Justice for Oreo

3 Comments

Photo of author

By Karen Harrison Binette

Note: audio broadcast interview plays on autostart. It can be manually paused.

wWB
Photo used at the petition page. Not Oreo.

Organizers of a petition seeking the maximum penalty for a Kamloops, BC man who allegedly strangled his own cat and dumped the body are hoping to get as many signatures as possible, to show the court that the public is watching and wants justice for the murdered cat.

Steven Seidel is charged with three counts of animal cruelty in the death of his cat Oreo. If convicted, Seidel faces up to 18 months in jail and/or a $10,000 fine on the federal charge or up to 2 years in jail and a fine of up to $75,000 on the provincial charge, and a lifetime ban on owning animals. The petition asks for the maximum is he is convicted.

Kamloops resident and animal advocate Charlene Myers who is behind the effort told the CBC: “I was of course disturbed when I heard what had happened to Oreo.”

Commenting on the thousands of signatures the petition has already received, she said, “It tells me that people would like to see the courts address these cases appropriately with meaningful sentences.

“Hopefully we could try and demonstrate to the courts that people do have a desire to see some stringent penalties handed out for these cases.”

The petition, which was posted to Lets Turn Facebook Orange for Animal Cruelty Awareness at Causes.com by Jayne Cvetanoski, currently has over 23,000 signatures.

The petition reads:

To: Crown Counsel and sentencing Judge in the Provincial Court of British Columbia

We the undersigned respectfully request that Crown Counsel recommend to the judge the maximum sentence available under the law and that, if Seidel is found guilty of the crime, the honourable sentencing Judge in the Provincial Court of British Columbia apply the maximum sentence available.

In Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, on March 14, 2013, a tip from the public led the BC SPCA to an apartment building where the lifeless body of a cat was discovered in a dumpster.

The black and white cat, named Oreo, was owned by Steven Seidel, who has been charged with one count of “causing unnecessary pain, suffering, or injury to an animal” under the Criminal Code of Canada as well as two counts of “causing an animal to continue to be in distress” under the BC Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

If convicted, Seidel faces up to 18 months in jail and/or a $10,000 fine on the federal charge or up to 2 years in jail and a fine of up to $75,000 on the provincial charge.

BC SPCA Constable Kokoska made the following statement about Oreo’s case: “Clearly, when you have a family pet that meets its demise at the hands of its caretaker, its last minutes knowing fear, that would be a horrific way to die,” he said. “Incidents, all ranges of neglect and abuse, these things happen. But, to die literally at the hands of your caregiver — it is very rare.”

Please sign and share this petition to Crown Counsel and the judge to get justice for Oreo.

##

The petition page includes links to several news stories on the case.

To visit the petition page, click HERE.

.

CBC radio interview with Charlene Myers.

 

1011430_323310404467230_939762057_n
Via Justice for Captain – Petition at Facebook
(Charlene Myers championed Captain’s cause before taking up the standard for Oreo.)

About Author

3 thoughts on “Justice for Oreo”

Leave a Comment