6.52 AM Tuesday, 19 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 05:07 06:20 12:29 15:54 18:33 19:47
19 March 2024

Cat swinging suspect to appear in court

Published
By AFP

A man is due to appear in court on Tuesday 3 April accused of swinging a cat around by its tail in the street.

Riain Richards, 20, from Ramsgate, Kent, is charged with causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and is expected to enter a plea at Canterbury Magistrates' Court.

The RSPCA released footage of last year's incident, in which a man dances down a street swinging the cat by its tail for over 30 seconds, and appealed for help in finding the offender.

The video, captured by a local pub's CCTV camera on October 29, shows two-year-old Mowgli the cat colliding with the arm of a passer-by as he is swung through the air.

Owner Michelle Buchanan, an IT teacher from Ramsgate, said Mowgli had escaped without injury, but was traumatised.

"It's horrific. I can't believe anyone would do something that cruel. Mowgli is emotional. He's just distraught. He won't go out of the door," she said.

"When I got home, he was in my bed so that he would feel secure. Now, he'll go as far as the door and turn back. He used to be outside constantly. He'd be scratching at the window."

In 2010 Mary Bale, a 45-year-old bank worker, was fined and banned from keeping pets after she was filmed dumping a cat in a wheelie bin near her home in Coventry.