A Toronto Man Arrested for Cruelty to Animals

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A pair of raccoons. In search of food, raccoons can create
quite a havoc in people's homes, garbage bins, and gardens
Photo courtesy: www.gan.ca/animals/raccoons.en.html

On a complaint of a neighbor, the police in Toronto have arrested Dong Nguyen, 53, on the charge of cruelty to animals and possession of a dangerous weapon, reports The Toronto Star.

Roddy Muir, the neighbor, near Bloor Street West and Lansdowne Avenue, hearing child-like screaming, came out of his house and saw Dong Nguyen attacking some baby raccoons with a spade. He shouted at him and told him to stop this madness, but the man refused to do so.

When asked why he was doing it, Don Nguyen said raccoons were destroying his garden. His refusal of stopping and the agony of the raccoons impelled Mr. Muir to call the police, who came soon and arrested his neighbor, who was later released pending his appearance in court.

Other neighbours of Mr. Nguyen had good things to say about him. Don Westacott, 53, who knew Mr. Nguyen for the last several years, found him to be a pleasant person. “He’s always out looking after his plants – they’re like his kids.”

Mr. Westacott said raccoons, in the neighbourhood, were pests that were getting into garbage.

One badly injured baby raccoon was taken to the Toronto Animal Services and later to Procyon Wildlife Veterinary and Rehabilitation Services in Beeton, Ontario.

Mr. Nguyen is scheduled to appear in court on July 13.

Animal Rights and Cruelty to Animals Are Foreign Ideas to Immigrants’ Home Countries

Dong Nguyen is most probably an immigrant to Canada from Asia. Before condemning him, one must understand the background and culture of immigrants in their home countries.

In most of the third world countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, animal rights and cruelty to animals are foreign ideas. From their childhood, people are so used to seeing or doing cruelty to animals that it hardly strikes their conscience. If wild animals do any damage or harm, killing it instantly is the norm in those countries.

In the villages, one can see farmers beating cows or oxen for being slow or lethargic during plowing lands. They do so, may be due to their sickness or hunger, but farmers are too concerned about getting the work done than wondering as to why the animals are behaving differently. From their childhood, people, in villages as well as in cities, are used to seeing the necks of live chickens cut by hand or standing cows or bulls being slaughtered for beef by cutting their necks in public.In some cultures, people regularly kill pigs for meat by piercing their hearts with long lances.

Dog meat is a delicacy in many cultures. Dogs are eaten in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Polynesia.

So immigrants, after coming from those cultures to Canada, may hear of animal rights and laws of cruelty to animals, but it will take quite some time for them to realize the importance of these laws.