A jury found a man charged with five counts of animal cruelty last year not guilty on Thursday.
James Steele Reid, who stood beside his lawyer looked relieved when the words “not guilty” were read by the clerk.
Assistant State Attorney Lydia Swanson argued that Reid deliberately lopped off the tails of the five kittens, adding that his actions “cause unnecessary pain to these kittens.”
Swanson said Reid was angry at the kittens’ owners and wanted to cut off their tails. Swanson argued that Reid told the kittens’ owner several times about what he was going to do.
Alavi, in her counter to Swanson’s argument, asked the jurors to put their emotions aside and “judge the case on the facts you heard.” She said Reid did not mutilate or torment the kittens. She said if he did, then why he would have put iodine on the kittens’ wounds after snapping their tails.
Marion County Animal Services officials were notified about the incident and they began investigating. An animal services investigator told deputies that if a kitten’s tail is snipped, it should be done when the kitten is between three and five days old. Anesthetic is usually used when the procedure is done and a single stitch is used to close the wound.
Deputies were told that in the case of the kittens, their tails were improperly cut because of their age. Also, there was no anesthetic and no stitches to assist with the healing.
Maria Myers, Reid’s sister, took the stand and said they lived on farms and their father used to cut the tails off kittens.
Reid, who took the stand in his defense, admitted to cutting the kitten tails, but did so as he was going to claim them as his own. He said when he cut the kitten tails, they did not scream. He said they were many Feral cats running around the property and they would feed them.
Lilly Baron, president of Society of Cruelty Against Animals of Ocala, who sat through the day-long trial, was disappointed with the decision.
“This sends a very negative message and he will do it to other kittens,” she said.
Jurors refused to comment.