Sentencing Delayed For Man Who Killed His Dog With A Bat

“I know I said I wasn’t going to write extra or edit posts etc.; enabling me to get more posts out…but in some cases I just can’t keep quiet & this is one of them!”

“This is absolutely ridiculous…stop wasting taxpayers money & throw the sick bxxxxxd in jail for a very long time. We’re talking about an alcoholic druggy, bashing the head of a dog in with a baseball bat…then throwing the dog in a dumpster to die! Yet that isn’t the issue!! He did it alright, but it’s to be proved if Whitlock caused “undue pain & suffering”…erm der…if anyone has any doubt on whether that dog suffered, then that person should get someone to whack them over the head with a baseball bat several times; then say otherwise!

“How the hell can anyone say; that poor dog didn’t suffer?? If Whitlock wanted to kill Captain (dog) because he thought he was suffering, why didn’t he kill him; instead of dumping the dogs body in a dumpster???” 

” Whitlock has been diagnosed with psychosis and has showed signs of paranoia and schizophrenia, exacerbated by alcohol and marijuana. WTF…never heard anything so stupid in all my life…of course the dog bloody suffered…terribly in agony!! But not only that…the streets would be a lot safer, with this pathetic excuse on 2 legs; being slammed up in jail!!” R.I.P Captain x

A 26-year-old Vancouver man who admitted that he killed his German shepherd with a baseball bat last July will have to wait awhile longer before finding out his sentence.

Provincial Court Judge David St. Pierre reserved his sentencing decision on Tuesday for Brian E. Whitlock, who has pleaded guilty to causing undue pain and suffering to an animal. No new court date was set, but St. Pierre said he hoped to conclude the case as early as next week.

During Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Crown counsel Jordan Hauschildt said Whitlock should receive a sentence of four to six months in jail, less time served. Whitlock has already spent 45 days in jail.

The court was told that Whitlock admitted hitting his dog Captain in the head with a baseball bat four or five times as hard as he could. Hauschildt said Whitlock did not account for several puncture wounds on the dog’s body. “That is an abhorrent way for an animal to die,” Hauschildt said.

Hauschildt told the court that the case has generated significant media coverage, as well as two online petitions that have generated more than 130,000 signatures calling for justice for Captain. Another petition circulated by the Animal Advocates Society of B.C. garnered 750 signatures calling on the court to give Whitlock the maximum sentence of five years in jail. Hauschildt said Whitlock has also received death threats.

Several women in the courtroom cried openly during Hauschildt’s description of Captain’s death.

“I can’t believe the following quote from the trial…”

During the hearing, St. Pierre said the issue was not whether Whitlock had the right under the law to euthanize his dog. He did. Instead, it must be decided whether he caused undue pain and suffering when he killed Captain. Whitlock has also pleaded guilty to other charges of mischief and assault. “How stupid, it’s a no brainer; of course he caused pain & suffering!”

Brian Whitlock, 26, threw Captain the dog into a dumpster & left him to die!!

The court was told that Whitlock believed Captain was poisoned after eating something, which caused him to behave erratically. “Its more likely that Whitlock was behaving erratically from booze & drugs; perhaps the dog was acting in self defence from Whitlock…does anyone know what state Whitlock was in on the night it happened??”

He said he kept Captain in a separate room because he did not feel safe being with the dog. “This beautiful angel was not taken in as a police dog; because he was too friendly!!”

He decided to kill Captain because he felt the dog was his responsibility. He did not take him to the SPCA because he couldn’t afford it and because he was afraid of what Captain might do to other people.

Defence lawyer Tony Paisana said Whitlock has been diagnosed with psychosis and has showed signs of paranoia and schizophrenia, exacerbated by alcohol and marijuana.

Paisana said Whitlock loved Captain and slept with Captain every night. After he hit Captain with a baseball bat, he placed the dog – still alive – in a dumpster, wrapped in the blanket they slept in together.

“He believed his dog was suffering and that it was up to him to put Captain out of his misery,” Paisana said. “But he didn’t put him out of his misery did he?? He left him to suffer, a slow agonising death!”

News Link: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Sentencing+delayed+killed+with/8480502/story.html#ixzz2VM18matc

Related previous news link:-https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2012/12/04/graphic-image-animal-cruelty-charges-filed-against-owner-of-german-shepherd-found-in-kitsilano-dumpster/

Rescue Organisation Helps Save Three Day Old Puppies Who Were Being Sold On-Line

When Panda Paws Rescue was informed about a Craigslist ad selling three-day-old pit bull puppies they didn’t hesitate to act. 

Panda Paws Rescue founder Amanda Giese obtained as much information as she could and then contacted authorities in Fontana, California who came to the aid of the puppies and her mother.

A 24-year-old woman posted an ad offering for sale 3-day-old pit bull puppies.

When Panda Paws found out about it they were horrified. Although located in a different state, the rescue didn’t hesitate to help. Knowing the puppies lives were at risk Giese worked to obtain proof of what was happening. As soon as she had confirmation that the ad was real, she contacted the Fontana Police Department for help.

Officer Jamie Simmons with the Fontana Police Department went into immediate action. Officer Simmons removed six puppies and their mother from the woman’s custody by Tuesday night. Officer Simmons placed the puppies and mother in medical care with a local veterinary clinic.

A seventh puppy was sold on Monday, and its location is unknown.

The puppies and mother are currently in foster care once they are able to be safely transported they will be taken to Panda Paws Rescue in Vancouver, Washington. Wings of Rescue will be helping to fly the dogs to Washington. The puppies will be available for adoption once they are over 8 weeks old, vaccinated, microchipped and altered.

The woman who was selling the puppies is facing numerous charges. The investigation is ongoing and more details about the rescue are not yet released.

News Link:-http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2013/03/rescue-organization-helps-save-three-day-old-puppies-who-were-being-sold-online/

B.C. Public Warned Of Release Of Animal Killer – Video Tells Reason Why!

WTF…suspended sentence?? people like this don’t just suddenly stop fantasising about killing animals & humans.  Are the police going to be watching her every move? How can someone like this be released from jail, yet come with so many warnings to the public etc. I suggest you watch the video below, get to know a little more about this psychopath;you know it’s serious when even her own mother won’t have her living with her!!”

Police in British Columbia have issued a warning to the public about a woman convicted of killing animals but one former Toronto officer says the case reminds him of another disturbing criminal case.

Kayla Bourque is shown in a handout photo. (The Canadian Press/HO)

Former Toronto police investigator Ross McLean told CP24 Tuesday that there are similarities between the cases of 23-year-old Kayla Bourque and murder suspect Luka Rocco Magnotta.

Bourque pleaded guilty in 2012 to wilfully killing animals, causing unnecessary pain and suffering to animals and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

The charges stem from the deaths of her family’s cat and dog.

Her recent release prompted a warning to the public issued by B.C. Corrections on Monday.

“You’re seeing similarities here between [Magnotta’s and Bourque’s] family background – it being broken, escalation to torturing and hurting animals and then the stated intent and the fantasizing about doing it to humans,” McLean told CP24 on Tuesday.

Magnotta, 30, is accused of first-degree murder in connection with the killing and dismemberment of Montreal university student Jun Lin, who police believe was killed on either May 24 or 25, 2012.

The 33-year-old’s torso was later found in a suitcase outside Magnotta’s apartment building, while his hands and feet were mailed to political offices and schools in Ottawa and B.C. His head was located in a Montreal park.

Magnotta was arrested in Berlin in July following an international manhunt.

Police believe that a video posted on-line shows the dismemberment of Lin.

On-line videos allegedly showing the torture of animals have also been linked to Magnotta.

No charges against Magnotta have been proven in a court of law. He is currently in police custody awaiting trial. “I can’t fxxxxxg believe this, there were videos of him on YouTube killing animals…yet no charges??…they going to let him out too??”

Bourque, a former student at Simon Fraser University, was sentenced to eight months in jail. Police say she will now be living in the Metro Vancouver area, but did not elaborate with specifics.

She will be subject to more than 40 court-ordered restrictions, including bans on using social networking sites, owning weapons, associating with anyone under the age of 18 and a lifetime ban on owning animals.

She will also only be allowed to leave the house between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Bourque is also barred from having intimate relationships without advising the other person of her criminal past and must take part in counselling sessions and psychiatric assessments. “Yea right, so she’s supposed to say “Before I invite you in for a coffee, I have to tell you that I fantasize about killing people”…WTF, how utterly insane, she should be locked up for good!”

“It appears from the orders that the police are really working to see that [Bourque] goes in and gets the counselling she requires,” McLean said. “Now whether she wants to take it, or it works, is another story.”

Following a tip from a concerned friend last year, police conducted a search of Bourque’s residence room, where investigators seized a laptop, storage devices and a binder containing information on serial killers, as well as depictions of sexual homicide and animal torture.

Member of the public are being asked to contact police immediately if they see Bourque violating any of the conditions of her release. “I guess that means they won’t be watching her 24/7 then…un-fxxxxxg-believable!!” 

She is described as five-foot-four, 130 pounds with a slender build, brown eyes and black hair.

McLean says he believes cases like Bourque’s will be more and more common.

“ We’ve raised people in a time today where – between the Internet, on-line pornography, the ability to learn about gruesome items – the environment is there right for those people to come out,” he said

News Link:–http://www.cp24.com/b-c-public-warned-of-release-of-animal-killer-1.1106068

The reason why she is a danger:–

• While living in residence last March, she told another student she had disembowelled and dismembered cats in the Prince George area and that she fantasized about getting a gun and shooting a homeless person.
  

• She also said she wanted to kill someone in residence and was taking forensic classes because she wanted to “get away” with something in the future.

• Police also found video clips depicting her killing and hanging the family dog.”She narrated part of the video as she eviscerated the dog,” MacLean said.

•  Another video depicted Bourque torturing the family’s cat. “It is clear the animals would have suffered significantly prior to their deaths.”
• On Wednesday afternoon, Bourque sat quietly beside her lawyer as others discussed the stringent requirements needed to keep her from re-offending during a three-year probation period.
• MacLean said Bourque’s mother does not want her daughter living in the family home. Once released from jail, a Vancouver police high risk offender team will escort her to her new residence

Petition link:-http://www.causes.com/causes/644857-let-s-turn-facebook-orange-for-animal-cruelty-awareness/actions/1710547?reposter=804693

Animal Killer Released On Probation

Published on 8 Jan 2013

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Animal killer released in Vancouver. Despite having a high risk to reoffend, Kayla Bourque was released to live in Vancouver. Torture/murder of family pets-lunatic that wanted to kill people.

Related Magnotta killer:-

• https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/alleged-cat-killer-turns-alleged-murderer-in-canada/
  
• https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2012/06/25/police-on-luka-magnottas-trail-for-animal-abuse-before-slaying-landlord/

No Prison Time For Man Who Killed 50 Sled Dogs

“This guy is supposed to love dogs, he said he couldn’t bear to see them deteriorate, well why would they? money was frozen but I though their food was safe?!!  if so, I wonder if he ever went without food?? If I was in that situation, no way would I even contemplate killing them, hell would freeze over first…I would look for other homes for them…if I couldn’t find other homes, I would make room for them in my house, or somewhere;but I definitely wouldn’t kill them, that goes against everything I believe in, thought that true of all dog lovers?!”

The man who killed more than 50 sled dogs after business slumped following the Canadian Winter Olympics thought he was acting in the “best interests” of the animals, a British Columbia judge concluded.

VANCOUVER, B.C. — A man who pleaded guilty in the slaughter of dozens of sled dogs in British Columbia will not spend time in prison, a judge has ruled.

Provincial Court Judge Steve Merrick concluded Thursday that Robert Fawcett had the “best interests” of the dogs at heart when he culled the pack near Whistler after a business slump following the 2010 Olympics.

The devastating aftermath of the April 2010 killing was outlined in court by Fawcett’s lawyer, who described how hard it was for his client to listen to details of the slaying of his beloved animals. 

Fawcett, 40, earlier pleaded guilty to one count of causing unnecessary pain and suffering to animals. That count relates to the deaths of nine dogs. More than 50 were exhumed from a mass grave in 2011 as part of a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals investigation. The court was told most of the dogs didn’t suffer.

The judge gave Fawcett three years’ probation, 200 hours of community service and a $1,500 fine. He can’t work in the sled-dog industry or make decisions about euthanizing animals.

The court was told that Fawcett felt forced into the decision when the owners of Howling Dog Tours put an “absolute freeze” on spending, except for food and a bare minimum of labor.

Fawcett was watching the dogs’ conditions deteriorate to a point they were fighting and killing each other.

“He accepted the burden because he felt he could do it compassionately, and he did not want that burden placed on anyone else,” said defense lawyer Greg Diamond.

The defense supplied 30 character references to the judge who described Fawcett’s “admirable dedication” to the dogs.

Diamond said his client has become an “international pariah,” partly due to intense media scrutiny.

He said his client has attempted suicide, has tattooed a ring of dogs around his arm to remember their lives, and still shudders when he hears a dog bark.

Diamond said the one “silver lining” that has resulted was legislative reform giving British Columbia some of the toughest animal-cruelty laws in Canada.

Government prosecutor Nicole Gregoire said Fawcett has received death threats, had a mental breakdown that sent him to an institution for two months, and even saw his young children and wife forced into hiding.

The case became public in January 2011 after a workers’ compensation claim for post-traumatic stress disorder was leaked.

Gregoire said questions remain about how someone who was caring and had a record of high standards could inflict pain on animals. “Exactly!!”

She pointed to a psychological assessment, noting the psychiatrist found Fawcett likely had experienced “high levels of distress” leading up to the cull, and likely had disassociated his emotions during the event itself.

News Link:–http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019752613_sleddogs24.html

• Related:-https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/sled-dog-operator-charged-with-animal-cruelty-for-post-olympic-slaughter-of-dozens-of-dogs/
• https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2012/05/28/man-accused-of-sled-dog-slayings-in-court-thursday/
• https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2012/09/01/guilty-plea-in-sled-dog-slaughter/

Bestiality: Vancouver Man Pleads Guilty, Handed Suspended Sentence… Your Comments???

“WTF….First off can I just say when I got this story (cos I’m still catching up), it started back in February  so I posted that story first, in date order…now this is the court appearance news”

So, let me get this right, this guy has had sex with 2 of his dogs for several years, video of  him committing these acts were found at his home…BUT HE GETS A SUSPENDED SENTENCE & 3 YEARS PROBATION??”

“Am I missing something here, I thought bestiality was a criminal act in Canada, yet this guy has had sex with his dogs, even video taped it…plus he’s been very vocal about bestiality & written articles about it; but his only court penalty is:- he is to provide a list of all the animals he owns, that he not own any female dogs and that he allow the SPCA into his home for an inspection once a month???”  

” OK  I want some one else’s opinion & input here…so comments welcome…you might want to have a look at his face book page, lots of pictures of his dogs!!

A Vancouver man was handed a suspended sentence and three years probation after pleading guilty to one count of bestiality Monday

Brian Anthony Cutteridge, 38, a former employee at a veterinarian’s office, entered his plea during a brief appearance in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.

The offence relates to seven to nine incidents over a seven-year period, from 1998 to 2005, in which he had sex with two female dogs, a Rottweiler and a Golden Retriever.

An SPCA investigation was launched in April 2010 after a complaint was filed by a veterinarian who was concerned that Cutteridge was a potential zoophile, a person who has sex with animals, that he owned dogs and that the animals had a history of urinary tract infections.

A second complaint by an anonymous person was filed in May 2010, prompting the SPCA to open a cruelty complaint file.

Brian Cutteridge, 38, of Vancouver has been charged with bestiality. Feb.

SPCA officers attended Cutteridge’s Vancouver home and he was advised of the bestiality allegations.

Three female dogs were inspected, two of which were found to have long nails.

Cutteridge denied committing bestiality but further investigation led to the seizure of video revealing him committing the acts for which he was eventually charged.

In a joint submission by Crown and defence, prosecutor David Simpkins noted there was no evidence that either of the two female dogs, named Diana and Kalle, was physically harmed by Cutteridge.

Jason Mann, the accused’s lawyer, told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Arne Silverman that his client had accepted responsibility for his conduct.

“Mr. Cutteridge wants to make it clear that he never had any intention of harming the animals involved,” he said.

The judge noted there was no need for general deterrence for crimes that would repulse the majority of Canadians.

Just one of many pictures taken From Cutteridges  Face Book page “Sickening”

He said a jail term would have been within the appropriate range of sentences, but he couldn’t say the joint submission he accepted was outside the range. “?? In English, what the hell does that mean?”

Cutteridge’s probation conditions include that he is to provide a list of all the animals he owns, that he not own any female dogs and that he allow the SPCA into his home for an inspection once a month.

There was little mention during the proceedings of Cutteridge’s Internet writings, which argue that laws against bestiality are logically incoherent and inherently unjust.

Outside court, Cutteridge said he would not be commenting.

“I’m just glad to get this done,” he told reporters.

Mann told reporters he and Cutteridge would not be speaking about his client’s prior writings on the subject of zoophilia.

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Bestiality+Vancouver+pleads+guilty+handed+suspended+sentence/7332429/story.html#ixzz2D97JfJqw

His Facebook page:-https://www.facebook.com/brian.cutteridge

Related:-https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2012/02/26/a-vancouver-man-could-face-up-to-ten-years-in-jail-if-convicted-following-allegations-he-performed-sexual-acts-with-his-dog/

Related:–http://www.theprovince.com/news/Brian+Anthony+Cutteridge+Vancouver+will+plead+guilty+charge/7290950/story.html#axzz2D93UIkTc

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

 

 

Chuckwagon race that killed three Calgary Stampede horses spurs fresh calls to ban event

“Please click the link below to watch the video, viewer discretion is advised! 

The deaths of three horses in a chuckwagon-racing accident at the Calgary Stampede has ignited renewed demands by animal-welfare advocates to ban the exciting but dangerous event.

“We think that all the changes that the Calgary Stampede has been publicizing over the past few months that were supposed to make this race safe obviously haven’t worked,” Peter Fricker, a spokesman for the Vancouver Humane Society, told the Globe and Mailon Friday.

Chad Harden races his wagon in the Rangeland Derby Chuckwagon event during the 100th anniversary of the Calgary

[ Related: Research aims to reduce horse deaths at chuckwagon races ]

Going into this year’s centennial edition of the “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth,” some 50 horses have died since 1986 in chuckwagon racing, four in 2010 and two last year.

The GMC Rangeland Derby is the highlight of the Stampede’s daily rodeo events.

The fourth heat of Thursday night’s racing card was underway when the lead horse in Chad Harden’s wagon collapsed in the back stretch, CBC News reported. That caused a chain-reaction that brought down three other horses on the team and sent one of the team’s two outriders and his horse toppling over the wagon. The outrider was not hurt, nor was Harden despite being flung from his wagon seat, the Globe reported.

The outrider’s horse and the other lead horse on the wagon rig were badly injured and were euthanized.

“It’s just devastating for our whole family,” a sobbing Harden said after the crash, which he called “just one of those bad accidents.

“We try our best to make sure they’re all healthy. The outriding horse was 18 years old, and I’ve had him for 13 years. He’s part of our family.”

Veterinarians were to perform a necropsy on the horse that collapsed to try and determine why it went down.

[ Related: The Calgary Stampede at 100 ]

Animal researchers had equipped a number of chuckwagon horses with wireless electrocardiogram-monitoring gear to try and detect heart problems in horses before they run. The Vancouver Humane Society, which has led the fight to ban rodeo events such as chuckwagon racing and calf roping because they are seen as cruel, had been skeptical about the work to make the frenetic race safer.

Yet, Stampede spokesman Doug Fraser dismissed Fricker’s call for an end to chuckwagon racing. The Vancouver Humane Society is an “activist group with an activist agenda,” he told the Globe.

“We rely on the advice from heavy animal experts. We don’t rely on the advice from organizations like VHS.”

The Vancouver society’s Calgary counterpart said it’s against using animals for entertainment but concedes events like the chuckwagon races aren’t going away.

“We think that working with the Stampede is the best that we can do to help make these events as safe as possible,” Calgary Human Society’s Christy Thompson told the Globe.

But Fricker said the nature of the race makes it hard to improve safety. “Then it’s pretty darn obvious it should be stopped!”

Up to four teams, including two outriders each, start the race by careening around a figure-eight section before charging onto the main track. The crush of wagons and outriders often leads to pileups.

“There’s just not very much room,” said Fricker. “They’re making very tight turns and they’re going at high speed.”

Critics have also pointed to the selective breeding of chuckwagon horses, which are far removed from the cow ponies of yore. Fricker said research suggests some horses have legs too weak for their bodies. After four horses died in 2010, chuckwagon racing rules were changed, cutting the number of outriders to two from four and mandating pre-race vet checks and rest days between races. But Fricker told CBC News it’s clear they haven’t made the racing any safer.

“We think that there’s something more fundamentally wrong with the race, and we’re calling for a suspension of the chuckwagon races and a full and fundamental safety review to be conducted,” he said.

Video & News Link:–http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/chuckwagon-race-killed-three-calgary-stampede-horses-spurs-160319361.html

Animals rights group compares Calgary Stampede’s calf roping event to abusing a baby in new ad

A new ad by an animals right group compares calf roping at the Calgary Stampede to abusing a three-month old baby.

The Vancouver Humane Society ad was published Thursday in a Calgary weekly newspaper and shows a diaper-clad child next to young calf.

The caption says: “Just three months old – Would you abuse a baby to entertain a crowd?”

The Vancouver Human Society has called for an outright ban of calf-roping at all rodeo events in Canada and has specifically asked the Calgary Stampede — which starts Friday — to drop the event.

The group says calf roping — which features animals between three and four months old — is the “most inhumane” of all events at the Stampede.

Surrey, B.C. Mayor Dianne Watt has called upon her counterpart in Calgary, Mayor Naheed Nenshi, to push for an end to calf roping.

The Calgary Humane Society is opposed to calf roping but instead of calling for a ban is focusing its efforts on regulating rodeo events to minimize harm to animals.

News Link:-http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/07/05/animals-rights-group-compares-calgary-stampedes-calf-roping-event-to-abusing-a-baby-in-new-ad/

Related articles:- https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/bob-barker-on-the-calgary-stampede-rodeo-close-it-down/

• Urge The Mayor Of Calgary To Stop The Stampede (preciousjules1985.wordpress.com)

Cat mutilations the work of a predator: BC SPCA

The culprit responsible for a spate of mutilated cats in suburban Vancouver is more natural than evil, says an internationally-known forensic veterinarian who has looked into the case.

A missing cat poster hangs on a light post in Maple Ridge, where several felines have been found mutilated. May 29, 2012

After months of speculation, the B.C. Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals announced Friday they believe the killer of the cats is another animal, likely a coyote.

It was feared the grisly remains were the work of a disturbed human.

Melinda Merck, who has worked on a similar case of cat mutilations in Florida and also helped out in the investigation of the massacre of sled dogs in Whistler, conducted necropsies on 40 animals — 20 cats, eight birds, one rabbit and a dog leg.

“A lot of the findings that we see with predation are different than what we might see with human involvement as far as mutilation,” said Merck.

“The findings depend on the type of predator, it can be a domestic dog or it can be a more of a wildlife predator.”

Some of the cats were found in two pieces, as if sawed in half, but Merck said it would not be difficult for a coyote to perform the damage.

The SPCA has closed the book on the case, but the RCMP still thinks human involvement may explain why some of the cats ended up in strange places, such as under a missing cat poster.

“From a policing perspective our files aren’t closed at this point,” said RCMP Sgt. Peter Thiessen. “There’s a few outstanding incidents where there could quite possibly could have been and quite likely was some post death-human involvement in regards to how and where the remains were found.”

Thiessen said the individual that may be responsible for such and incident would “clearly have some personal issues.”

Despite finding no evidence of human involvement in the killing of the cats, the SPCA said it does not regret telling the public a person could be responsible.

Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations, said the society took a cautious approach in case the perpetrator was someone who planned on eventually killing humans.

She said initial pathology reports on the dead cats found the wounds were consistent with machete or a hatchet, leading the SPCA to announce the possibility of human involvement.

News Link:-http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120615/bc_cat_mutilations_maple_ridge_120615/20120615/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

 

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• Maple Ridge cat killer strikes again (preciousjules1985.wordpress.com)
• Experts caution to wait for forensic evidence in Maple Ridge, B.C., cat killings (preciousjules1985.wordpress.com)

Juvenile humpback whale likely suffered for months before dying on White Rock beach (with video)

METRO VANCOUVER

Fisheries officers and police stand by a dead beached humpback whale as a man paddles by on White Rock Beach in White Rock, BC., June 12, 2012. The whale, which was discovered at about 4 a.m. had become entangled in a fishing net and died on the beach.

The steady return of humpback whales to local waters took a graphic twist Tuesday morning when a juvenile wrapped in line washed ashore and died just east of the White Rock pier.

Hundreds of onlookers swarmed the scene, experiencing a mixture of sadness and awe at the presence of such a large marine mammal at their feet.

Some brought flowers for the whale. Members of the Semiahmoo First Nation danced and drummed in its honour. Both RCMP and federal fisheries officers stood in soaking boots and pants to maintain crowd control in the sea water.

In classic west coast fashion, one man on a standup paddleboard cruised by for a closer look before authorities shooed him away.

While grey whales are known to wash ashore in Metro Vancouver from time to time, this is the first such event in recent memory involving a humpback whale and is further evidence of the species’ gradual return to local waters.

“We know they used to inhabit the Strait of Georgia 100 years ago,” said Lance Barrett-Lennard, a marine mammal specialist with the Vancouver Aquarium.

“We see it as a good sign they are using these waters again, but they’re still not an everyday sight.”

RCMP Sgt. Paul Vadik said police were first notified of the beached whale at 5:15 a.m. It was still breathing but died about an hour later.

The whale measured 8.5 metres from the head to the base of its fluke, or tail fin, and is thought to be about three years old.

The creature had become entangled with heavy nylon line in its mouth, baleen and fluke, and could have suffered for months before dying.

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