At the Toronto Humane Society, veterinarians say animals die suffering unnecessarily in their cages while pleas to euthanize them are dismissed. Dozens of staff, volunteers and veterinarians have quit in protest. ... A note written by a staff member or volunteer on the medical chart of a cat, animal ID A127495, admitted last fall, reads: "Died Oct 19 3:15 am. Gasped and jerked and cried last breaths, because there was no one in shelter to euthanize or treat. This is not humane." ... [THS president] Mr. Trow says he strives to keep euthanasia rates low for ethical reasons. “How can anyone suggest that, because he might be here longer than anyone would want, that it's better to put [a dog] down?” Mr. Trow asked. “I think that's a strange suggestion, don't you? You live here as long as you can.” Images (yes, they're disturbing.) Video of a puppy adopted out with a broken leg. The THS web site. [more inside]
posted by maudlin on May 30, 2009 - 63 comments

'Cruelest Farmer' Jailed for Vet Attack
Roger Baker, dubbed Britain's "cruelest" farmer, has just gotten a two year sentence for attacking a vet and pushing her into "a mire of manure and cow urine." He then held her down in the nasty muck.
Given his history of violence and cruelty, doesn't two years seem a little light?
posted by fenriq on Mar 1, 2004 - 30 comments

"In a park in Bali, they found a monkey, a pig-tailed macaque, kept in a cage so small it could not lie down properly, and with one leg chained to the bars.
posted by leafy on Mar 26, 2002 - 6 comments

If this happened in the US, then the owners of the circus would be guilty of Manslaughter, at the very least, due to their negligence in not feeding the lions.

Of COURSE a starving lion is going to grab a kid; to a lion a human looks like lunch.
posted by Steven Den Beste on Apr 11, 2000 - 12 comments