Date
November 9, 2006
Contact
Kristie Phelps
(757) 423-0093
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.
Tulare County Resident Increases Reward to $3500 for Information Leading to Arrest and Conviction of Individuals Who Tortured Cat
Bakersfield, Calif.—A Tulare County resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, has added $1000 to the $2500 reward offered by international animal protection organization In Defense of Animals (IDA), bringing the reward total to $3500 for any information which results in the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for torturing a cat and leaving him to suffer and die in late October.
Bakersfield residents feared for their animals and their own safety after learning that an 11-year-old girl found a tortured cat in her south Bakersfield neighborhood. Those who found the cat speculate the person responsible taped the cat up with duct tape and then kicked him to death.
Would you please consider sharing this information with your audience? It may be the only hope for finding the person(s) responsible for this reprehensible act. Anyone with information on the case should call Animal Control Supervisor Tammy Davis at (661) 326-3436.
“People who abuse animals often later move on to human victims,” says Elliot M. Katz, DVM, IDA’s President and Founder. “It is important that this case be taken seriously so no more lives are taken, which is why we have posted a $2,500 reward--now $3,500, thanks to a generous community member--for anyone providing information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible. We applaud Animal Control for their vigorous pursuit of the perpetrator.”
A 1999 Canadian study of 63 suspects who were charged with animal cruelty—ranging from severe animal neglect to intentional killing—found that 78 percent of them had also been charged with offenses involving violence, or the threat of violence, against people. A survey of psychiatric patients who had repeatedly tortured dogs and cats found that all of them had high levels of aggression toward people as well.
For more information about In Defense of Animals, visit www.idausa.org. Statistics are available at: www.guardiancampaign.com/Violencestats.htm.