Fostering a culture of cruelty

There is overwhelming evidence that animal abusers frequently progress to even more vicious anti-social behavior, and yet despite the evidence, animal rights activists say they're waging an uphill battle to persuade local authorities to treat cruelty to animals as a serious crime.迷你倉 Li Yao writes.There was a protest one Saturday evening early this month outside the Legislative Council offices: an expression of public anger by 1,500 people, because someone had viciously mistreated a stray cat. The poor animal was found by a woman who takes care of many stray cats, with the lower part of its right, rear leg missing. She called the police and an investigation began.When vets first saw the unfortunate creature, it was bleeding, starving, dehydrated, dangerously underweight, its body temperature and blood pressure were too low. At first they thought the poor thing was beyond hope and that they were going to put it down. There is the old saying, however, "cats have nine lives." This injured cat pulled through. It regained strength, put on weight and protested with loud caterwauling as workers cleaned her wound and changed the dressing three times a day.People came to the protest with drawings of three-legged cats. Some recorded their pets barking and meowing, voicing get well wishes, no doubt. Tears fell when a video was played, showing the painful recovery on the injured animal. The woman who had been feeding the cat in the months before it was caught and tortured cried on the stage as she demanded, why would anyone hurt these defenseless creatures? Toward the end came the uplifting message of hope: of another cat that had both legs amputated a year ago. Since then, it has found a loving home. There also was a more serious tone to the gathering, a note of anger and protest.Mak Chi-ho, founder of the Non-Profit Making Veterinary Service Society (NPV), said he hoped cases such as this would stir the conscience of the city plagued by a rash of animal cruelty cases in recent years. Back in 2006, animal-lovers and civic organizations banded together to pressure the government to levy stiff penalties for people convicted of animal cruelty: up to three years in prison and HK$200,000 in fines. The law has been of little use, the prosecution rate has been low. When cases come to court, penalties have always been of the order of a slap on the wrist.On May 30, 48-year-old construction worker, An Haizhou, was caught red handed, torturing a cat to death. The three-month jail sentence meted out to An when he appeared for sentencing in August sparked outrage. As animal rights supporters called the sentence "an insult to justice". The Department of Justice bowed to public pressure and applied for a judicial review of the case.The stiffest sentence meted out so far was eight months in jail for 31-year-old Mok Chung-ting, an IT technician who poured paint thinner on a dog and set it on fire in September 2012. Mok claimed the dog's barking irritated him. The dog suffered massive injuries and had to be put down. Judge Li Wai-chi, hearing the case in Tuen Mun, in February, called it the most cruel animal abuse case he had dealt with in 20 years on the bench. Li said he considered a 15-month jail term but reduced the sentence to eight months because Mok had surrendered to the police, expressed remorse for his action and pleaded guilty.Culture of indifferenceThe animal welfare community in Hong Kong condemns what it calls a culture of indifference toward animal abuse case on the Hong Kong police force. Critics complain that the typical response of police is to give any animal abuse investigations low priority, offering the excuse that officers "have a lot of serious crimes like murders and robberies to investigate.文件倉That's how the police handled the case of the stray cat that just had one rear leg amputated this week. The indifferent cop who picked up the telephoned complaint allegedly responded, "There is no need to come over to the police station. It's just a cat." The witnesses and animal advocates including Claudia Mo Man-ching, the legislative councilor from the Civic Party, insisted on taking the case to the police station.The case drew heavy media coverage. The police, in a matter of days, took action, detained a couple, and seized two sickles found near the couple's home that were suspected as the weapons used to injure the cat. The two suspects soon were released on bail, both vehemently denying any part in injuring the animal.Mak, founder of NPV, the organization that rescues and provides free veterinary services for stray cats and dogs, notes a pattern of how police handle animal abuse cases. Police investigate, Mak charges, only to the extent that they can give media and the public the impression that the matter is being looked after. The investigation then drags along, going nowhere for months, until it slips from public view and is eventually abandoned.The Hong Kong Police Force launched the "Animal Watch Scheme" to fight animal cruelty in October 2011. The campaign had support from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Ultimately the inter-agency approach was judged ineffectual, given the lack of clear guidelines for prosecuting offenders.Frontline inspectors have no law enforcement authority and they also have come under criticism for bringing only a select few cases to the attention of police. Thus, say animal rights activists, the number of reported cases remains artificially low, allowing police to issue statements saying the incidence of animal cruelty has declined in recent years.Compassion counts mostMak listed numerous police investigations that went nowhere. "The message from the government is that if the victim is an animal, it is not a life. It doesn't really matter. The only thing that matters is that the offender's behavior is not "decent enough, not up to the standard of this city". So the government metes out a slap on the wrist and admonishes, 'do not do this again'", he said.Of particular concern to animal rights groups is the worrisome trend toward Hong Kong youth involved in animal abuse cases. Four young adults between 18 and 26 will stand trial for kicking a cat in November. The cat was badly injured and had to be put down. A primary school boy posted a video on YouTube, showing how he had fried a tortoise. A first-year student at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University posted a photo of a cat, with its neck, belly and legs tied below the bed in his dormitory. Two weeks ago, two young adults posted a video on YouTube, showing them torturing an octopus captured near Saigon."People did not even know it is a crime to torture animals. This lack of public education has to do with the government," Mak said. "If animal cruelty is indeed a criminal case, Hong Kong police should treat it as such."What counts most is the officers' compassion for the animal victims. They care about justice for animals. They go to the neighborhoods to talk to witnesses, find evidence, and try their best to hunt down the criminals, Mak said.Contact the writer at liyao@chinadaily.com.cnPeople did not even know it is a crime to torture animals ... If animal cruelty is indeed a criminal case, Hong Kong police should treat it as such."mak chi-hofounder, non-profit makingveterinary service societyAberrant personalities may lurk behind the acts of animal abuse. They may give rise to greater tragedies."chang chi-lokpsychiatrist存倉