Frequently Asked Questions

What happened to the cat?

In 2001, a cat was taken by three men, Jesse Power, Anthony Wennekers, and Matt Kaczorowski. They killed it slowly, by hanging it, cutting it open, removing an ear with pliers and an eye with dental tools, all while the cat was still alive. There is no doubt about what happened or who did it, because the men videotaped their actions.

The horrible details appeared in newspaper articles, including Unspeakable horror of the cat torturers (by Rosie Dimanno, Toronto Star, April 15, 2002), and Cat torture was not art: judges (by Christie Blatchford, National Post, June 14, 2003).

What punishment did the men receive?

Jesse Power was sentenced to 90 days' jail time to be served on weekends, plus house arrest requiring him to stay in his home except to attend school and work, followed by three years on probation. His school, the Ontario College of Art, expelled him.

Anthony Wennekers was sentenced to the time he had already served in the downtown Don Jail while awaiting the trial (10 months).

Matt Kaczorowski was sentenced Friday to the maximum six months his animal cruelty charge, but received eight months credit for the four months he spent in jail awaiting sentencing.

Why were the sentences so short?

Under Canada's antiquated cruelty to animals law, the maximum sentence is only 6 months. The Canadian Senate (an unelected body) has been delaying the passage of a stronger anti-cruelty law because of pressure from special interest groups (hunters, farmers, animal experimenters, etc.) For more information about activism to strengthen Canada's laws, see the Toronto Coalition for Anticruelty Legislation website.

Why did they do it?

Jesse Power said the video was an art project. He claimed he was a vegetarian and animal rights advocate who wanted to make a point about the hypocrisy of our society's eating some animals (cows, pigs, chickens) but not others (cats). Despite his claims that he was involved in animal rights, he had never been involved in any of the active animal rights groups in Toronto. All animal rights groups have condemned the cat torture video.

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