Another case of horrific animal cruelty toward kittens in Southwest Las Vegas

By Chellie Cervone - Posted: Oct 12, 2012 at 1:57 pm

Horrific animal cruelty toward kittens in Southwest Las Vegas

Cats, Kitten (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There has been yet another case of horrific animal cruelty toward kittens in Southwest Las Vegas and unfortunately all 6 kittens have died.

The latest incident happened at an apartment complex located near Fort Apache Road and Russell Road in Southwest Las Vegas.

Tuesday evening, a mother cat was in the process of giving birth when a group of teenagers began attacking the mother and her kittens, who were being born, with rocks.

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It it was a very brutal attack.

The mother cat was trying unsuccessfully to get her newborn kittens out of harms way.

A neighbor who saw the teenagers attacking the mother cat and her litter contacted authorities.

When authorities arrived, four of the six kittens were already dead and the surviving two kittens were taken to the Animal Haven Hospital for emergency care where they were treated by Dr. Lisa Mauro.

Dr. Mauro told 13 Action News that the two surviving kittens were in horrible, horrible condition. She she said that there was blood everywhere and one of the kittens was partially decapitated.

The compassionate doctor says she is haunted by what she saw.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police are investigating and have not yet announced any arrests.

What will happen to the group of teenagers when they are caught?

Perhaps nothing. This group of teenagers will likely receive the same slap on the wrist that others in the state have received for past kitten killings in Southwest Las Vegas, even though Nevada has passed the Cooney’s law, a law that makes animal assault a felony.

Unfortunately it appears that the Nevada Judges are reluctant to hand down stiff sentences.

In two recent cases of abuse toward felines in Nevada; one in Las Vegas and one in Reno, judges handed down light sentences that included community service working at an animal shelter.

Community Service at an animal shelter!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, sentencing people that have abused animals to community service in an animal shelter is the same thing as sentencing a sex offender to perform community service at a daycare facility.

Offenders need to serve serious jail time and if the offender is a juvenile, then they also need to undergo serious counseling.

One has to wonder where the parents are in all of these cases.

This most recent case of case of horrific animal cruelty toward kittens in Southwest Las Vegas was perpetuated by a group of teenagers.

This wasn’t one or two mentally ill children who go off and commit a horrendous act. This was a group who was hanging out together and apparently and spontaneously thought it would be a fun thing to do.

Where was the parental supervision?

Are the parents involved in their children’s day to day lives and in their activities? Or are the parents perhaps too preoccupied in their own lives and are perhaps fighting their own demons in the 24 hour gambling Mecca leaving their children to find ways to amuse themselves?

It’s a fair and necessary question to ask that needs to be addressed and answered.

If parents are unable or unwilling to provide a stable parental foundation and obtain help for their children who have likely displayed other troubling behavioral patterns before killing six kittens in such a ruthless, brutal attack, then authorities have no choice but to step in and use all of the resources available to them, such as the Cooney’s Law to make an impact.

Nevada judges need to take animal abuse seriously

The Police make the arrest, however it is up to the judges to impose the strict measures that are called for under Cooney’s Law.

Sentencing the offenders to perform community service at an animal shelter is not the answer.

If you witness acts of animal cruelty, please contact the authorities immediately and if you are the parent of a child who is displaying troubling behavior, please don’t ignore the signs and promptly get help for your kids.

The horrific animal cruelty toward kittens in Southwest Las Vegas is not the first case, nor will it be the last case until and unless judges sentence offenders to spend time in jail and not to work at a animal shelter.

Let’s hope the Nevada judges rethink their stance and utilize the sentencing guidelines available under the Cooney’s law to help punish those that abuse animals, send a strong message to potential offenders and hopefully help to control and ultimately eliminate the animal abuse problem in Nevada.