry is a very affectionate feline that was purring and rubbing against the medical staffs’ hands during treatment.

“The thought that someone could intentionally do this to this cat is quite disturbing.”

The cat wasn’t set on fire but it also doesn’t look like the feline was involved in a house fire.

A concerned citizen called July 20 about the cat which smelled strongly of smoke and was missing 10 to 20 per cent of its fur in large patches when it was picked up. Coulter said the burns looked like they had happened that same day and by the next day they had started to blister.

Windsor firefighters didn’t report any house fires that could have involved cats at that time, Coulter said. After an examination by a veterinarian, it looked more like the tabby may have been intentionally locked in a structure that was set on fire and he escaped, she said. “He’s got burns on his sides and paws and face so if he kind ran through more fire or he rubbed along the side of the structure that’s where he could’ve got those serious burns on his sides.”

The friendly Charry is expected to make a full recovery and has already been adopted. He charmed a friend of a veterinary technician involved in the case and may be able to go to his new home a week from Saturday.

If the fire was deliberately set and the Humane Society can find the person responsible, that person could face Criminal Code charges or charges could be laid under the Ontario SPCA act for causing distress to an animal.

Coulter said she’s hoping to find someone in the Riverside area who remembers seeing a suspicious fire or a small fire that didn’t seem noteworthy at the time but may help the society’s investigation. It would have happened around July 20, which was a Friday.

“We think because it probably took place outside in the backyard that someone may have seen something and so we’re hoping that someone will come forward with information that will help us find out who did this.”

Anyone with information about what happened to this cat is asked to call the Windsor/Essex County Humane Society investigations department at 519-966-5751, ext. 16. You do not have to give your name to make a report.

News Link:-http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2012/08/02/cat-burned-humane-society-seeking-help-in-possible-animal-cruelty-case/

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Cougar killed by OPP likely an escaped captive animal

HUNTSVILLE, ONT. — Ontario Provincial Police shot and killed a cougar on the weekend after it mauled a dog in a Muskoka town, an incident that provincial officials are calling “extremely rare.”

The attack occurred Saturday night in Utterson, southwest of Huntsville, at a home across the road from Guha’s Tiger and Lion Farm, an exotic cats menagerie.

Investigators have not confirmed a link between the attack and Guha’s, but they are “aware” of the zoo, said Jolanta Kowalski, spokesperson for the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The cat’s front claws had been removed, “which usually indicates that it can be an escaped or released captive animal,” she said.

Utterson resident Doreen Rick saw a large cat mauling Indy, her medium-sized shepherd mix, just after 10 p.m. Saturday.

“It dragged it across the lawn and just laid on him and chewed on him,” Rick said.

Rick, who was at home with her grandson’s girlfriend, Cassidy Phillips, phoned the police and immediately closed all the windows.

“It was pretty horrific,” said Phillips. “We had to just watch (the cougar) go at Indy.”

OPP officers arrived shortly and shot the cougar. Indy the dog was still alive but badly injured, so the family put it down, Phillips said.

Const. Maureen Tilson of the Bracebridge OPP detachment said police had been following up on sightings of a large cat for about a week before the attack.

Marvin Zator, Rick’s next-door neighbour, spotted the large cat about a week ago and thought it was a bobcat. If the cougar was indeed a released pet, he wants the owner held responsible.

“Everybody around here has pets, grandkids or both,” Zator said.

Calls to Guha’s Tiger and Lion Farm Monday were not returned.

Kowalski stressed that cougar sightings are “extremely rare” in Ontario, and that people need not be fearful.

The animal’s carcass will undergo testing and DNA analysis this week.

News Link:-http://www.guelphmercury.com/news/canada/article/758016–cougar-killed-by-opp-likely-an-escaped-captive-animal

Police on Luka Magnotta’s Trail For Animal Abuse – Before slaying: landlord

“Perhaps if the police had taken note of the thousands of calls, the many emails (including mine), informing them of his sick behaviour with animals…the human tragedy could have been averted.”

MONTREAL – Police were hot on Luka Rocco Magnotta’s trail just weeks before he allegedly killed and dismembered university student Jun Lin, according to a former landlord.

In this photo provided by Montreal Police, Luka Rocco Magnotta is taken by police from a Canadian military plane to a waiting van on Monday, June 18, 2012, in Mirabel, Que.

Canadian law enforcement had tracked the 29-year-old porn actor and stripper to a Montreal apartment building as recently as March, says Magnotta’s former landlord.

He said a police detective phoned asking about Magnotta. But the query came too late — Magnotta had moved out about two weeks earlier.

While they never explained why they were calling, Toronto police have stated that they had already been investigating Magnotta on allegations of animal cruelty for more than a year.

According to the landlord, they nearly found him.

“I think they were on to this guy,” said the superintendent, as he stood in front of the apartment building in the city’s blue-collar Point St. Charles district. He spoke on condition of anonymity.

“To myself, I said, ‘I’m glad he’s out because the cops are looking for him now.’ “

The police phone call came roughly two months before Lin’s death in late May. Magnotta has been charged with first-degree murder in the grisly crime, which has shocked people around the world, and to which he has pleaded not guilty.

His former landlord said he gave up his furnished, second-floor bachelor apartment at the end of February, about two months after moving in. It was an abrupt departure — he only advised the superintendent about a week before he packed up.

Magnotta indicated that he was moving back to Toronto. In fact his next known address, the alleged scene of the killing, was only a few kilometres away in west-end Montreal.

“The police called and I told them he left for Toronto,” said the landlord, who added that the call came from an Ontario police force — he just couldn’t recall which one.

Read the rest of this post:-http://metronews.ca/news/canada/275081/police-on-magnottas-trail-before-slaying-landlord/

Animals need more protection, survey told – The Sudbury Star – Ontario, CA

Fido and Fluffy need stiffer protective measures in place to help protect them from abuse from their owners, say almost three out of four Sudbury Star readers.

With more than 450 readers responding to this week’s question, “Is enough being done to prosecute people who abuse animals?,” a total of 320 or 70%, as of early Sunday afternoon, voted no.

A total of 123 readers voted yes, (27%), while 14, or three per cent, were not sure.

Almost all of the more than three dozen readers who left comments on the newspaper’s hotline voted no.

“There never has and there never will be,” said one man. “And how do you enforce them and what do you do when you have judges who let them off?”

“Nothing is ever enough for people who abuse animals or other human beings,” said one female caller.

“If there was, I believe there wouldn’t be that many animals at the SPCA,” said another woman.

“When children abuse animals, their parents should be held accountable,” said another female caller.

One woman pointed out that after an animal is adopted, there are no follow-up checks done to ensure the animal is being properly taken care of.

“They (later) can’t afford to get rid of them and they can’t afford to keep them,” she said. “People treat animals like garbage.”

harold.carmichael@sunmedia.ca

– – –

WE ASKED YOU …

Is enough being done to prosecute people who abuse animals?

Yes 27%

No 70%

Not sure 3%

Total votes cast: 457

via Animals need more protection, survey told – The Sudbury Star – Ontario, CA.