Sask. Animal Safety Companies urges individuals to report abuse in wake of alleged cat killing

WARNING: This story accommodates particulars of alleged animal abuse.

Within the wake of a Regina man’s arrest earlier this week for allegedly luring and killing a cat in June, Animal Safety Companies of Saskatchewan is urging individuals to talk out about any abuse they witness.

“As a result of we depend on members of the general public to be reactive in our policing of the care of animals, for those who see one thing, say one thing,” mentioned Don Ferguson, the animal safety company’s government director.

“If we aren’t made conscious of those conditions, we won’t examine them.”

Along with his company, which is accountable for enforcement of Saskatchewan’s Animal Safety Act, Ferguson famous individuals can report any animal abuse they may see to their native RCMP detachments or metropolis police providers.

The Regina Humane Society is the one humane society within the province appointed as an animal safety company by the Ministry of Agriculture, which permits it to analyze and reply to animal abuse issues.

The reminder comes simply days after Matthew James Drummond, 29, was charged with 9 offences — together with inflicting pointless struggling to animals — after a cat was discovered lifeless earlier this summer season.

Based on a information launch from Regina police Wednesday, officers obtained a report on June 13 a few stolen grey-and-white cat, recognized in courtroom paperwork as “Spots.”

His proprietor checked her house video surveillance system and noticed an unknown man luring the cat, and taking him from her yard within the 2300 block of McAra Road, police mentioned. 

Additional overview of the proprietor’s surveillance movies confirmed a person — who investigators consider to be the identical individual seen within the different video — trying to lure Spots the day earlier than as nicely.

Police mentioned the cat was discovered lifeless the following day in a northwest Regina area, with accidents later decided to be extreme and non-accidental.

Drummond is presently remanded, after making his first provincial courtroom look on these expenses Wednesday morning. 

The matter was rescheduled for subsequent Monday afternoon to permit him time to safe a lawyer.

Beforehand convicted of animal cruelty

Drummond’s present expenses embody breaches of a number of probation orders. Two of these counts relate to a earlier courtroom order banning him from having animals in his possession.

That stems from an incident on March 3, 2020, when Regina cops situated the then-27-year-old in a automobile with an injured cat and located one other cat lifeless close by.

Drummond was charged with two counts of wilfully inflicting pointless ache to animals.

He was later convicted of these expenses on July 22, 2021, with courtroom paperwork revealing he struck each cats to demise.

Drummond was given a six-month intermittent jail sentence, which — after a 90-day credit score for time spent underneath home arrest and on remand — labored out to 90 days. 

Beneath his two-year probation, he was to not have or devour any alcohol, hashish or medication that weren’t prescribed for medical functions.

The utmost penalties for Animal Safety Act convictions embody a $25,000 tremendous and a two-year jail sentence. A decide may also ban the individual from proudly owning or possessing animals for all times, and order police or animal safety officers to do routine check-ins with out warrants to verify they’re abiding by that prohibition. 

‘When animals are in danger, individuals are in danger’

Ferguson mentioned he can not communicate to this particular case, however famous that when individuals are repeat offenders, it is typically a predictor of future violence towards animals or, in some circumstances, people.

“When animals are in danger, individuals are in danger, and vice versa,” he mentioned, pointing to analysis into what’s generally known as the violence hyperlink — the overlap between animal abuse and different types of violence.

For instance, Ferguson mentioned that kids who’re uncovered to interpersonal violence or animal abuse at a younger age are 3 times extra more likely to damage animals down the highway.

“If there is not important intervention on the time of this prevalence to show the youngsters that this is not acceptable behaviour, they usually’re not faraway from that individual state of affairs, they’re typically going to finish up turning into violent or turning into the abuser themselves,” he defined.

Ferguson mentioned ensuring an individual who commits such acts is banned from proudly owning animals for all times is often ” step in stopping additional victimization.”