Humane Officer Cleared Of Wrongdoing After Shooting Kittens As Children Listened

An humane officer from North Ridgeville, Ohio was cleared of any wrongdoing Tuesday after shooting and killing five homeless kittens in a residential area as children listened.

Animal welfare groups are demanding the city fire Humane Officer Barry Accorti who responded to a call to remove a group of feral cats near a family home Monday. The call was placed by a neighborhood woman who was concerned about the family of cats.

Within 20 minutes Accorti arrived, telling the woman and her children, ranging in age from several months to seven years, that the animal shelters were full and that the kittens “would be going to kitty heaven.”

The mother, assuming Accorti was going to capture the animals and that would possibly face humane euthanasia at the shelters, took her children back into her home.

Ohio Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Director Theresa Landon, who took the woman’s complaint, explains what happened next:

“[Accorti] went to his truck and got his gun, which she thought was a tranquilizer gun, and walked around to the back of the house and approximately 15 feet from her back door shot and killed the eight to 10-week-old kittens.”

Landon added:

“Her children were upstairs in view of the windows. They started screaming and crying because they heard the gunshots. They started screaming, ‘Mommy, he’s killing the kittens.'”

Tuesday North Ridgeville Police Chief Mike Freeman cleared Human Officer Barry Accorti in any wrongdoing. However, several local animal welfare advocacy groups have become strongly concerned over the incident and are demanding the city fire Accorti for actions they describe as careless and cruel.

While animal homelessness and overpopulation are a problem, many animal welfare activists suggest there are alternative solutions that are not only more humane but more effective than euthanasia, especially as carried out by Humane Officer Accorti.

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