Oct 27 – Man Jailed For Cruelty To Stray Kitten
A 49-year-old man was sentenced to two weeks in prison for making a kitten suffer by trapping it in a cage. The kitten died shortly after being rescued.
Sergio Orciel, of Lynch's Lane, was sentenced at the Magistrates' Court this morning after having previously pleaded guilty to one count of cruelty to animals.
The case dates back to May earlier this year when Orciel trapped a six-month-old kitten in a cage on his roof and left it without food or water.
The defendant was arrested following a Facebook appeal by members of the Save Gibraltar Street Cats group.
The Royal Gibraltar Police carried out investigations and arrested Orciel after the group posted photos of the kitten.
Members from Save Gibraltar Street Cats took the cat to the veterinary clinic but it was found to have suffered from blood loss after trying to claw its way out of the cage; it was also severely dehydrated and died shortly after. Vets gave the cause of death as emaciation.
When sentencing today, the Stipendiary Magistrate said: "The cat was found traumatised, emaciated and bleeding from its paws.
"The cat was taken to the vet and despite their best efforts, the cat died as a direct result of being kept in a cage on a hot roof with no access to water or shade."
Orciel has shown remorse and was deemed to be at low risk of re-offending.
Suresh Mahtani appeared for the defendant and James Lennane appeared for the Crown.
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