Court Opinion

ID: 9723149
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 10:04:02.356536+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:45.141686
License: Public Domain

BAKER, Judge,
dissenting.
The first time I went rabbit hunting— and the next to last—I was accompanied by an accomplished sportsman and family friend who was undoubtedly perturbed at how long I stalked my prey before discharging my shotgun in the direction of the poor wretch. As I was too close to the creature, we found little more of my quarry than the tail. Was that felony mutilation? I think not.
Although the majority opines that multiple shots will not necessarily constitute mutilation, it maintains that it possibly could. While I do not condone shooting cats, in this instance it was not otherwise illegal. The rapidity with which Chris and Mark dispatched the feline demonstrates that other than being either incompetent marksmen or intending to quickly destroy the pitiful animal, their acts were not such as prohibited by statute. Thus, I would reverse their class A misdemeanor convictions for cruelty to an animal.