Mo. Man Charged With Burning Kitten

Drudge | July 16 | AP

[SLB]

LIBERTY, Mo.- A man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly burning a kitten on a barbecue grill as several other people stood around and watched in amusement.

A witness pulled the scorched, 7-week-old tabby from the hot coals, but it was severely injured and had to be put to death, police said.

"They kept saying, `Meow, meow,' and they were poking at it with a stick," said Sherry Scott, who burned her hand grabbing the kitten.

Charles C. Benoit, 24, was charged with animal abuse, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. He was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Jim Roberts, spokesman for the Clay County prosecutor's office, said he does not expect anyone else to be charged, because no witnesses could identify the others.

Scott said that on Friday night, she saw 10 or 12 people at the barbecue grill in the courtyard of the apartment complex where she lives. Scott said she asked what they were cooking, and they said it was a cat. She said the group taunted her, daring her to rescue the cat.

She said the group scattered when she threatened to call police. She said she pulled the kitten from where it had been shoved into the coals at the back of the grill. Its tail, whiskers, fur, eyes and throat were scorched.

"I called him Lucky because I thought I got him out of there just in time," she said.

Scott said she and other residents stayed up Friday night trying to nurse the kitten with an eye dropper of milk. But animal control officers decided that because of its respiratory injuries and inability to swallow food, it had to be destroyed.

"If you would have seen him, you would have cried," said Sheri Simpson, one of the residents who helped care for the kitten.

[Britton J Wingfield]

Yeah, I tend to agree. I don't feel for the animal, since it is just so much walking meat - not much "mind" in a kitten, or any animal for that matter. But it says something about a person that ENJOYS torturing an animal. He has some issues.

They probably aren't a risk to humans since most people who do this sort of thing draw a line between human and animal - they don't respect animals as "human" as the animal rights people do.

That's the reason this kind of thing seems soooo sick and terifying to animal rights activists. To them, a kitten is the same as a child, so this guy did the equivalent of puttin a baby on a grill, at least in the animal rights activists mind.

The fact that what this guy did is a crime, however, is absurd!

[Gigantor]

"Legally speaking, I believe people have a right to do whatever they want with their own property (not established in this article), even live animals."

So you're saying that if this cat belonged to this guy he should be in no "legal" trouble for burning it alive?

Are you really that big of a moron?

[miss marmelstein]

Is there anything more innocent, more trusting or more ravishingly pretty than a tiny kitten?

I have trouble imagining the type of person who has such a lack of imagination that he cannot perceive the fear and pain of a small animal. As the great Lillian Gish said in the movie "Night of the Hunter": "it's a hard world for little ones."

[sinkspur]

- but the penalty here is frigging ridiculous and flat out out of line. 5 years in prison? get real.

Oh, no. It's you again. Another creep who thinks he can do whatever he wants to animals, even if he owns them.

With sufficient publicity, not only will this guy get five years, but he'll implicate some of his trailer-trash friends so they can do a little time and/or pay a little fine.

Animal abuse is a crime, and it's good see penalties for it being enforced.

[The KG9 Kid]

Sure, he could be a 'chollo', but I expect that 'Benoit' is ethnically a redneck hayseed beaverbeard name of the 'I wear turkey hunting camoflage ballcaps out of season in public' persuasion.

A Gephardt voter, you understand.

[Genesis defender]

How about we use something cheap, like Albertson's brand generic whiskey? We DRINK the Jack Daniels while we watch the bees get turned loose on this scumbag.

I've never had any JD, but how about some coffee heavily flavored with Bailey's Irish Cream?

[headsonpikes]

"Legally speaking..."

It's sentiments like the ones you express that separate me from 'Libertarians'.

And I speak as a libertarian.

All ideology is totalitarian and inhumane.

[Britton J Wingfield]

Gotcha. Probably has a mullet, too.

[rmlew]

There are some really sick and/or people in the world.

Int eh summer of 1995, I worked as a camp counselor. Either due to my patient nature of because I missed orientation, I was stuck with the kids no one else wanted.
These ranged from some girls, who on the first day pretended to be drowning to get me to jump in after them, to an autistic boy named John. John was about 7 or 8. He was supposedly only mildly autistic. Still he did not always seem to understand that pain and bad things were corellated. Moreover, he seemed to completely lack empathy. He was also fascinated with fire and locks.
At any rate, his parents bought a puppy for him and his older sister. (Poor girl was only 11, but seemed 30).
A few days later, I noticed that John stopped comming to camp. I asked his sister what was going un. She told me that after teh puppy had soiled his bed, John poured gas on the puppy and torched it. (As you can imagine she started to cry.) Their parents simply buried the dog. Evenutally John came back to camp. I asked him about the puppy and he told me that it would never soil his room.
I have never been so scared of a a kid in my life. I have since found out that he was institutionalized for attemped arson.

[RepoGirl]

Baily's works for me. But, if it's hot weather--I'll take a Malibu and Pineapple. Someone suggested using Bacardi 151 because of its flamability. People--this is all wrong. Bacardi is better when mixed with some iced cold Coca-cola--or lime, mint and sugar for a mojito. GEL-IGNITE would be better for flaming this doof's nards.

I showed this link to a non-freeper friend of mine and he had a good question. Do you think PETA will get all up in arms about this?

[neutrino]

Get a load of tomakaze web page. You can click on his FR name and go to confirm it. The site is: http://www.tomzilla.com/

I find his opinion of FreeRepublic both interesting and revealing. Take a look for yourself.

[Hacksaw]

I don't know if this is happening more often or if it is being reported more often - but I see more of this in the news. I do not believe animals have "rights" but I believe as living creatures they should not be mistreated. This was sadism. I have 2 cats and if someone tried this I would probably be jailed for what I would do back.

IMO, it is just another sign of the decay of our society. We do not respect human life, so why should it be surprising that people would do this to animals?

What kind of person would get a kick from this? I would really be interested to see what kind of lifestyle the people who did this live.

[Sloth]

Are you really that big of a moron?

'Fraid so. I don't recognize animal rights.

[Britton J Wingfield]

PETA is too busy campaigning to have team names changed, or throwing paint on old ladies' fur coats. They spend their life avoiding the real tense situations.

[sinkspur]

tom uses the "f" word a lot, like a ghetto teenager.

He's under the illusion that someone actually cares what a self-absorbed cretin who approves of animal abuse is interested in.

[SarahW]

vicious cretin sauce

[Hacksaw]

'Fraid so. I don't recognize animal rights.

I don't either, but I believe as humans we have a God (or nature if you prefer) given responsibility not to mistreat them. It is one thing to shoot a deer that you will butcher and eat. It is another to inflict as much pain as possible on a deer and then walk away.

That is one of the many factors that separate us fromall other animals.

[uglybiker]

I would be very interested to know the ethnic, religious, and racial composition of this "Group".

Don't really matter. They'll all look the same once rintense is through with 'em!

[Hacksaw]

You guys are pretty funny. Do you light your farts to impress women?

[Genesis defender]

Do you think PETA will get all up in arms about this?

If PETA ever gets hold of this story, some of them might literally die of a sudden heart attack.