Animal injustice

Animal cruelty needs to be taken far more seriously than it is in this country. If ever there was a perfect example of how sentencing does not affect public revulsion and the level of suffering inflicted, it was the pathetic, unduly lenient sentence imposed on a man who kicked his dog unconscious and then threw him into oncoming traffic.

He was given four months custody and banned from keeping animals for four years at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court this week. Fortunately the dog survived and was rehomed. But he should never be allowed near an animal for the rest of his life, never mind four years. The function of the courts is punitive but surely it should be a deterrent as well? It is a disgrace. What on earth was this sheriff thinking? It is making a mockery out of animal cruelty. GORDON KENNEDY Simpson Square, Perth