Man Arrested For Burning Kitten on Grill

AP/CNN | 7-16-02 | my favorite headache

[My Favorite Headache]

Man arrested for burning kitten on grill July 16, 2002 Posted: 4:03 PM EDT (2003 GMT)

A neighborhood friend of Sherry Scott holds the kitten they named 'Lucky,' in a recent handout photo.

LIBERTY, Missouri (AP) -- A man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly burning a kitten on a barbecue grill as several other people stood around and watched in amusement.

A witness pulled the scorched, 7-week-old tabby from the hot coals, but it was severely injured and had to be put to death, police said.

"They kept saying, `Meow, meow,' and they were poking at it with a stick," said Sherry Scott, who burned her hand grabbing the kitten.

Charles C. Benoit, 24, was charged with animal abuse, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. He was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Jim Roberts, spokesman for the Clay County prosecutor's office, said he does not expect anyone else to be charged, because no witnesses could identify the others.

Scott said that on Friday night, she saw 10 or 12 people at the barbecue grill in the courtyard of the apartment complex where she lives. Scott said she asked what they were cooking, and they said it was a cat. She said the group taunted her, daring her to rescue the cat.

She said the group scattered when she threatened to call police. She said she pulled the kitten from where it had been shoved into the coals at the back of the grill. Its tail, whiskers, fur, eyes and throat were scorched.

"I called him Lucky because I thought I got him out of there just in time," she said.

Scott said she and other residents stayed up Friday night trying to nurse the kitten with an eye dropper of milk. But animal control officers decided that because of its respiratory injuries and inability to swallow food, it had to be destroyed.

"If you would have seen him, you would have cried," said Sheri Simpson, one of the residents who helped care for the kitten.

Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

[RobRoy]

ok

[PhilDragoo]

Methinks the two of you don't really have a strong grasp of the teachings of Jesus the Christ, or his disciples.

411 posted on 7/17/02 11:53 AM Pacific by RobRoy

You excuse torture of an animal and accuse one_particular_harbour and me of not having "a strong grasp of the teachings of Jesus the Christ".

You pretend to know "Jesus the Christ" excuses the torture of this kitten.

Words mean things, and this is what your words mean.

[fortheDeclaration]

We search in vain for the Architect within the structure of His creation - questioning His very existence, simply because we refuse to see His personality in what He has created, of which we are a part.

The desire of a man is his kindness (Pr.19:22)

He giveth to the beast his food and to the young ravens which cry(Ps.147:9)

Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.(Job.38:41)

[Momaw Nadon]

The issue is not the damage to the kitten. It is the damage to the spirit of the man who burned it.

Does the fact that I killed insects when I was a child, (see post 390), mean that my soul (or spirit) is irrepairably damaged?

[RobRoy]

The problem many here have is that once you bring the moral relativism into the argument regarding some animals being more "conscious" than others, they fall right into the animal rights activists hands. The line has to be clear and distinct - and supported with facts or foundational beliefs - or it won't survive the light of day.

That is why I have won every debate with animal rights activists. My line is black and white. On one side is humans and on the other side is everything else. They don't like it, but they can't bait me with "If whales are like humans, then how about horses, and how about dogs, and how about roaches...

Jesus died for man and man alone. We are stewards of His creation but it is HIS. We are held accountable for what we do. Killing for sheer pleasure is not good stewardship. Everything else that moves is without free will and not much, if anything, more than an automaton. No evidence suggests otherwise, even the ability to learn and remember and "apparent" emotion and suffering.

This is not what makes a human special. This is not what makes us more valuable than animals, that we remember better and are smarter. What makes us special and our bodies lives sacred is that we were made in His image and He gave His very life that we may spend eternity in his presence.

No other creature is made in Gods image or contains an eternal spirit - at least from any reliable source I've read, including, of course, the Bible.

[Diamond]

I specifically do not eat lobster for that reason.

I'm curious as to the basis of your moral condemnation of the boiling of a lobster. Or are you just saying that it is a personal preference of your own, like prefering chocolate over vanilla ice cream?

Cordially,

[RobRoy]

>>The issue is not the damage to the kitten. It is the damage to the spirit of the man who burned it.

Does the fact that I killed insects when I was a child, (see post 390), mean that my
soul (or spirit) is irrepairably damaged? <<

Neither of your spirits is damaged, if you repented.

In fact, if he was sincere in his last recorded statements, I fully believe that Ted Bundy is with the Lord.

Of course this is just my opinion, based on what Jesus said. It's just about the most basic point of Christianity.

[Askel5]

I'm agreed down the line with the decisions you've made -- with your animals as well as your family.

It's one reason I wouldn't have force-fed this cat as if it were a human being and I would hope I'd have the presence of mind to kill it immediately and put it out of its suffering.

A burn is not the same as a broken limb or gash. It's got to be the worst pain there is.

Do you see that I wouldn't apply your judgment to humans where the aborting of the foal is concerned any more than I'd apply your standard of care of your relative to some animal.

If you're not aware of the fact that indeed the courts are ruling in favor of euthanasia and that hospitals and nursing homes -- as in the Houston area -- are adopting certain compliance protocols regarding resuscitation or allowable "extraordinary measures" (including food and water) for saving lives, you should read up.

Most folks don't have the luxury of living among all manner of animals. Their experience is limited to that which I have with my dog (a much-beloved "member of the family" who indeed accompanied me to my family reunion last month and was specifically invited back =) and they don't much think about the pigs or the cattle they buy in pre-sliced chunks and hermetically sealed packages.

I'm no farmer by any means, but I've milked cows and fed and cleaned the horses, nursed baby pigs and been around ranchers and farmers and 4-H'rs sufficient to know theirs is a far more deep regard for the animal AND respect for his true nature as decidedly distinct from human nature.

I'm not dogging your care of your animals anymore than I'm dogging what is a natural human reaction of tender human hearts to the plight of the kitty. I'm just saying they should have killed it immediately (instead of waiting for the Animal Control auspices of State to do their thing) and that the notion some burned cat would be "force-fed" is not only absurd (and somewhat cruel in itself) but absolutely ludicrous in a society where euthanasia's approaching us through the court system like a runaway train.

[newcats]

Just what is your definition of "self aware"? Are they not aware of their surroundings? Do they not crave companionship...affection?
Please define.

[Black Agnes]

The animals place in the food chain has everything to do with the amount of suffering it experiences. The further down the food chain you get the less likely it is that the critter will have the wherewithall genetically to have the capacity to 'signal' pain. The difference between dixie cups and the internet.

[JavaTheHutt]

There is more and more research indicating that the differences between humans and animals is not as sharp and distinct as we once believed. There are animals who make and use tools. There are animals who can learn by watching another animal do something. They have emotions. Some of them can be taught sign language. Our kinship to all creatures on earth is proven by the DNA we possess in common with them.

"It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English - up to fifty words used in correct context; no human being has been reported to have learned Dolphinese." - Carl Sagan

[RobRoy]

>>You excuse torture of an animal and accuse one_particular_harbour and me of not having "a strong grasp of the teachings of Jesus the Christ".

You pretend to know "Jesus the Christ" excuses the torture of this kitten.

Words mean things, and this is what your words mean.<<

Sorry to be so harsh, but you prove my point. Virtually nothing you have said responds to what I have said. Rather, you respond to what you think I said - or what you want to believe I said.

Where did I say I excuse what this guy did? Where did I say Jesus excuses what this guy did? And what gives you the idea that I have the right to excuse or not excuse what he did? I am merely this mans peer, not his god. I have an opinion on what he did and have expressed it here ad nausium.

At no point have I "excused" what he did. I merely tried to put it in perspective.

Kittens are cute, but there are worse crimes...

[RobRoy]

>>Just what is your definition of "self aware"? Are they not aware of their surroundings? Do they not crave companionship...affection? Please define.<<

No inner reflection, no id, just animal instinct. No personhood.

[Momaw Nadon]

The animals place in the food chain has everything to do with the amount of suffering it experiences.

Can you prove that a kitten suffers more than a lobster or vice versa?

Does a less complicated nervous system automatically mean that less pain is subjectively felt?

[JavaTheHutt]

If Heaven is full of repentent serial killers, I think I'll opt for Hell.

Why? Do you prefer the company of the unrepentent serial killers? Because that's where you'll find them.

[newcats]

Still vague.....
Is it animal instinct for a pet to come to you when sad and try to comfort you?And plaese do not say that sort of thing does not happen. I had an old tom once that was very antisocial. Never even liked to be petted. Whenm my Father died, I was sitting on the back porch, sad, and he jumped into my lap, begging to be petted. Did he just randomly pick that moment to do that, or did he sense my emotion?