Woman who put cat in bin fined £250

[John]

Mary Bale, who made headlines around the world after CCTV footage of the incident was posted on the internet, was also ordered to pay the RSPCA's costs of £1,171 after pleading guilty to causing unnecessary suffering.

The ex-bank clerk, who was banned from keeping or owning animals for five years, could offer no explanation for the offence when she appeared at Coventry Magistrates' Court.

But defence solicitor David Murray told District Judge Caroline Goulborn that Bale's father, who has since died, was gravely ill when the "impulsive and irrational" offence was committed on August 21.

It emerged in court that Bale, 45, was walking from her mother's home to her own in St Michael's Road, Coventry, when she started to stroke the cat before "scruffing" it and depositing it in the bin.

The tabby, named Lola, is estimated to have been trapped overnight for around 15 hours and was only freed after being heard crying for help the following morning.

Mr Murray told the court that Bale - whose father was admitted to hospital following a fall at his home before the incident - was suffering from anxiety and depression and had now resigned from her job after 27 years of service.

Speaking outside court, Mr Murray stressed that Bale wished to apologise for her actions and "bitterly regretted" what she had done. The lawyer added: "For a moment's aberration she has paid a significant price. She has received hate-mail, abusive telephone messages and death threats."

Opening the facts of the case, Nick Sutton, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, invited the district judge to watch footage of the incident on a lap-top computer.

Passing sentence, Miss Goulborn told Bale: "I accept that you were in a stressful situation at the time, but that's no excuse for what you did. The media interest in this case has resulted in you being vilified in some quarters and I have taken that into account."

Source - Yahoo News.

[scorpionf]

People who harm animals should have what they do to the animals done to them - see how they like it