Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Editors's Note: Some of the pictures contained in the photo gallery are graphic and may disturb some viewers.ST. GEORGE — A St. George man made a disturbing discovery Friday morning after finding a dead kitten with two blow darts through its skull laying in his yard.
Lee Webb said he was home Friday morning when he heard his dog barking and growling in his backyard. He said he thought someone might be in his yard so he walked over to the patio door, but he couldn't see anyone.
"So I opened the door and walked out and right here laying by our fountain was a dead kitten with two blow gun darts stuck through its head," Webb said. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I thought, 'That's not real.' "
Webb said the darts had long metal spikes with plastic ends. He found two in the head of the kitten and several others laying in his yard.
"It's disgusting," he said. "Seeing a domesticated animal killed for no reason whatsoever is ridiculous. I think there should be jail time for that and not just a slap on the hand. It's just not right."
Public information officer for the St. George Police Department, Sam Despain, said that police and animal control officers interviewed several residents in the neighborhood Friday evening. A 16-year-old boy in the neighborhood was questioned and officers found probable cause that he was involved in the incident.
Despain said the 16-year-old has been referred to juvenile court and will face animal cruelty charges. The kitten was a community cat and didn't belong to anyone, but wandered through the neighborhood at random.
"(Pets) don't know any better," he said. "They expect us to be nice to them. They don't expect you to kill them. Especially kittens, they'll come right up to you and rub your leg and they'll be wanting water or milk and then you stick a dark in their head? Come on."
Humane Society officials recommend courts mandate psychological counseling for animal cruelty offenders. Anyone who sees or suspects animal cruelty should contact the organization.
"People who do things like this should be given psychological counseling and get the help that they need because this is definitely not normal," said Gene Baierschmidt of the Humane Society of Utah.
A similar incident occurred in February when a teen boy was referred to juvenile court after shooting a cat with an arrow in Washington County.
Contributing: Stace Hall, Nkoyo Iyamba
