Fake names and documents, a citizen’s investigation and the deaths of four sick and malnourished kittens.
A Bracebridge woman was in court earlier this week to plead guilty in a case involving the mistreatment and sale of at least 11 kittens.
On Tuesday Christine Buie, 42, appeared in a Bracebridge courtroom and pled guilty to failing to provide the necessary care for the general welfare of an animal.
Court heard that on Dec. 3, 2021, animal welfare received a complaint regarding Siamese/Bengal kittens being sold on Kijiji that were small and sickly. Several subsequent complaints were made to animal welfare, with 11 complaints filed in total.
According to Crown Attorney William Barnes, all of the kittens required care and were emaciated, dehydrated, malnourished, underweight, undersized and too young to be sold. Three of the kittens died shortly after purchase and a fourth was euthanized, court heard.
At the time of sale, the breeder provided false documents claiming the kittens had been vaccinated and dewormed. The sales were also made using a number of fake aliases, court heard. An investigation was spearheaded by several of the people who had purchased the kittens and the seller was eventually found to be Buie.
Defense lawyer John Skarkey said it should be noted that there was a third party involved in the acquisition of the kittens. Buie, who Sharkey said is actually a lover of animals, had received the kittens from that third party and then made the sales. In total, some $6,882 was paid to Buie for the kittens.
Several victim impact statements were provided by purchasers of the kittens.
Buie, who had no previous criminal record, addressed the court.
“I didn’t want anything it to happen to the kittens and I’m taking every precaution to make sure any animal care is done to the highest standard possible,” she said.
Buie was ordered to pay $6,882 in restitution and given an order for life that she be prohibited from having custody of cats or felines in Ontario except in compliance with a number of conditions. The conditions were not read out in court but Justice Edward Carlton said there are eight sets of comprehensive terms which can be made available to the public upon request.
Don’t miss out on Doppler!
Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox three times per week!
Click here to support local news
Join the discussion: