To think it was ridiculous to prosecute Mary Bale aka the cat-in the bin woman?

[mrsruffallo]

What a waste of time. Honestly, look at the world around you and get some perspective!

I think you are being unreasonable.

I think that the hysteria is stupid and the facebook weirdos calling for her death need to get a grip, frankly, but prosecuting is important. It passes the message that you do not have the right to do such things.

It's 'only' a cat?
She 'only' put it in a wheelie bin?

She placed a living breathing creature into a plastic container and she did so with no way to know what would happen to it - would it be found? Would it suffocate? I don't know how hot it gets inside a wheelie bin but I imagine it's not nice! Would rubbish be put on top of it and it not be seen before bin day? Would the bin be emptied into the truck and the cat crushed?

She had no right to do what she did. People have no right to amuse themselves in such a way. she deserved to be fined.

She should have been prosecuted, it was the right thing to do.

Incidentally, I've never found any cat mess in any house I've lived in, despite having had many homes with gardens, and at one time living close to a lady who had four cats. In my experience, limited I know, cats cover any mess they make anyway.

As for dog mess - well that's up the humans to clear up after their dogs. I'm a dog lover and have kept dogs in the past (not able to now as I live in the middle of farmland with many sheep around and my garden isn't fully secure) but always have cleared up after them. I have no time for those who won't take responsibility for clearing up after their dogs.

"I am not doubting it was cruel. But worthy of a court case? Dubious"

What an odd thing to say. We have laws against animal cruelty. If something is cruel then that is against the law. While there are certain breaches of the law that are not brought to court due to their trivial nature, animal cruelty is not trivial. If we don't enforce a law then it has no teeth and will not deter anyone.

By saying that cruelty is not worthy of a court case, you are basically saying that protecting animals from harm is unimportant. We are a nation that chooses to surround ourselves with animals for largely selfish reasons. We enjoy their companionship, we use their skills and strength for work purposes, we raise them for food and clothing materials, we like to look at them for recreation. We choose to do this and we therefore take on the responsibility of ensuring that they do not suffer because of it. Hence the laws. What does it say about us if we are happy to use animals for our own purposes but don't think it is important to protect them?

Oops...I should of course have said 'I've never found any cat mess in the gardens of any house I've lived in'. Just clarifying that in case anyone takes it too literally.

I read on a forum elsewhere - there is a woman that posts there that once worked with cat-bin lady, in a bank iirc. Cat-bin lady had locked her in the vault once deliberately and left her there for an hour or so.

So cat-bin lady has form for incarcerating living, breathing creatures. Human ones even.

Well said kungfupannda

I hate cats crapping in my garden.

However I also hate cruelty.

People who are cruel to animals are often cruel to humans.

She broke a law and deserved punishment.

I do however find it hard to understand the public hate campaign against her. There are far worse things to get so upset about.

I always wonder about people who virtuously state that they only eat organic/local meats etc
It must surely follow that they carefully only eat vegan when eating out in restaurants or when away on holiday.

I wonder about her mental health. Was this addressed? I find the video quite chilling and I am not an animal lover, per se. The fact she has incarcerated a human is concerning.

Was that the forum with the initials B&B? I think I read that thread.

YABU.

she said she doens't know why she did it, it was a lapse of judgement

letting people get away with crimes for that reason is a dangerous precedent

however seemingly 'minor 'the crime is

psychologists say that those who start with animal cruelty often go on to harming humans. I'm betting she'd quite happily harm any living thing the bitch.

YADBU

If she doesn't know why she did it lets hope she doesn't find any small children on the street that she deems worthy of the same treatment, she's a bloody loon !

OP, YABVU and probably deliberately inflammatory. What a wonderful person you no doubt are.

I think it's right to take criminal action.

But the reaction to this has been hysterical. Groups about her being worse than Hitler and how she should get the death sentence.

I really hope they're doing proper psychological testing on her because it's not a normal or sane thing to do. It's not the sort of thing like dog-kicking which would indicate a casual, habitual cruelty to animals and it's not like she planned to do it to get revenge on cats. It appears (and I haven't followed in detail) that it was out of character and a one-off.

That sounds like some impulse or lapse of judgement that got out of control and would be related to a serious problem with her mental health. People do have impulses like this but usually resist acting upon them.

I personally find what she did to that animal sociopathic. Just watch the footage...disgusting Woman.

YABVU

I think she got off too lightly.

YABtotallyU.

Just think about it. Try to empathise and feel what it would be like to die in a dark plastic container that you couldn't get out of. Just try. You might change your mind.

I know this is going to piss people off, but let's imagine it in a different way. If it were a small child, would the fact that it was found and unharmed mean that the perpetrator shouldn't be prosecuted? the intent to cause suffering and kill is enough.

So mrsruffalo just because there are wars,famine,horrific crimes against humanity,terrorism etc going on in the world
you think this is acceptable and she should not have been charged and taken to court?

In my opinion these "minor"(as you see it)acts of cruelty to animals are just the start of greater ill in society.

I am so glad she got caught - to hear that she (alledgedly!) locked a colleague in a vault makes my blood run cold.

yes, its a cat ffs. a cat!! why are we so funny about animals here. i dont advocate cruelty, but the fuss made!!!!

Bloody hell! The cat was called Lola just like mine. Didn't know that

See porca, I don't see why that makes so much difference. It was alive and it could feel fear and pain. You say you don't condone cruelty but if you think it didn't merit a 'fuss' it seems to me that you do.

Yes. Cruelty is cruelty - idle viciousness starts small so it wouldn't surprise me if she had imprisoned a colleague. Even if you only look at this case; What would have happened to that cat if it had been tipped into the bin lorry compacter? How would the bin men have felt? She did something casually and needlessly cruel and now has blocked out why she did it. But she still did it and it was outside the bounds of normality. £1,250 is a punishment and the notoriety and shame might make her re-evaluate her casual cruelty. Sorry but I think YABU.