Man Arrested For Putting Fishing Hooks In Cat Food He Used To Bait Homeless Animals

Aug 22, 2019 by apost team

When a cat turned up at a Plymouth, Pennsylvania animal rescue with a hook embedded in its mouth, volunteers thought it was an unfortunate accident. When two more cats were injured by fishing hooks, they knew something more sinister was happening.

Tollie the cat is recovering at Happy Hearts and Tails Animal Rescue after having emergency surgery to remove fishing hooks from her mouth, esophagus and intestines.

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A good samaritan found the cat and brought her to the shelter. The Tabby was struggling to breathe and showed signs of internal bleeding. A veterinarian was able to remove the hooks and staunch the bleeding, but the young cat is facing a long recovery.

Tollie was found in the same neighborhood as two other cats that had been injured by hooks. An investigation by the shelter staff led them to a 27-year-old man named Kenny Rowles. They believed that Rowles was intentionally harming stray cats that took shelter in an abandoned house next to his home. The staff reported their findings to the Luzerne County Humane Society.

Lisa Devlin, a Luzerne County humane officer, paid a visit to Rowles and found several fishing hooks baited with meat on his property. Devlin removed an injured cat with a hook lodged in its mouth from the property. Rowles was arrested.

Kenny Rowles told police that he was "catfishing." He was charged with aggravated animal cruelty and torture. Rowles was remanded to a Luzerne County prison after he failed to make his $100,000 bail. Nanticoke Magisterial District Judge Donald Whittaker refused to reduce his bail, despite pleas from Rowles and his attorney.

In 2017, Pennsylvania overhauled its animal cruelty laws. The Keystone State now has some of the strictest animal cruelty penalties in the country. Aggravated animal cruelty is a felony and comes with a sentence of up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

There's a good chance that Rowles will spend several years in prison. He caused serious bodily harm to at least four cats, and authorities believe more animals were injured and never found.

Stray cats all over America are at risk of disease, exposure to dangerous weather and cruelty at the hands of humans. Trap-Neuter-Release programs are a humane way to stop feral cats from breeding. These programs also prevent the spread of dangerous diseases like rabies. For more information on TNR programs, visit Alleycat.org.

You can watch the whole story in the video below:

What do you think a fair punishment for Kenny Rowles would be? Tell us how you feel in the comments and don't forget to spread awareness by showing this story to your friends and family – especially the ones with pets.