OHS lays animal cruelty charges after kitten tossed from moving vehicle
Ottawa Humane Society
Monday, September 10, 2007
OTTAWA, Ont. (10 September, 2007) — A father and his adult daughter have been charged with animal cruelty after they allegedly tossed a five-week-old kitten from a moving vehicle last week.Rachel Trudel, 31, of Ottawa and her father Roger Trudel, 68, of Papineau, Quebec, were charged on Aug. 30 after investigators from the Ottawa Humane Society (OHS) rescued a kitten from a neighbourhood in Vanier. A witness called the OHS on Aug. 27, after seeing a kitten ejected from a car in the early afternoon. The witness told investigators the car slowed down to approximately 15 km/hr when a woman was seen to toss the kitten out of the vehicle’s window and onto the busy road. The witness managed to note the vehicle’s licence number before running to rescue the kitten before it could be run over by other traffic.
The witness then brought the kitten to the OHS, where she gave investigators the licence plate number and a description of the vehicle. The kitten was examined and treated for injuries. Investigators traced the vehicle’s ownership and conducted an enquiry, resulting in charges being laid on Thursday.
The Trudels each faces three counts of animal cruelty under the Criminal Code of Canada for failing to provide suitable and adequate care to an animal and for causing unnecessary pain, suffering and injury to the same animal. Rachel Trudel faces an additional charge for wilfully causing injury to an animal. They are scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 11, 2007.
“This incident is truly the definition of heinous,” said OHS Inspector, Tim Brown. “We often deal with cases that are the result of ignorance or lack of education, but this was a wilful decision to inflict pain on an animal. If this kitten wasn’t wanted anymore, there were so many options available, including bringing the kitten to the OHS. Unfortunately, the people involved chose a despicable and cowardly way out.” The OHS takes in thousands of unwanted and homeless animals at its Champagne Avenue shelter every year.
The kitten in this case is currently recuperating from its injuries and will soon be ready for adoption at the OHS.
Although legally mandated to enforce the animal cruelty provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada, the OHS does not receive any government funding or any funding from any animal welfare group to perform this essential work.
For media enquiries, contact:
Tara Jackson, Communications Manager
(613) 725-3166 ext. 261
A word about the Ottawa Humane Society:
The Ottawa Humane Society is a registered charity founded in 1888. The Society works in and with the community to provide leadership in the humane treatment of all animals, to address the causes of animal suffering, to encourage people to take responsibility for their animal companions, and to provide care for animals who are neglected, abused, exploited, stray, or homeless.
