Two men charged after attempting to burn cat in oven

Two men who face arson and burglary charges in Cleveland County District Court are accused of placing a cat in an oven while trying to set fire to a Norman transition house last week.

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Michael John Ketcham, 20, and Brandon Ke Reed, 18, also are suspected of setting two fires at an abandoned chapel and another fire to a vehicle Thursday morning on the Griffin Memorial Hospital grounds, and of having stolen property from the transition house and a hardware store.
Each man was charged Friday with two counts of second-degree burglary, single counts of second-, third- and fourth-degree arson, endangering human life during arson, and cruelty to animals.
Sheriff's detectives found and interviewed Ketcham and Reed on Thursday, according to a sheriff's news release. The statement said the suspects tried to set the transition house on fire by using an accelerant and attempted to kill a cat by placing it in an oven with the fire combustibles.
Deputies later found the cat at the scene with injuries to its paws.

Man charged after 161 cats found in home, sick and dying

A northwest Florida man who once had 161 cats will spend 30 days in jail on animal cruelty charges.
Larry Kruger was sentenced Monday. He received credit for ten days he spent in jail after his March 22 arrest on eight felony charges causing pain and suffering to animals and 161 misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty.
His attorney says the 62-year-old Kruger is a hoarder. A veterinarian told the court Kruger had spent $28,000 on health care for his animals.
But the cats were sick with a host of intestinal diseases and parasites. The home was overrun with feces. Eight dead cats were found in a freezer, waiting to be sent for cremation.
Kruger pleaded guilty on Oct. 26. He will also spend the next six years on probation.

Nitro's law needs support

Ohio - The cruel, senseless death of a beloved dog named Nitro is the driving force behind supporters of Nitro's Law HB70. Nitro was a dog that was starved to death back in October 2008 while in the care of High Caliber K-9 in Youngstown, Ohio.
Nitro, a family's beloved Rottweiler, was one of 19 dogs that grievously suffered at this boarding and training facility.
Nitro had been sent to High Caliber K-9 for a board and train "summer camp" after his owners thoroughly researched the facility. The kennel owner, Steve Croley, came highly recommended - there was nothing that would have led Nitro's owners to be concerned for his welfare.
But the facility's failure to return a dog to an owner caused law enforcement and animal welfare agencies to conduct a raid on the kennel in late October. What authorities found was stomach turning.
Dehydrated, emaciated and deceased dogs were found in the kennels at High Caliber K-9. Fifteen of the dogs discovered were being boarded there, 4 others,belonging to the owner, were also in horrifying condition.
Of the 19 dogs discovered on the property, 7 were dead, the remaining were in terrible condition. Among the dead was the emaciated body of Nitro.
When Croley was questioned, he told officials that times were hard and there was no money for food for the dogs. Why this man could not reach out to the dog's owners to ask them to retrieve their dogs, or to the community for help - is an entirely different topic.
Nitro's Law HB70 has stemmed from this devastating incident. Animal welfare laws in Ohio are terribly outdated. Nitro's Law HB 70 seeks to amend section 959.99 of the Revised Code to increase the penalty for violation of the prohibition against cruel treatment of a companion animal by the animal's custodian or caretaker to a felony of the fifth degree.
The law passed the House of Representatives in February 2010, but it has stalled. Supporters of the bill are concerned because it has been sitting in the Criminal Justice Committee since that time - if it does not get to the Senate floor for a vote by year's end, it will die and more animals will suffer as a result.
The Nitro Foundation is encouraging individuals to reach out to law makers and ask them to move forward on this crucial legislation.

 Nitro's Law Petition

Six pit bulls found malnourished/abused

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – Georgetown County Deputies are searching for the owners of six dogs found malnourished and possibly used as fighting dogs in the Jock Trail area of the county.
Authorities say on Nov. 19 deputies responded to the Oatland Section of Georgetown County in reference to animal cruelty, and discovered six Pit Bulls chained up behind an abandoned residence.
Three male and three female dogs were suffering the weight of heavy duty logging chains and several were out of reach of water, according to the deputies' report. All dogs were reported to be in poor health and displayed evidence of possible fighting injuries.
St. Frances Animal Center reports that the dogs showed aggressive behavior toward other animals. In addition, all six dogs exhibited signs of physical abuse by humans.
Anyone with any information in reference to the owners of these animals or any information regarding dog fighting please contact the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office at (843) 546-5102.
Anonymous tips can also be sent by using Text-A-Tip, Just text the word "GCSOTIP" to 274637 and your message from any text enabled cell phone.

Michael Vick going to schools to educate about animal abuse

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Students at Hillhouse and Wilbur Cross high schools are in for a treat Tuesday – NFL football star Michael Vick, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, will be paying them a visit to talk about animal cruelty.

Vick is making the rounds at schools across the country as part of his rehabilitation after serving 18 months in federal prison for running a dogfighting ring.

One of the NFL’s biggest stars, Vick will also talk to the students about the importance of going to college.

On Sunday, Vick ran and passed the Philadelphia Eagles to a victory over the New York Giants in Philadelphia.

Vick is expected to touch on the New Haven Promise, the city’s newly launched scholarship program.

The Promise program offers a free college education to students who live in the city, graduate from New Haven public or charter schools, and maintain certain academic and attendance goals.

Yale University is funding the scholarship portion of the Promise program and the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven is covering administrative costs.

He will be joined by Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, on the visits to Hillhouse at 10:30 a.m. and Cross at noon.

The pair will talk to kids about the cruelty of dogfighting and other forms of animal exploitation and about the responsibilities associated with taking care of animals.

Celebrity Chef refuses to Remove Foie Gras from menu

Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain gave a speech today while local residents held a banner outside displaying the cruelty involved in the production of foie gras, or liver from force fed ducks.
Bourdain has been an outspoken defender of the controversial appetizer, made by ramming large metal pipes down the throats of ducks and pumping them full of massive quantities of food to the point where they are sick and dying, according to animal cruelty investigators who have documented the process.
"Anthony Bourdain has made many false and misleading statements about foie gras production," states Bryan Pease, Esq., President of the Animal Protection & Rescue League (APRL). "He has even claimed that the ducks in Hudson Valley Foie Gras approach the force-feeders, but I have witnessed that they actually struggle to get as far from the force-feeders as their pen or cage allows them to."
Bourdain does not defend all controversial eating practices and has gone on record saying that he has taken pains to ensure that he is never offered dog or cat meat.
The production of foie gras by force feeding has been banned in at least 15 countries, and the state of California banned sale of the product, effective 2012. Six city councils have supported a ban. Chicago also banned the cruel delicacy from 2006-2008, but Mayor Richard Daley gave his former chief of staff and Illinois Restaurant Association lobbyist the clout she needed to get the ban repealed for her clients.
While the Chicago ban was in effect, some chefs experimented with various faux foie gras dishes which were received well by restaurant critics, with the Chicago Tribune's Phil Vettel noting that it was virtually indistinguishable from foie gras.
The Animal Protection & Rescue League has been holding protests nationwide at restaurants that continue serving liver from force fed ducks. Animal cruelty investigators for the organization have documented what they allege to be animal torture in the three U.S. foie gras facilities and several in France. Their video narrated by Sir Roger Moore, the early James Bond Actor, is posting at www.StopForceFeeding.com.
Celebrity chefs who have renounced foie gras because of the animal cruelty include Wolfgang Puck and Charlie Trotter. Dozens of other restaurants have removed the item as well, listed on www.stopforcefeeding.com under "Campaign."

The petition to ban Foie Gras in the US may be found here:   Petition Site

"Crush" videos ban before Senate

WASHINGTON — Videos appealing to a sexual fetish by showing women killing small animals will be banned under legislation that cleared the Senate on Friday and is headed to President Obama for his signature.
The voice vote in the Senate followed a vote in the House on Monday to ban so-called crush videos that depict the abuse and killing of animals.
Congress banned such videos in 1999, but the Supreme Court earlier this year struck down the law, saying it was too broadly written and violated 1st Amendment free-speech protections.
The more narrowly crafted bill going to the White House makes it a crime to sell or distribute videos that violate bans on animal cruelty by showing animals being burned, drowned, suffocated or impaled.
"Animal torture videos are barbaric and have no place in a civilized society," said Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), one of the House sponsors. "By promising to lock up the people who produce and distribute these videos we can work to put a halt to this horrendous practice."
Crush videos typically show women, often barefoot or wearing high heels, stomping small animals to death.
Every state bans animal cruelty, but it has been difficult to apply those laws to crush videos because they often do not show faces, dates or locations. The legislation makes interstate sale of such videos a crime subject to fines and imprisonment.
Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), a sponsor of the original bill in 1999, said in a previous statement that another reason to ban the videos was the tendency in some people to transfer cruelty to animals to cruelty to humans. He cited the cases of famed killers such as Ted Bundy and Ted Kaczynski, saying they tortured or killed animals before killing people.
The legislation makes exceptions for films depicting hunting, trapping and fishing.

To view and sign the people's petition banning the production of these videos, click here:  PETITION SITE