Date
October 6, 2006
Contact
Kristie Phelps
(757) 553-8624
Elliot M. Katz
(415) 388-9641, ext. 225
In Defense of Animals
3010 Kerner Blvd
San Rafael
CA 94901
IDA is an international, California-based animal advocacy organization dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by defending their rights, welfare and habitats.
In Defense of Animals Urges Full Prosecution of Teens Who Tortured Turkeys
Newbury, Mass.—In Defense of Animals (IDA) fired off a letter to District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett this morning, urging him to prosecute two teens - Kevin Mahoney and Jon Stella, who have been charged with 42 felony counts of cruelty to animals, breaking and entering, and property destruction for killing 21 turkeys using a shovel, pitchfork and baseball bat - to the fullest extent.
According to the police reports, the two boys broke into Tendercrop Farm (owned by Stella’s stepfather, Matthew J. Kozazcki), entered a growout house where 3,700 turkeys lay sleeping, and began throwing a pitchfork into the mass of birds. One of the suspects brought out a baseball bat and smashed the turkeys against a wall. Kozazcki's brother later discovered the birds' corpses lying in a ditch by a road near the barn, along with a pair of blood-soaked sneakers.
IDA warns that studies have proved that violence towards animals is often a precursor to violence against people. Studies by the F.B.I. and U.S. Department of Justice have proven the connection between animal abuse, child abuse and domestic violence. Violent acts toward animals, when left unaddressed, have been linked to intensified violence and neglect and/or expansion to human victims.
As a child, serial killer Ted Bundy witnessed his father’s violence toward animals and subsequently tortured animals for his own amusement. Earl Kenneth Shriner, who raped and stabbed a 7-year-old boy, was known in his neighborhood for hanging cats and torturing dogs. David Berkowitz (a.k.a. “Son of Sam”) shot a neighbor’s Labrador retriever. Brenda Spencer, who opened fire at a California school, killing two children and injuring nine others, had repeatedly abused cats and dogs, often setting their tails on fire. In Littleton, Colorado, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who shot to death 12 fellow students and a teacher and injured more than 20 others, had both reportedly boasted about mutilating animals.
“The strong connection between cruelty to animals has been recognized by the FBI, mental health experts, and animal protectionist. It is crucial, for everyone’s sake, that this case be taken seriously,” says IDA’s president, Elliot Katz, DVM.
For more information about In Defense of Animals, visit www.idausa.org. Statistics are available at: http://www.guardiancampaign.com/Violencestats.htm.