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Trial has begun for a baseball player-turned-actor accused of brutally killing a cat in a jealous rage after complaining that his ex-girlfriend cared more for the furry feline than she did for him.

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A little boy was left heartbroken after someone trespassed into his family's yard, killed his dog and left handwritten notes with mocking messages throughout the scene. Issa was 7-year-old Germer Aguilar's best friend. "Yesterday I was playing with her," he said. "I threw the bone, and then she caught it." When Aguilar's mother arrived to her home on Southwest 109 Court, Monday, she found blood stains on the patio and a note scribbled on the shed saying things like "Ha, ha, ha! I had fun!" In the grass she spotted the nearly 2-year-old terrier mix's...

WALKERSVILLE, Md. -- Frederick County authorities have arrested a man who they said punched a pit bull puppy, fracturing its skull and blinding the animal.

A Park County rancher on Friday waived his right to a preliminary hearing and asked to enter a plea in the slaughter of 32 bison owned by his neighbor. It’s hard to find anyone here sympathetic to Hawn.

Two Canadian teens were handed a year’s probation for trashing a home while the owners were on vacation, and leaving behind a nasty present, according to the Globe and Mail. Among the $10,000 in damages was writing scrawled on the kitchen window and cabinets: "You had a nice cat" and "it's in the microwave." Princess, the cat, "was screaming in the microwave for 10 minutes while it was essentially cooked to death," Prosecutor John Laluk reportedly told the court.

PLANT CITY -- Two young fishermen walked across the street from a pond to give some of their catch to Harold Gene Beall, 66. That's when they noticed a cat's paw sticking out of a barrel on his property. It was clinging to life. The children, ages 10 and 14, told an adult, who called Hillsborough County Animal Services. Investigators went to the scene, and deputies arrested Beall and charged him with animal neglect. The barrel was on his property at 3808 McGee Road, Animal Services spokeswoman Marti Ryan said. He later admitted to submerging the cat in water,...

South of Hartsel, the South Platte River meanders through some of the most fabulous ranch and fishing land in the nation. On a late summer afternoon, the sheer beauty of the setting caused a couple of motorcyclists to stop and point their cameras at a group of handsome horses standing near the river. Exactly five months earlier, a group of 14 men pointed not cameras but guns at a group of bison and shot them dead. Killed were 32 bison belonging to longtime South Park rancher Monte Downare. The slaughter has caused an outrage that the beauty of Colorado's South...

PARKERSBURG, W. Va. (Aug. 24, 2008) - One thousand dogs saved from a Parkersburg, W. Va. puppy mill are now on their way to better lives thanks to the diligent efforts of local authorities and local and national humane organizations. "It is extremely gratifying to know that our efforts will bring comfort and hope to 1,000 animals that spent their whole lives in darkness and despair," said Maryann Hollis, executive director of the Humane Society of Parkersburg. "But we would not have been able to save all of these dogs without the help of United Animal Nations, Best Friends Animal...

A lawyer for the state today defended the firing of a state Highway Patrol trooper who was caught on video repeatedly kicking his police dog. Charlie Jones, a sergeant and 12-year veteran of the agency, has said that he was simply training his canine partner, Ricoh, after the dog failed to release a piece of fire hose. Jones is trying to get his job back. But Assistant Attorney General Ashby Ray today urged the state Personnel Commission to watch the videotape before making a decision. The tape, shot with a cell phone camera by another trooper, shows that the dog...

The newest controversy over exports from China has caused nightmares for researchers documenting the abuse inflicted on animals bred and raised in tiny cages and then skinned alive for their fur. WND has reported multiple times on problems with exports from China, with poison found in pajamas, consumers warned against using ginger, an alert about the dangers from China's pickled vegetables and even the dangers from honey and fireworks. Now comes word from an extended investigation into the fur trade that China is estimated to produce approximately 85 percent of the world's fur products – and it has virtually no...

We heard it through the grapevine - Queens has a purple pigeon. The royal-hued bird wasn't born that way, though. Someone with a sick sense of humor - or a problem with pigeons - painted him purple. "Itwas terrible," said Joe Mora, an animal lover who rescued the birdThursday from a Long Island City playground, where onlookers were gawking at the oddly-colored columbine. "It looks like this was done intentionally...it could have been blinded," Mora said. He tried coaxing the lethargic bird to eat while asking anyone and everyone for advice on how to clean paint from its feathers and...

An East Boston sicko is facing up to 25 years in state prison for stomping a neighborhood cat to death, lighting its carcass on fire and nearly burning down an apartment building into which he threw the torched tabby. Luigi Epifania, 25, will be sentenced Monday for last year’s death of “Nunu,” in what Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley called “a cruel and cowardly act.” A Suffolk Superior Court jury convicted Epifania yesterday of arson and killing a domestic animal, but that’s just the beginning of his troubles. He still faces trial on a separate charge of attempted murder for...

A Los Angeles man who killed his girlfriend's cat, telling her to "follow the blood trail to find Tweety," has been sentenced to two years in prison.

BATON ROUGE -- Some call it a blood sport. Others call it a way of life. But whatever the view, as of Friday cockfighting will be illegal in Louisiana, the last state in the nation to outlaw it. Those on both sides of the battle to end the spectacle that pits roosters with razor-sharp gaffs on their feet in a fight to the death, concede that the law will not eliminate the practice, but only send it deeper into the shadows. "You will have people saying they are going to keep fighting their roosters, " despite the law, said Chris...

The animal rights group PETA has tried unsuccessfully to run a newspaper ad comparing the beheading and cannibalizing of a passenger on a Greyhound bus in Canada last week to the treatment of animals by the meat industry.

Robert Brunette, 45, was arrested by Los Gatos-Monte Sereno police after an anonymous tip led police to him at 6:25 a.m. Police detained Brunette at Los Gatos High School without incident. They received a tip that Brunette was in the vicinity of the high school. They found him at the back of the school. Sgt. Randy Rimple said, "He was just milling around. He did not have a dog or vehicle with him." Santa Cruz County Animal Services Field Director Todd Stosuy wouldn't say more about where Brunette was located or if he had been hiding out there since he...

<p>Miami-Dade police officials plan to include in their 2009 handbook a note about how to respond to calls about ritual animal sacrifices.</p> <p>The decision comes a year after Coral Gables officers raided a home where practitioners of Santeria were slaughtering goats, chickens and pigeons. Several worshippers were held at gunpoint and detained for hours.</p>

A 9-year-old Edgemoor Gardens, Delaware boy was arrested on Friday and charged with setting a kitten on fire. According to New Castle County Police the 9-year-old was among a group of boys who poured lighter fluid on the kitten and then set it ablaze. Now the young boy is facing a felony count of cruelty to animals because the kitten died. Police are still looking for the other boys involved in the incident.

After Nantucket house party, dog found dead in washing machine July 25, 2008 A Yorkshire Terrier was found dead in a washing machine Wednesday, the day after one of its owners hosted a party at a Nantucket home, police said.

The two friends followed Arthur through a series of twists and turns off Socrum Loop Road, until he decided to turn around in the parking lot of a vacant business. That's where Pribe first saw Arthur's face, with a cigar hanging out of his mouth and wearing a dingy hat, she said. They followed him back to U.S. 98 North, where he turned into the supply store. She parked away from the store and called 911 for a second time and waited for deputies to arrive, she said. "Before we knew it, there were lots of police cars all over...

This is an animated video of a dove that we see in most back yards. As a child, I with a slingshot, 22 rifle and 12 gage shot gun, killed many kinds of birds just for sport, to see if I could aim good and bring the little creature to the ground. I didn’t kill for food but in adolescent behavior. It is so cruel and for this reason I created this video to show and teach the cruelty of this kind of behavior.

Costa Rican artiste Guillermo Habacuc Vargas is making headlines for tying a dog from the street in an art gallery as part of an exhibit to starve it to death. The title of his exhibit "Eres Lo Que Lee" was written across the gallery in dry dog food. The food and a bowl of water were both out of the dog's reach. Eventually the animal died of starvation. The artist claimed the dog was sick and would have died anyways. Now Vargas has been selected to represent Costa Rica in Visual Arts Biennel of Central Americas 2008. The organizers have...

A one-thousand dollar reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people involved in the recent burning of several dogs. As we told you last week, five dogs were discovered at three different locations in the Tulsa County area. All had been burned down the middle of their backs with acid or some other type of chemical. Two of the dogs have since died. We know they were burned," Deputy David Long told NewsChannel 8's Bill Mitchell last week. "Whether it was some kind of acid or some kind of accelerant that...

Police say evidence is that cats weren't killed as she says. HICKORY The woman who claims that she saved a kitten thrown from an SUV onto U.S. 321 on June 13 was charged with animal cruelty yesterday. Hickory police arrested Heather Nicole "Nikki" Bradshaw, 31, at the police department after she went there to talk with the investigating officer. Bradshaw was charged with three counts of misdemeanor cruelty to animals, filing a false police report and resisting a public official. "The past few weeks have torn me up," she said. The police "are just trying to find an easy way...

A local FBI agent who reportedly shot and killed a 3-pound Chihuahua named Sassy in front of his home near Lorena in February was indicted Wednesday on felony charges that could end his career. A McLennan County grand jury indicted 39-year-old Lovett Leslie Ledger Jr. for cruelty to animals, a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in a state jail and a $10,000 fine. Before the grand jury decided to indict Ledger, prosecutor Crawford Long granted his request to tell them his side of the story. Ledger was in the closed-door grand jury room for about 25...

Vandals stoned and beat to death about 50 ducks, including some that were just days old, at the Bever Park Children's Zoo overnight. A zoo employee discovered the dead birds around 7 a.m. this morning. Some were floating in a pond, and others were piled up near a broken rake. Dave Smith, the city parks superintendent, said whoever was responsible broke the lock on the front gate to the pen and broke into two of the three night houses where the birds are kept overnight. They believe at least one person herded the ducks together while someone else did the...

HONOLULU (AP) - The Marine Corps said Wednesday it was expelling one Marine and disciplining another for their roles in a video showing a Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff while on patrol in Iraq. The 17-second video posted on YouTube drew sharp condemnation from animal rights groups when it came to light in March. The clip shows two Marines joking before one hurls the puppy into a rocky gully. A yelping sound is heard as it flips through the air. "That's mean. That's mean, Motari," an off-camera Marine is heard telling the Marine who tossed the black and...

HONOLULU — The Marine Corps is expelling one Marine and disciplining another for their roles in a video showing a Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff while on patrol in Iraq. The 17-second video posted on YouTube drew sharp condemnation from animal rights groups when it came to light in March. The clip shows two Marines joking before one hurls the puppy into a rocky gully. A yelping sound is heard as it flips through the air. Marine Corps Base Hawaii said in a news release Wednesday that Lance Cpl. David Motari received unspecified "non-judicial punishment" and "is being...

THE LAST TIME Bill Whiting heard his little brown dog, she was screaming in pain as two miserable bastards tortured her. Whiting heard this over the phone as the two monsters demanded money to return the Beagle mix. Her name was Edna, and she was so gentle that Whiting took her to hospitals, where patients cheered up as they petted her. Edna had pointed bunny ears, warm brown eyes and was Whiting's "constant companion" since he adopted her a decade ago. She had never known anything but kindness from human hands. Whiting made sure that Edna always wore her collar....

PHOENIX - DMX was arrested on drug and animal-cruelty charges following an overnight raid on the rapper's house Friday, authorities said. The 37-year-old rapper, whose given name is Earl Simmons, initially tried to barricade himself in his bedroom but emerged when a SWAT team entered his north Phoenix home during the 3 a.m. raid, sheriff's spokesman Capt. Paul Chagolla said. The arrest and search warrants stemmed from indictments for felony drug possession and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. He made an initial court appearance Friday where bail was sent at $7,500, said his local attorney, Cameron Morgan. Morgan said he expected...

Animal enthusiasts have set up a medical expenses fund to help a dog thrown from an overpass and onto an interstate - and an $8,000 reward for information leading to whoever injured the animal. The boxer, named Seven, suffered a broken jaw and internal injuries, according to the Humane Society of Utah. "We just think it's a senseless, violent act," said Gene Baierschmidt, the society's director. About 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, drivers reported someone throwing the pooch from the overpass above Interstate 15 at 3900 South, said Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Cameron Roden. One passerby retrieved the dog and took it...

State police say they found three dogs hanging and burned over a pile of burning tires in Fayette County. Police say the dogs were found about 5 a.m. Thursday in Redstone Township hanging by ropes from a tree. Theresa Linden, manager with the Fayette County Humane Society, says officials don't know if the dogs were alive when they were hanged. Linden says authorities also found the image of a pentagram on the ground, a five-pointed star commonly associated with Satanism. The back of one dog was burned off. Another had puncture wounds to its neck.

BREAKING NEWS updated 9 minutes ago LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday recalled 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a Southern California slaughterhouse that is being investigated for mistreating cattle. Officials said it was the largest beef recall in the United States, surpassing a 1999 ban of 35 million pounds of ready-to-eat meats. The federal agency said the recall will affect beef products dating to Feb. 1, 2006, that came from Chino-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., which supplies meat to the federal school lunch program and to some major fast-food chains.This breaking news story will be...

Woman Cops Plea, Admits Throwing Dog From BalconyPOSTED: 8:21 am EST January 9, 2008 FLINT, Mich. -- A woman has told a Flint judge she "overreacted" when she threw her roommate's dog off their second-floor balcony after the 9 1/2-pound Pomeranian nipped her 8-month-old daughter's cheek. Patricia Beardsley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit animal cruelty in a plea deal that led to dismissal of two felony animal cruelty charges. Flint District Judge William Crawford II will sentence the 34-year-old February 19. The misdemeanor carries up to one year in jail. The Flint Journal said neighbors testified earlier that Beardsley...

As Mike Huckabee gains in the polls, the former Arkansas governor is finding that his record in office is getting more scrutiny. One issue likely to get attention is his handling of a sensitive family matter: allegations that one of his sons was involved in the hanging of a stray dog at a Boy Scout camp in 1998. The incident led to the dismissal of David Huckabee, then 17, from his job as a counselor at Camp Pioneer in Hatfield, Ark. < snip > ... no charges were ever filed. But John Bailey, then the director of Arkansas's state police,...

A Claremont man has pleaded not guilty to a felony cruelty to animals charge that alleges he whipped his neighbor's cat to death outside his home earlier this year. Bruce Robie, 40, of 24 High St., Apt. 1, was arraigned yesterday in Sullivan County Superior Court. His bail conditions remained intact, including an order to have no contact with the cat's owner, Vanilla-Clove Moonstone. Prosecutor Dave Park said the case would probably be scheduled for trial next spring or summer. Robie was arrested July 17 around 9 p.m. after Moonstone reported to police that her son heard a noise and...

Threatening signs at the entrance of number 164 on Private Road 3463 in Gladewater warn possible intruders from entering. Two hundred forty six dogs were found caged in feces-infested cages, without water or food, GLADEWATER, TEXAS — Sheriff’s officials are calling it the worst case of animal cruelty in Upshur County history. Two-hundred forty-six dogs, mainly small breeds, were rescued from a Gladewater residence Wednesday morning. Many of the dogs were malnourished, diseased and in need of vet care, said Upshur County Sheriff Anthony Betterton.Teresa Dawson The animals were part of a “puppy mill,” allegedly run by Teresa Dawson, 51,...

FAYETEVILLE, N.C. – A police officer is accused of burying puppies alive, officials said. Seven puppies were rescued from Officer John Leggett’s backyard. Leggett, 44, has been charged with animal cruelty and is now on administrative leave while under investigation. Police said at least one puppy was found dead. Officers were called to Leggett’s home Saturday. According to the Fayetteville Observer, Leggett’s daughter, Anna Alicia Leggett, called authorities at about 4:15 p.m. and reported that puppies were being buried alive. Leggett, who breeds black and tan coonhounds, reportedly buried the puppies because they were not pure-bred. The puppies are now...

SUN CITY, Fla. -- Hillsborough County officials are looking for the people responsible for stabbing and stealing pigs from the Sun City Stables. The sheriff's office reports that a 400-pound pig was stabbed dozens of times sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning. Another pig at the petting zoo was also attacked and two others are missing. Authorities have dusted for fingerprints around the pig pen but they are still looking for suspects. Meanwhile, the pigs are being treated for their wounds.

ORLAND, Ind. (AP) — An Orland man angry that his pit bull had killed his Chihuahua dragged the pit bull to death behind an SUV, police said. Kevin Collins, 20, was arrested and charged with felony animal cruelty. He remained incarcerated at the Steuben County Jail on $10,000 bail Saturday night. A woman driving along a county route on Thursday saw the animal being dragged along the dirt road, noted the SUV's plate number and called 911, police said. Police said they found Collins at his parents' house. Collins told police he dragged his pit bull because it killed his...

The animal rights advocates came with a video of a stampeding circus elephant shot dead in the street. The circus animal supporters, many wearing Shriners' fezzes, argued that nobody wants to see a circus without lions, tigers and elephants. On Wednesday, City Hall became the Big Top for a divisive, standing-room-only hearing on whether Minneapolis will ban circus shows featuring wild animals. After two hours of tense debate that featured nationally recognized animal experts, the council's public safety and regulatory services committee moved the issue forward without a recommendation. The full council will vote on the matter next Friday. If...

Today: September 09, 2007 at 5:5:7 PDT Calif. Gray Whale Shot With Machine Gun NEAH BAY, Wash. (AP) - An injured California gray whale was swimming out to sea Saturday after being shot with a machine gun off the western tip of Washington state, officials said. Coast Guard Petty Officer Kelly Parker said five people believed to be members of the Makah Tribe shot and harpooned the whale Saturday morning. The extent of the whale's injuries were not immediately known. Tribe members were being held by the Coast Guard but had not been charged, said Mark Oswell, a spokesman for...

A gray whale died Saturday night, several hours after Makah tribal members harpooned and shot the animal. The men shot the whale without federal permission. Coast Guard Petty Officer Kelly Parker confirmed the harpooning by five tribal members. The whale was one mile east of Neah Bay, in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, about a half-mile off shore The Coast Guard detained the five tribal members and questioned them, said Mark Oswell, a National Marine Fisheries Service spokesman. They later were released to the tribe, who placed them into custody at the tribal jail, according to the mother of...

NEAH BAY, Wash. (AP) — An injured California gray whale was swimming out to sea Saturday after being shot with a machine gun off the western tip of Washington state, officials said. Coast Guard Petty Officer Kelly Parker said five people believed to be members of the Makah Tribe shot and harpooned the whale Saturday morning. The extent of the whale's injuries were not immediately known. Tribe members were being held by the Coast Guard but had not been charged, said Mark Oswell, a spokesman for the law enforcement arm of the National Marine Fisheries Service. A preliminary report said...

Authorities in Atlanta are looking for the persons responsible for setting dogs on fire, including a six week old puppy. Since the beginning of July shelters have seen too many dogs coming in burned. Pet rescue groups, such as PAWS, say they believe it may be a new trend.

The Michael Vick dogfighting scandal is morphing into a broader NFL dogfighting scandal, as other NFL players also appear to be involved in this very weird pastime. But as animal-rights groups get more aggressive in their accusations and demands, the whole scene is getting stranger. And the closer you look, the more you see the deep conflicts in core values that fracture our society. among PETA's prohibitions, is the use of animal skins. The ball, as in football, is an inflated leather object endearingly called the "pigskin." Why does PETA oppose existing NFL conduct policy, and not football itself? J.C....

Who's Killed More Animals? Vick Case Ignites Battle Over Animal Rights PETA Defends Euthanasia for Sick, Dying Pets: 'A Tragic Kindness' By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES Aug. 27, 2007 The fur is flying in an increasingly acrimonious fight over animal rights between two nonprofit groups after revelations that NFL star Michael Vick ran a dogfighting ring. The Center for Consumer Freedom took a full-page ad in The New York Times today, citing the Vick case and accusing rival organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) of hypocrisy and animal euthanasia. "Who's Killed More Animals," the ad asked  Michael...

Cruelty hard to fathom earned Vick hard fate Saturday, August 25, 2007Bill LivingstonPlain Dealer Columnist On the same Fri day that Mi chael Vick pleaded guilty to killing dogs that were not vicious enough to tear other animals to pieces, my cousin e-mailed that she had had to euthanize the border collie, Kirby, that she and her husband had loved. Dog people know that having a veterinarian do this in a terminal case - and Kirby's kidneys were all but gone - is the kind thing to do. My family has had two dogs put down ourselves. We now own...

Circus Sued For Alleged Elephant Cruelty Circus Defends Practices, Says It Controls Animals HumanelyPOSTED: 2:18 am EDT August 24, 2007 UPDATED: 2:27 am EDT August 24, 2007 NEW YORK -- A lawsuit, seeking better treatment for circus elephants, will proceed. After seven years of legal wrangling, a federal judge rejected efforts by Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey to derail a lawsuit alleging animal cruelty. Animal rights groups said the use of sharp hooks by trainers, the routine use of chains, the separation of baby elephants from their mothers and other circus practices are violations of the Endangered Species Act....

Hamas Bee Nahoul Abuses Cats, Lions at Gaza Zoo, Calls for Liberation Of Al-Aqsa Mosque Following are excerpts from an episode of the children's program Pioneers of Tomorrow, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on August 10, 2007.As part of the redesigned MEMRI TV website, each of the over 70 Arab and Iranian TV channels monitored has its own designated webpage: http://memritv.org/content/en/tv_channels.htm. To view the webpage for Al-Aqsa TV visit:http://memritv.org/content/en/tv_channel_indiv.htm?id=175. To view this clip, visit:http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1532.htm. "We Must Arise in Order to Take Revenge Upon the Criminal Jews, the Occupying Zionists"Nahoul, a giant bee: "My friends, Al-Aqsa awaits you. My dears, Al-Aqsa...