The GOOD, The BAD & The MISCHIEF.

My adventures & misadventures in parenting & life.

Thursday 6 December 2007

Teen Tortures Then Kills Hamster.

By Sky News SkyNews.

A 15-year-old boy has admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a hamster after freezing it, tumble-drying it and then putting it in a washing machine.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty at Harrogate Youth Court.
Youth magistrates banned him from keeping animals for four years and passed a 12-month supervision order.

RSPCA inspector Mike Pugh said: "What this boy did was horrendous."
He explained that it took over half an hour for the hamster, named Poppy, to die.
After first being put in a freezer then heated in a revolving drum, it finally drowned in the washing machine.

Mr Pugh said the animal "suffered severe pain and mental stress" and a post-mortem showed it had lesions on its feet and torn claws.
The vet concluded these were most likely caused by frostbite, trying to climb out of the freezer or hang on to the inside of the dryer drum.
She died of severe respiratory or cardiovascular damage.

Poppy's owner called the RSPCA after finding the pet in the bin.

"The teenager was one of several who were guests at the owner's house.
The owner had been out for the evening and came home to find the evidence of what happened. There were droppings in the freezer and the tumble-dryer," said Mr Pugh.

"Poppy was bought as a gift for the owner's daughter, who was obviously distraught.
"This was an act of senseless cruelty against a defenceless animal.

These days this type of behaviour is not unusual and that is really scary. These kids will be running the country and its businesses when we are old / feeble / frail and need them to take care of us. We will need their compassion, empathy, sympathy and intelligence just to live.
Now that is scary.

Click on Link for story.

2 people have experienced mischief:

Susan Demeter said...

That is very sick! One wonders what this kid could do to a fellow human? Don't serial killers start off this way?

L. Lemanski said...

So sad! This is the state we are in . . . as a high school teacher, I see these random acts of meanness so often it scares me. I just hug my little nearly 4-month old and pray he has a good soul.