[MaggieMay]

I do think that on the farm, cats were used to keep the mice population down,period. How people dealt with kitten/puppy overpopulation was by drowning them.People did not have access to veterinary care. Now, there is a tremendous effort to spay/neuter animals. There are animal shelters in many area's. The actions of this guard were to deposite the mother cat and five kittens in a trash compactor and crush them. There were alternatives a phone call away, he chose the cruelest one. This I believe was what the judge was addressing.

[Renatus]

If the guy found a nest of baby rats would the outcome be the same i.e. a year in jail? If not what's the diffeence?