CASE OF CRUELTY TO HORSE

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23354, 13 June 1941, Page 11

CASE OF CRUELTY TO HORSE

— ■—♦ ■SOCIETY’S DECISION TO APPROACH MINISTER The recent case of cruelty, by beating, te a horse which died, and for which two men were each fined £5, was discussed at the last meeting of the Christchurch branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Mr A. D. Ford presided. Opinions on the case from the society’s solicitor (Mr J. K. Moloney), from officers of the society, and one of the witnesses, were considered, and after a full discussion it was resolved to arrange for a deputation from the federated societies for the prevention of cruelty to wait on the Minister for Justice (the Hon. H. G. R. Mason) with a request that heavier penalties be imposed in future on persons found guilty of gross cruelty to animals. In the opinion of members the case referred to was one of the worst the society has had to deal with in a verylong time. It was decided to ask the Government to consider a suggestion that licence fees for all female dogs in the city and borough areas throughout the Dominion be raised to £1 a year—a suggestion which, if acted on, should reduce the number of female dogs. The committee .decided further to enlist the assistance of the federation of societies towards a plan to amend the law to provide that in addition to any penalty imposed by the Courts an order could be made prohibiting the guilty person from, owning or keeping -an animal similar to that on which the charge of cruelty was based. This was the present law in England, it was stated, and it had proved very satisfactory.