Information sought about man who drove over and killed two kittens in New Cumberland, West Virginia

SACRAMENTO, CA (November 10, 2006) – United Animal Nations (UAN) today offered a $1,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a man who threw two three-month-old kittens from his car window and deliberately ran them over. One kitten was killed instantly and the other was injured so badly it had to be euthanized.

The man went to the Hancock County Animal Shelter in New Cumberland to surrender the kittens on November 4. After he was told the shelter could not accept them, he returned to his car, ran the kittens over and left their bodies in the parking lot. Shelter personnel describe him as a white male in his 20s, about six feet tall with a medium build and brown hair. He was seen driving a white, four-door, older-model Chevrolet with a dark interior and Ohio license plates possibly beginning with “FAX” or “FAY.”

“This was a blatant and senseless act of cruelty,” said UAN President and CEO Nicole Forsyth. “The local law enforcement already has some good leads in this case, so we hope our reward will encourage someone who knows this man and is horrified by his actions to come forward with information that could lead to his arrest.”

Anyone with information in this case should call Sergeant Wansack at the
Hancock County Sheriff Department at (304) 564-4100 or Brenda Hrancho, Director of the HancockCounty Animal Shelter, at (304) 387-4102.

UAN is offering this reward through its Zig Zag Memorial Reward Fund , designed to encourage witnesses to step forward with information about animal cruelty crimes and to advocate the need for harsher punishments in such cases. Research now shows that people who abuse animals are more likely to be violent toward humans.

“Given the connection between violence toward humans and violence toward animals, our society can no longer take animal cruelty cases lightly,” Forsyth said. “We issue the Zig Zag Memorial Reward to encourage law enforcement agencies and prosecuters to apprehend animal abusers and punish them to the full extent of the law.”

The Zig Zag Memorial Reward is named for a Los Angeles dog who was burned, beaten and tortured for hours before dying, and whose assailants were apprehended but received scant punishment.

Now celebrating its 20th year, United Animal Nations (UAN) is North America ’s leading provider of emergency animal sheltering and disaster relief services and a key advocate for the critical needs of animals.

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