Woman faces animal cruelty charges for marketing kittens with piercings
Woman faces animal cruelty charges for marketing kittens with piercings
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A dog groomer has gone on trial for piercing kittens she planned to sell on eBay as "Gothic cats". Holly Crawford allegedly gave the three-month-old kittens ear and neck piercings and marketed them online for hundreds of dollars.
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Ouch! One of the three kittens seized at Holly Crawford's house in Pennsylvania. Its ears have been pierced |
Not malicious?
The 35-year-old, from Pennsylvania, is now facing animal cruelty charges as prosecutors in the US say she inflicted pain on the cats simply to make money. But Crawford's legal team claim she was not acting maliciously.
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No regrets: Holly Crawford said she wasn't trying to hurt the animals |
Crawford said she used sterilised needles and made sure the kittens were healing properly. She said she wasn't trying to hurt them.
Her home was raided in December 2008 after Society for The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) bosses were tipped off about the piercings. An anonymous caller had claimed Crawford intended to sell her Gothic kittens via eBay.
Horrified inspectors say they found three kittens that had been pierced a total of ten times.
Vet Melinda Merck told the court the ear piercings altered the cats' hearing and could have killed them.
Maimed cats
She also said that piercings at the back of their necks and base of their tails hampered balance and jumping.
Merck added, "They were maimed and disfigured."
Similar charges against Crawford's boyfriend, William Blansett (37), were withdrawn in February.
The trial continues.
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