NEWS AC Pet cruelty detection Hong Kong

[Guest guest]

The first cat case described below may be the same one that I

commented about on AAPN on 11/2/07, although this article stipulates

that the front legs were amputated while the previous information was

that the hind legs were amputated.

 

I described several common types of accidents that occur to

cats; veterinarian Michael Bradley of the Hong Kong ascribed the

injuries to a dog attack. This is also possible.

 

In the second cat case described below, cats who fall from

heights often fall because they are having other physical problems

that impair their sense of balance, distance judgement, and ability

to jump. The causes can include eye injuries, stroke, and

intoxication from secondary poisoning, i.e. eating a poisoned animal

& thereby ingesting the poison with the remains.

 

The latter is both quite common wherever people commonly

poison mice & rats, and rarely recognized. It is also common in

birds, especially around recently sprayed fields, where birds will

feast on poison-crippled insects, then fly into the windshields of

passing vehicles in shocking numbers.

 

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South China Morning Post Monday, May 12, 2008

 

The Hong Kong vets who play pet detective

Zoe Mak

 

Experts at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are

often called upon to determine how an animal died or how it sustained

its injuries.

 

SPCA veterinarian Michael Bradley recounted one case where someone

had phoned in about a dead cat, which appeared to have had its

forelegs chopped off by someone.

 

However, when they examined the cuts on the body, it became clear

that they were made by dogs, not a knife.

 

Dr Bradley also described a case where four dogs had been left alone

in a house for a long time. One dog, a Husky, was very weak and

suffering from serious skin problems and malnutrition. " It was so

weak that it could not fight off the infection, " he said. Another

dog, a golden retriever, had died.

 

SPCA inspectors found conditions inside the house were filthy, with

excrement everywhere. The scene was photographed and evidence

collected.

 

Dr Bradley said that the owner was convicted last October, fined

HK$3,000 and sentenced to 120 hours of community work on three counts

of failing to license her dogs and four counts of animal cruelty. The

Husky has now recovered and is waiting for a new home.

 

In another case, Dr Bradley was called on to investigate a cat with a

broken neck. It appeared the cat had been swung by its head or thrown

from a height. However, after taking X-rays and collecting evidence

at the scene, it was concluded that the cat had fallen from a

building.

 

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Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

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Fax: 360-579-2575

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Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

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