Trial begins for woman who pierced kittens - Update

A woman in Pennsylvania is facing animal cruelty charges for marketing "gothic kittens" with ear and neck piercings. Holly Crawford, a 35-year-old dog groomer, has gone on trial in the northern Pennsylvanian town of Wilkes-Barre.

Prosecutors say she inflicted pain on the cats to make money. Defence lawyers for Miss Crawford say she that didn't act maliciously.



Her home outside Wilkes-Barre was raided in December 2008 after animal cruelty investigators received a tip that she was marketing the animals online for hundreds of dollars. Three kittens had been pierced a total of ten times.

Miss Crawford says she used sterilised needles and made sure the kittens were healing properly. She said she wasn't trying to hurt them.

News story from the time of arrest.


Melinda Merck, an animal cruelty investigator and vet, told the court that the ear piercings altered the cats' hearing. She said that the piercings at the back of their necks and base of tails hampered balance and jumping. "They were maimed and disfigured," she said.

The trial continues.

Previously.