The Court of Appeal on Friday unanimously ordered a man who killed his neighbour’s cat by repeatedly striking it on the head with a broomstick to serve a two-month prison sentence.

The court overturned an earlier decision by the Nicosia district court to suspend the sentence for three years, ruling that there had been insufficient justification for doing so.

However, it rejected the attorney-general’s argument that the two-month sentence was excessively lenient and should be increased.

In its decision, the Court of Appeal stressed the need for strict punishment of animal cruelty offences, both to deter potential offenders and to protect animals from abuse.

The man had been convicted by the Nicosia district court following his admission that he killed his neighbour’s cat in August 2021.

He repeatedly struck the animal on the head with a broomstick before placing it in a basket, where it briefly writhed before dying.

The appeal court noted that it was unclear whether the trial court had adequately considered the brutality of the repeated blows, which caused a fatal head injury, or the fact that the injured animal had subsequently been placed in a basket.

In determining the original sentence, the district court had taken into account the defendant’s admission, clean criminal record and personal circumstances as mitigating factors.

The Court of Appeal acknowledged that the two-month prison sentence could be considered lenient but found that it was not so inadequate as to warrant intervention.

However, it ruled that the mitigating factors considered when determining the length of a sentence did not automatically justify suspending it.

The appeal court found that the district court had failed to provide sufficient reasons for suspending the sentence.

It also rejected the defence’s argument that the time elapsed since the offence should be treated as a mitigating factor.

The court noted that delays in the original proceedings had resulted from difficulties serving the indictment, postponements involving the defence and the welfare office’s failure to prepare a report on time because the defendant had not responded.

The Court of Appeal therefore rejected the attorney-general’s challenge to the length of the sentence but upheld the appeal against its suspension, ordering the man to begin serving his two-month prison term immediately.

A missed connection flight resulted in a special friendship at Chicago O'Hare International Airport in September.

The post WATCH: Traveler Rescues ‘Joyful’ Stray Kitten Wandering Around Chicago Airport appeared first on Breitbart.

When Sabrina Imbler’s cat, Melon, becomes seriously ill with what is later confirmed as feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), Imbler feels she doesn’t have time to wait for a formal diagnosis and turns to a Facebook group that connects desperate cat owners with a black‑market treatment: GS‑441524. Injecting Melon twice a day at home, they enter a frantic stretch in which the acidic drug causes a wound to open on Melon’s back, and she is sentenced to weeks in a hated recovery suit called a Suitical: “Melon was so upset that she lay on her side like a tipped cow for hours, her chin glumly fixed to the carpet.” With Melon finally fully recovered, Imbler has the space to look back on the desperate measures it took to save her.

The FIP Warriors contact met me in the lobby of their building, wearing a knit cap with cat ears. They proceeded to demonstrate how to deliver the medicine on their stuffed cat, Edward. I watched as they manipulated the stuffed toy, lifting up pockets in Edward’s “skin” into which I was to drive a 22-gauge needle at an angle into subcutaneous tissue. I paid $50 for two vials of injectable GS-441524, which was acidic to keep it shelf-stable. This acidity, the contact warned me, meant the injections burned. “It’s really best if you have help,” they told me. “Will you have help?” No, I told them. My ex was out of town and it was just me and Melon. “Well, you’ll figure something out,” they said. I would have to.

As the wildfires in western Attica rage for fourth consecutive day, voluntary organizations give their own battle to rescue animals, mostly pets, cats and dogs, left behind when their owners were ordered to evacuate. Animal lovers and volunteers rushed to rescue the abandoned animals or strays from the fire affected areas, set up provisional collection […]

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