It’s easy to be complacent about animal abuse, imagining that only ignorant and depraved people would hurt animals. Many imagine that animal abuse is something only those who grow up to be serial killers would do. The abuse of animals is seen as a rare and unusual crime, and the problem of animal abuse could not possibly be something that hides in plain sight.

Unfortunately, the vulnerable position of animals in society makes animal abuse almost inevitable. Such is the case of Steffen Baldwin, who was charged with 42 felony indictments connected to the death and abuse of 18 dogs.

Steffen Baldwin was the last person you would suspect of animal abuse: described as charming and confident, he was a former leader of the Union County Humane Society in Marysville, Ohio. He founded a non-profit and set himself up as a hero for dogs that were difficult and traumatized.

Justice for Remi

One particular dog, Remi, became a victim of Baldwin’s scam and was murdered by Baldwin. His former owners wanted him re-homed and trained. They loved Remi but could not care for him. Baldwin took their money to re-home and train Remi, and instead of caring for him, he had him euthanized. Baldwin, like many abusers, was manipulative and had no problem lying. He filed a false report with Union County officials claiming Remi was a dangerous animal. Remi had been in perfect health. This was a cold-blooded killing in which Baldwin used the system’s inherent weaknesses against an animal who had no one to advocate for him.

The couple, who battled for justice for Remi, explained that their story often fell on deaf ears. The life of Remi, and the mysterious way in which he died is something beneath the interest of most people.

Baldwin’s scam claimed the lives of many other pets than just Remi. Somehow, just by presenting a pleasing demeanor, Baldwin was allowed to infiltrate the lives of animals, abuse and kill them. Justice won’t be done for Remi until abuse against animals is acknowledged as a common problem. The systems that place a low value on animal life and allow an animal to be officially murdered must be dismantled. Animals must be protected from humans who could harm them, and a human good-will towards animals should never be taken at face value.

Read More:

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/511159-ohio-animal-rights-advocate-faces-42-counts-of-abuse-charges

If you list your pets for free on craigslist and other sites you could literally be in danger of delivering them to a serial killer. In South Dakota earlier this year, animal shelters circulated announcements warning people listing their animals that a cat serial killer was on the loose. Now a petition about a pitbull dog who was tortured and died has drawn attention to the fate of animals who are discarded through craigslist and other sites. This poor animal, known as “puppy doe”, was acquired through a “free to a good home” ad on Craigslist. The puppy was starved, beaten, stabbed, burned and her tongue sliced in two. She did not survive the cruelty.

If you’ve seen the petition about puppy doe you might be mistakenly thinking this is extraordinary, shocking animal cruelty. PETA unfortunately has another perspective. It receives routine reports of serial animal abusers who find their victims through ads (please see this “letter to the editor”). These animals are completely vulnerable to people who want to harm them, such as a Virginia man who pleaded guilty to torturing a dog he obtained through a craigslist ad. The dog was punched, her legs tied together, muzzled and set on fire while she was still alive.

It may be hard to believe, but animal cruelty is incredibly common. People can choose not to list their animals, but it would be even better if Craigslist could set a good example by stopping “free to a good home” ads for good. These ads leave animals in horrifyingly vulnerable positions, abandoned to human beings who can inflict untold suffering and abuse. This petition, started by ladyfreethinker.org, aims to put pressure on craigslist to stop this practice. Please sign and share!

“The reality is, it’s not illegal to kill your own animal in Canada. Someone can take a gun and shoot their dog in the head and as long as the dog dies instantly, unfortunately there’s no law against that.”

This telling quote is from Lori Chortyk, general manager of community relations for the BC SPCA, responding to outrage over the death of a pot-bellied pig who was killed and eaten by her owners less than one month after she was adopted from the BC SPCA where she was nursed back to health. Tragically, during the adoption and matching process, the couple who adopted the pig Molly even put in writing “No, I will never use this animal for food.” Yet, even after the process and an investigation, nothing could be done to hold the owners accountable for Molly’s death. The investigation determined that the pig didn’t die in a way that would be considered inhumane and would lead to animal cruelty charges.

One argument that is being made by people angry at Molly’s death is that this would never happen to cats or dogs. Pigs are intelligent animals that are unjustly treated. This still doesn’t quite reveal the extent of the problem though. The bottom line is articulated by Chortyk: “pets are considered property.” If your animal is considered an object you can do with the animal what you want with it, provided a line isn’t crossed that the law considers too far. The process of the BC SPCA is sadly lacking in its ability to do anything meaningful to protect animals because it’s not legally binding. Animal cruelty laws may protect animals from unnecessary cruelty, but they don’t protect them from the every-day cruelty of being treated as objects for human consumption.

Read more about this story here: https://globalnews.ca/news/4042125/pig-adopted-bc-spca-killed-eaten-owners/

Animal advocates recently drew attention to the death of a dog called Noah at the Devore Animal
Shelter. Noah was allegedly killed for having a broken leg, as part of the shelter’s new policy to kill
sick and injured animals without a grace period.

Although there are plenty of people who would rescue or even temporarily house a dog that is sick
or injured, that option is being swept away. The problem is that shelters are drastically overcrowded
and states don’t allocate funds to create No Kill shelters. The term “shelter” has therefore become
misleading for animal lovers who may not be aware that pets who have an injury don’t even have
time to be considered for a new home. A more targeted approach would be to fund a grace period
for animals like Noah, so that animal lovers and activists can mobilize to get the pet a good home
before they are killed. Without any attention on this issue at all though, “shelters” kill policies go unnoticed. Injured, disabled or sick animals like Noah lose their lives.

Many people are just not aware of this problem. You can help by spreading the word, organizing to
fund animal shelters and contacting your local representative about funding to save animal lives.