News

WEATHER More Weather
Show the forecast for:
Monday F/Showers F/Showers
16° / 23° Tuesday Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy
14° / 21° Wednesday F/Showers F/Showers
12° / 23° Thursday Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy
15° / 19°

Horoscopes

Text size
A A A

Piercing kittens: Is this animal cruelty?

By MSN NZ
Friday, February 5, 2010
The mutiliations affected their balance and hearing.
Crawford is accused of giving the kittens piercings.
Animal welfare experts say rehab will be costly.
Related articles

A US woman has gone on trial to face animal cruelty charges after three kittens were found in her home with multiple piercings.

Holly Crawford is accused of mutilating the animals with a 14-gauge needle — designed for the much thicker skins of cattle — and selling them online for hundreds of dollars, the Daily Mail reports.

Veterinarian and animal cruelty investigator Melinda Merck told the court in Pennsylvania that the kittens could have been killed by the piercings, which hampered their balance and physical perceptions.

"They were maimed and disfigured … no matter how they tried, they could not escape from this," she was quoted as saying.

Dr Merck said metal rings through the kittens' ears affected their hearing while studs at the back of their necks and the bases of their tails produced a permanent feeling of submission.

"It would make them feel as if they were constantly being bitten (by their mothers)," she added.

One kitten also had a tight band around its tail, placed with the intent of docking it.

PETA activist Amanda Kyle investigated Crawford in 2008 under the guise of wanting to buy one of the animals, which were advertised as "gothic kittens".

She said Crawford, 35, told her one of the animals had ripped out a piercing and that it would be replaced once the wound had healed.

She also claimed the accused had pierced the kittens because it was "neat".

Crawford's lawyers deny the prosecution claim that she "inflicted pain and suffering on the animals in a cruel bid to make money".

In an interview with Associated Press last year, Crawford said she didn't think there was a difference between piercing a cat or a human.

The trial is continuing.

Blog it on My Windows Live Space Text size
A A A
User comments
This person has issues I mean seriously, ***??? People who do animal cruelty really get my back up, with all this happening to animals now the Law which isnt much of one in New Zealand should be alot tougher, but lets face its New Zealand Law which is a joke and a push over and people who get caught end up doing it again and again and why because they dont get much time for it.
omg!! i think this is disgusting i would never do this to my cats!
This is yet again another example of some of the cruel discussing behaviour that some people to defenceless animals. How dare they! I am appalled and horrified!! Maybe humans need some higher being to do this sort of stuff to them!!! D
meow im a cat.. purrrrrrrrr im a cat and i have piercings and im perrrrrfectly fine do you think i should get my tounge pierced cuz im seriosuly consdierating it meow but i don t no if fish would get caught in the bar wat do u think i like milk meow over and out
this is absolutely disgusting. she should be jailed for as long as people are jailed for doing stuff like this to children. and fined. its just so horrible. im angry just thinking about it.
hey people i think this is animal abuse because do animals like it when their skin is pierced i think people who think this not animal abuse can think again
This is absolutely revolting! First of all the poor Kittens do not even get a say in this terrible crime and are put through intense pain and secondly its looks hideous. Not only does it look ugly , what will happen if the kittens piercing gets caught on something then it may get stuck and not be able to get free or it may rip it ear. This is truly disgusting and must be stopped!!
Yep check out the farmers too cos Ive seen cows with rings round their noses Rams with rings round their balls and what not hot iron stamping into animals skin,so is that not count as animal cruelty or what? Or is it cos they're Farmers and its a business selling their animals so its OK to hot iron and ring up their nose or around their balls???Perhaps this Lady is just doing what the farmers are doing and she think its right.
Yes I think we should get the farmers too. Imagine how many people we could fine and jail if we got the farmers for piercing their calves and lambs and goats ears. Putting rings around their testicles and piercing piglets noses so they dont do whats natural to them and taking the animals right away from having balls to grow into what they were meant to be not hormone less. Then theres the fish, yes the fish. Imagine how many more people we could fine and jail if we stopping people tagging fish. This has gone to far, bring back animal rights. Now everybody stop eating meat for 1 whole month, if everybody stopped eating these poor animals that are sent to a meat works to be prepared for our consumption then we could stop these poor animals getting killed. Once your a vegetarian for a month you wont want to eat meat again. But the sad truth is the numbers could never get high enough to make a difference big enough and no-one is about to give up there juicy steak, or tasty chicken breast
thats just horrible thinking about the poor cats its just horrible what people do to the animals you think

Write a comment
Email: *
Your email will not be shared with any third parties or published with your comment.
Nickname: *
Location: *

Subject:
*
Comment:
*
Maximum characters 1000

Comment guidelines
Avoid using:
  • Personal attacks
  • Irrelevant comments
  • HTML tags
  • Personal information
  • Offensive language
  • Text in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
See full comment guidelines
Comment guidelines X
Thank you for sharing your opinions with other users of NineMSN. People will find your comments more helpful if you include relevant information and avoid some common pitfalls.
Please note: All reviews and comments submitted are subject to moderation, NineMSN reserves the right to alter and / or remove any content that does not comply with usage guidelines.
What to include in your comment:
  • A title that briefly summarizes the opinion expressed in the comment.
  • Additional comments adding more detail.
  • Comparisons to other similar products, if this is relevant.
  • To create a new paragraph, press the Enter key twice.
What not to include:
  • Information that will quickly go out of date.
  • Comments on other comments or commenters.
  • Language that other users may find offensive.
  • comments of one sentence or less. Provide information to support your opinion.
  • Personal information like your email address or telephone number.
  • HTML coding. Tags like <b> or <i> will not be recognized.