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Should selling 'Gothic Kittens' be a crime?

Should piercing the ears of kittens and selling them as 'Gothic Kittens' be a crime?


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MyOwnDrum

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A woman got 6 months house arrest for piercing the ears of kittens and selling them as Gothic Kittens. Do you think this should be a crime?

"Gothic Kittens" Cruelty Case: 6 Months House Arrest for Piercing Cats' Ears - Crimesider - CBS News

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WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (CBS/WFOR/AP) Holly Crawford thought there was nothing wrong with piercing kitty cats with a 14-gauge needle and selling them as "gothic kittens" over the Internet. But a jury thought otherwise and convicted her in February of animal cruelty.

Now, the northeastern Pennsylvania woman has been sentenced to six months of house arrest and is being forced to close her animal grooming business for more than two years.

Luzerne County Judge Tina Polachek Gartley allowed the 35-year-old from Ross Township to keep her pets, which include a dog, three cats and three snakes.

Prosecutors alleged that Crawford pierced three black kittens because "she thought it was neat" to sell gothic kittens on the Internet.

Defense attorneys argued that parents allow children to get pierced ears at young ages, and it would be wrong to hold cat owners to a higher standard.
 
Absolutely. Painful mutilation of a living creature that cannot consent? Yeah, sounds like a crime to me.

Punish eBay while we're at it. It gives dumb people the idea that you can sell anything through the internet. Reminds me of the 17 year old boy who sold his virginity through it. Wouldn't be as hilarious if the winning bid wasn't from a middle-aged man.
 
While I find the premise entirely stupid, I don't think there was anything illegal done there. The cats are her property and it wasn't a form of "abuse". I don't think tail docking is considered abuse, and it's worse than piercing a kitten's ears.
 
Absolutely. Painful mutilation of a living creature that cannot consent? Yeah, sounds like a crime to me.

Punish eBay while we're at it. It gives dumb people the idea that you can sell anything through the internet. Reminds me of the 17 year old boy who sold his virginity through it. Wouldn't be as hilarious if the winning bid wasn't from a middle-aged man.




ear croppin, tail docking, de-clawing, branding, tatooing, tagging.....


Come now.... Its a piercing for the love of dog!!!!! :lamo
 
ear croppin, tail docking, de-clawing, branding, tatooing, tagging.....


Come now.... Its a piercing for the love of dog!!!!! :lamo

Don't forget it is legal to pierce a child's ears too.
 
Why are your polls always so weird?
 
De-clawing I could defend because it serves a purpose, mainly not getting your furniture shredded like newspaper. The rest I'd be against though.

Not to mention, from what I've seen of the pic, it may very well cause long-term permanent damage to the cat. I've heard of women with huge titties developing back problems, much to the chagrin of guys like me who like watching women with nice titties. It just seems to be that weighty metal rods thrust in thin, fragile feline ears would pose problems down the road.

I'm hardly one to invoke animal rights and I'd like to see PETA all lined up and shot, but I just think it perpetuates a slippery slope. I knew a kid when I was younger who put a tiny kitten in a microwave and turned it on. Still shudder when I think about it, and boy would I hate to be the one who cleans it up.
 
Umm...no, it shouldn't be a crime. Not as long as chopping off part of infant's penis is legal. Or piercing a toddler's ears. Or docking a dog's tail. Or ears. Or branding. Or neutering. Or declawing.
 
Umm...no, it shouldn't be a crime. Not as long as chopping off part of infant's penis is legal. Or piercing a toddler's ears. Or docking a dog's tail. Or ears. Or branding. Or neutering. Or declawing.

I agree. What about cruel factory farming practices? I'd be in favor of laws protecting those animals from poor treatment.

This case is absurd.
 
Oh god no, no no no no no no no

PLLLLLLEASE don't let this turn into yet another circumcision discussion.

PLLLLLLLLEASE I beg you.

As to whether this should be a "Crime"?

Eh, I can see the point that you shouldn't be poking holes in animals that can't consent just to make them look better or like a gimmick to sell them. Then again, if we allow people to shorten tails for aesthetics or neutar an animal simply for the convienence of it I don't see how this is too far different.
 
I agree. What about cruel factory farming practices? I'd be in favor of laws protecting those animals from poor treatment.

Me, too. Let's make it illegal to inflict cruel, disfiguring treatment on dogs, cats, and other animals.
 
I guess I'm just looking at it through the eyes of utility. I have no problem with de-clawing because it serves a valuable purpose. Spaying and neutering also do as well. With my utilitarian eyes and brain, I just examine each instance and why it's performed. There's no worthwhile reason to crop an ear or tail, to pierce an ear, or do anything of the sort. And I'm sorry, but "because they're cute" is not worthwhile.

I'm just as much against piercing a baby's ears. I see nothing wrong with waiting until they can give their own input about the matter.
 
Me, too. Let's make it illegal to inflict cruel, disfiguring treatment on dogs, cats, and other animals.

I would be in favor of consistent animal cruelty laws that didn't favor cute puppies and kittens, and were reasonable.

This particular case irks me because what she did to these kittens doesn't approach the cruelty practiced regularly to swine, cows, steer, chickens, and other farm animals. Also, puppy mills and fur breeders.

I'd like to see animal cruelty laws that are realistic and fair to all higher life forms.
 
I personally don't see anything particularly cruel about piercing ears, although these earrings look cumbersome for such small, thin ears.

Ears are not particularly enervated or vascular parts of the body.
 
Why are your polls always so weird?

My polls are meant to be fun, creative, and sometimes bring up an interesting subject for consideration and discussion. In this case the actual subject matter would be 'what is or is not animal cruelty?' :)
 
I agree that the earrings look a bit heavy for the cat's ears. I don't think I'd consider that "cruelty" though. I would never DO that to a cat, and if I saw someone else do it, I'd mention that they looked too heavy for the ears. But the piercing itself? A non-issue as far as I'm concerned.

I'm FAR more bothered by the completely legal and unrestricted practice of docking tails and ears.
 
I agree that the earrings look a bit heavy for the cat's ears. I don't think I'd consider that "cruelty" though. I would never DO that to a cat, and if I saw someone else do it, I'd mention that they looked too heavy for the ears. But the piercing itself? A non-issue as far as I'm concerned.

I'm FAR more bothered by the completely legal and unrestricted practice of docking tails and ears.

I believe that tail docking and ear cropping are illegal in the UK. They have a much more comprehensive and humane system overall in regards to animal cruelty laws.
 
I really don't see how it's any different than the other things we do to pets/livestock, like docking tails, spaying/neutering, ear tagging, ear notching, etc.
 
A woman got 6 months house arrest for piercing the ears of kittens and selling them as Gothic Kittens. Do you think this should be a crime?

"Gothic Kittens" Cruelty Case: 6 Months House Arrest for Piercing Cats' Ears - Crimesider - CBS News

image6173342x_370x278.jpg

I do some work in animal rescue; we maintain some feral cat colonies around town.
We capture ferals and have them vaccinated, sterilized, and ear-tipped, and then release them back onto the street.
When a cat is ear-tipped (part of one of its ears cut off), animal control knows it's part of a managed colony and won't pick it up and euthanize it.

I don't see the point of modifying a cat's ears for no valid reason; at the same time, I know from experience that modifying a cat's ears doesn't really hurt or bother the cat any, in the long run, so I guess it's not that big a deal.
 
I do some work in animal rescue; we maintain some feral cat colonies around town.
We capture ferals and have them vaccinated, sterilized, and ear-tipped, and then release them back onto the street.
When a cat is ear-tipped (part of one of its ears cut off), animal control knows it's part of a managed colony and won't pick it up and euthanize it.

I don't see the point of modifying a cat's ears for no valid reason; at the same time, I know from experience that modifying a cat's ears doesn't really hurt or bother the cat any, in the long run, so I guess it's not that big a deal.

That sounds like a great program.
 
Just showed this article to my teenaged daughters. They think it's ridiculous. One brought up animal testing, which is way crueler than this. The other said "You're allowed to pierce little children".
 
Just showed this article to my teenaged daughters. They think it's ridiculous. One brought up animal testing, which is way crueler than this. The other said "You're allowed to pierce little children".

Good point.
 
For crying out loud people declaw their cats.

Now that is cruel.
 
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