Boxer_21
Boxer Insane
When are animals going to get the rights that they deserve?? They don't choose who takes them in, they don't choose where they live. They go with the people who picks them and where their people go. So why is it, that's it's still acceptible to hurt/kill someone else's pet?? Why is it ok to hurt/kill a pet when it's their owners who brought them into the situation. It's so sickening that people can do such horrible things to animals and get away with them. Here's the story that's got me all ticked off....
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Cat Killer Acquitted of New Md. Law
By DAVID DISHNEAU
FREDERICK, Md. (AP) - A landlord who shot and killed two cats after a tenant refused to get rid of them was acquitted of felony charges, the first court test of a new Maryland law designed to stiffen penalties for animal cruelty.
A judge ruled that Eric Grossnickle destroyed the cats in a legally acceptable manner when he blasted them with a 12-gauge shotgun.
``I don't like what he did, but it's not a crime under Maryland law,'' Circuit Judge Mary Stepler said on Wednesday.
The ruling left the cats' owner, April Ritch, frustrated and tearful.
``There is no justice whatsoever,'' Ritch said, clutching a tin box containing Babe's and Angel's remains. ``It's not a crime to take somebody's house pets from their home and shoot them and kill them?''
Grossnickle was also acquitted of theft, but convicted on two counts of malicious destruction of property, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Grossnickle did not deny shooting the cats, which were killed Oct. 1, the same day the animal cruelty law took effect. According to court testimony, he told Ritch five times to get rid of the cats or he would do it for her because they were reducing the home's value by damaging the walls and carpets.
Although the state prohibits inflicting unnecessary pain and suffering on animals, it allows killing them humanely for food processing, hunting, scientific research, pest control, and agricultural practices.
Since Grossnickle killed the cats quickly, using a method accepted by farmers and with no intention of causing them unnecessary suffering, he did not break the law, Stepler said.
Assistant State's Attorney Laura Corbett said the cats were ``unnecessarily, unjustifiably and, therefore, cruelly killed.''
Court rules prohibit the state from appealing Stepler's verdict.
The judge said sentencing would be in six weeks but did not specify a date.
Grossnickle and his attorney, Richard P. Bricken, refused to comment afterward.
The animal cruelty law made deliberate acts of torture and mutilation of animals a felony instead of a misdemeanor, carrying a maximum jail term of three years.
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Cat Killer Acquitted of New Md. Law
By DAVID DISHNEAU
FREDERICK, Md. (AP) - A landlord who shot and killed two cats after a tenant refused to get rid of them was acquitted of felony charges, the first court test of a new Maryland law designed to stiffen penalties for animal cruelty.
A judge ruled that Eric Grossnickle destroyed the cats in a legally acceptable manner when he blasted them with a 12-gauge shotgun.
``I don't like what he did, but it's not a crime under Maryland law,'' Circuit Judge Mary Stepler said on Wednesday.
The ruling left the cats' owner, April Ritch, frustrated and tearful.
``There is no justice whatsoever,'' Ritch said, clutching a tin box containing Babe's and Angel's remains. ``It's not a crime to take somebody's house pets from their home and shoot them and kill them?''
Grossnickle was also acquitted of theft, but convicted on two counts of malicious destruction of property, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Grossnickle did not deny shooting the cats, which were killed Oct. 1, the same day the animal cruelty law took effect. According to court testimony, he told Ritch five times to get rid of the cats or he would do it for her because they were reducing the home's value by damaging the walls and carpets.
Although the state prohibits inflicting unnecessary pain and suffering on animals, it allows killing them humanely for food processing, hunting, scientific research, pest control, and agricultural practices.
Since Grossnickle killed the cats quickly, using a method accepted by farmers and with no intention of causing them unnecessary suffering, he did not break the law, Stepler said.
Assistant State's Attorney Laura Corbett said the cats were ``unnecessarily, unjustifiably and, therefore, cruelly killed.''
Court rules prohibit the state from appealing Stepler's verdict.
The judge said sentencing would be in six weeks but did not specify a date.
Grossnickle and his attorney, Richard P. Bricken, refused to comment afterward.
The animal cruelty law made deliberate acts of torture and mutilation of animals a felony instead of a misdemeanor, carrying a maximum jail term of three years.
:mad:
Many homeowners don't insure to the hilt - if he was worried about property values - he wouldn't have to worry any more 
