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Last chance for teenage yobs who tortured cat

27/ 6/2007

TWO teenage boys who filmed themselves grabbing a cat by its tail and hurling it across the road have avoided a custodial sentence.

Horrific video footage shows the cat in a clear state of distress after landing on its side.

The yob filming the gruesome clip on his mobile phone can be heard laughing hysterically in the background and encouraging his friend "do it again, do it again".

At Oldham Magistrates' Court on Friday one of the boys, aged 13, smirked as he was shown the disturbing 15-second clip again, while the elder boy, aged 14, said he did it "for a laugh".

The boys, who we cannot name for legal reasons but who are both from Oldham, were sentenced to intensive supervision and surveillance programmes. District judge Anne Sykes told them: "You get one last chance.

"What we saw on the TV was not very nice to watch. You've both had plenty of opportunities to turn your life around and if you fail this time you will be brought back and there will only be one place where you are going."

Defence solicitor Steven Patrick Higgins said the pair did not comprehend what they were doing. One of the boys had told him he had thrown the cat because "it made him feel happy".

A vet who viewed the video said the cat, which eventually ran off, was likely to have suffered fractures to its tail and a number of internal injuries from landing on its side.

He described the boys' actions as "wanton and callous".

The court heard that the incident took place on March 10 on Hill Farm Close, Fitton Hill, and that the mobile phone footage came to light days later when it was seized by police investigating other matters.

Michael Cheetham, prosecuting, said it was "perfectly clear" that the pair, who were seen laughing and joking in court, had shown no remorse.

Inspector Vicki McDonald, from the RSPCA, said: "This was an appalling act of deliberate cruelty.

"The obvious pleasure they gained from their act is disturbing, especially as the younger boy smirked as he was re-shown the footage."

Parents of the boys were ordered to pay £450 each. The pair were banned from keeping any cat for a period of five years and given 90-day curfew orders.

Inspector McDonald added: "I hope this outcome acts as a deterrent to others, young and old."