April 15, 2008
This is London
A callous pair who used their pet ferrets as bowling balls before
posting the footage on YouTube have defended their actions, saying
'It's not cruel - ferrets love playing games'.
The sickening shows Andy Thomas, a YMCA employee, and a female
colleague hurling the creatures across the floor to knock over improvised
skittles.
During the film, the woman owner of the two male ferrets can be heard
joking 'now I've got video evidence for the RSPCA' as she throws one
towards empty plastic bottles.
The two clips, which are each around 30 seconds long, have now been
removed from the video-sharing website.
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Sickening: The video shows Andy Thomas hurling
the ferrets across the floor to knock over improvised skittles
made out of plastic bottles
The pair were reported to the Royal Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals by Thomas's brother Lee, 38.
Mr Thomas said: "He [Andy] is being cruel to animals. If I didn't
say anything about it I would be just as bad. The worst thing is that
he finds it funny.
"A lot of people are cruel to animals and get away with it, but here
is video evidence to prove it."
But Thomas, a roller blading supervisor, defended his actions last
night, saying: "It's not cruel - ferrets love playing games.
'It's not harmful. I didn't know the film was being taken or that
it was on YouTube. But it is intended to make people laugh.'
His female colleague, who is no longer with the YMCA, also insisted: "They
enjoy it because they play and bounce around.
It's not dangerous - they are well looked after and get regular check-ups
and walks.'
But Kath Airey, from the RSPCA, said: "Anything like this is particularly
concerning and needs reporting to inspectors.
'They will investigate. The RSPCA would not hesitate in prosecuting
if they found an animal had been abused.
'It's basically adults using animals as a toy. I certainly would not
like to be thrown across the floor like a bowling ball.'
The ferrets, which are aged between four and six months and were adopted
from a resuce centre in Halifax, West Yorksire, were unharmed during
the incident.
Cyril Love, general secretary of the YMCA, also in Halifax, confirmed
he had asked the pair to stop once he realised what was going on.
"It did take place at the Halifax YMCA,' he added. 'I saw it myself
and asked for it to stop. I thought it was cruel and inappropriate."
Last
updated at 14:52pm on 15.04.08 |
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