Last week, a Texas grand jury found there was “insufficient proof” to charge Kristen Lindsey DVM, a veterinarian who killed a cat with a bow and arrow, with animal cruelty. The District Attorney closed the case. The Aniimal Legal Defense Fund is now investigating.
The lack of any charges and the photo (above) Dr. Lindsey had taken of the cat and posting it on Facebook outraged animal activists everywhere. Her caption, ” “My first bow kill, lol. The only good feral tomcat is one with an arrow through it’s [sic] head! Vet of the year award… gladly accepted, ” angered activists, the AVMA and her former employer.
Lindsey was fired from the Washington Animal Clinic in Brenham, Texas after receiving hundreds of angry phone calls from around the world and a bomb threat. Web traffic also crashed their website.
It was back in April of this year in which Lindsey used her bow and arrow to shoot a “feral cat” and had the audacity to showcase her “kill” by posting the photo with the arrow sticking out of the back of its head. The feral cat turned out to be her neighbor’s cat who had gone missing earlier that day. His name was Tiger.
It is inconceivable that no animal cruelty charges were filed against Lindsey. The ALDF also has serious doubts about the investigation and is probing the District Attorney involved with this case.
The ALDF has asked Austin County District Attorney Travis J. Koehn to produce all records relating to the criminal case against Ms. Lindsey under the Texas Public Information Act. (Tex. Gov. Code § 552.001 et seq.)
The Animal Legal Defense Fund is requesting the District Attorney’s files on the case because (1) it takes issue with the prosecution’s substantive legal analysis of the application of Tex. Pen. Code § 42.092(b)(2) (killing an animal without consent of its owner) and (2) it intends to examine what steps were taken during the investigation to overcome the issues of establishing jurisdiction and proving venue for Ms. Lindsey’s admitted actions.
“The Animal Legal Defense Fund is pleased to see the Austin County District Attorney taking animal cruelty seriously and we are grateful to the members of the Grand Jury for their work as well,” said Scott Heiser, a former prosecutor and current director of ALDF’s Criminal Justice Program. “Unfortunately, it is possible that the investigation was incomplete and that the prosecution misconstrued Tex. Pen. Code § 42.092(b)(2).
We simply want to ensure that justice is served.” Heiser went on to note that, “Under the Texas Public Information Act, a prosecutor can invoke an express statutory exemption and refuse to produce a closed criminal file where a suspect was not convicted. However, it is our sincere hope that Mr. Koehn will waive this provision and allow a review of this very public case.”
Have a story, please email me at tevangelistaepp@yahoo. Like my tv page at https://www.facebook.com/ACloseUpLookAtAnimalWelfareIssues.
The next time I read a weblog, I hope that it doesn’t disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I do know it was my option to learn, however I actually thought you’d have one thing interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you would fix in the event you weren’t too busy looking for attention.
Sorry to disappoint you. I’m not quite sure what you are referring to in your comment but thanks for your opinion. 🙂