Judge Relents: Animal Abuser Reassigned From Shelters

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Thanks to public outcry, Paul Canfield, who pled guilty to animal cruelty for shooting a cat named Oscar Flecha with a crossbow and arrow has been pulled from doing community service at two PA shelters who were not consulted about having him and did not want his services.

People in PA and elsewhere were disappointed, saddened and outraged at the sentence handed down earlier this week, which called for 6 months probation, $1,000 toward Oscar’s medical expenses, and 75 hours community service at each of two area animal shelters who are not affiliated with the County and were not asked whether they wished to participate.

As a result of widespread disapproval, Paul Canfield will not be performing his court mandated community service at Schuylkill County animal rescue centers Hillside SPCA and Ruth Steinert Memorial SPCA after all, despite the sentence handed down on Tuesday.

According to a Hillside spokesperson, outrage expressed through pressure in the press, interviews, and contact with the Probation and Victim Advocate offices have resulted in Canfield being reassigned.

Staff members at the Hillside expressed that they were not comfortable with having the man who admitted to performing the act of animal cruelty around either their animals or their volunteers.

For more on the case see the two stories on Oscar Flecha indexed here.

31 thoughts on “Judge Relents: Animal Abuser Reassigned From Shelters”

  1. Patrick Canfield should be going to jail. This judge failed Oscar and all animals who have been tortured or abused. Time to show that PA means business when it comes to animal abuse and it will NOT BE TOLERATED!! The judge failed, the justice system failed. Pitiful. I bet this guy will continue to abuse #cats only he will try to not get caught next time He also set an example for his kids. They used to taunt Oscar while he was in Amy’s window.

  2. wth? why would anyone sentence a guy who pled guilt to animal cruilty to do community service at animal shelters????

  3. So what’s that judge going to do for an encore, have a child molester work at a day care? >^,,^< Idiots on the bench need to be removed from the bench.

  4. what an arsh! why do people have to be so cruel? why does the suffering of animals bring joy to those people???

  5. Thank God! The workers could not have turned their back on him for a minute for fear of him hurting or taunting an animal–he’s a creep.

  6. Great news! In addition to picking up the trash from the side of the road (in heat and rain) he should have to clean sewers.

  7. Canfield apparently thought it was an appropriate way to solve a conflict—although he doesn’t seem to be the sharpest crayon in the box.

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