An RSPCA investigation was launched today after a woman was captured on CCTV throwing a kitten into a wheelie bin.
The footage, taken from security cameras outside a house in the Stoke area of Coventry, shows a grey-haired woman stroking the cat as it walks along a wall before looking over her shoulder and dumping it into a large green rubbish bin.
The woman, wearing a white t-shirt and black trousers, is seen closing the lid of the bin before quickly walking away from the scene.
The cat's owners, Stephanie and Darryl Mann, told the Coventry Telegraph their pet, named Lola, which is not yet a year old, was trapped in the bin for 15 hours.
An RSPCA spokeswoman said: "The RSPCA is appalled by allegations that a cat was placed inside a wheelie bin in Coventry in what would appear to be a mindless act of animal cruelty. Investigations are on-going in liaison with the police."
A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "Police were alerted at 8.04pm on 22 August to a cat having being put in a wheelie bin at an address on Brays Lane, Stoke, Coventry.
"The owners reported that the cat had been left in the bin for 15 hours but emerged unhurt.
"Coventry Police have recovered CCTV of the incident and have judged it to be a matter for the RSPCA as an act of animal cruelty."
Anyone who witnessed the incident is urged to call the RSPCA national cruelty and advice line on 0300 1234 999, leaving a message for inspector Nicky Foster.
The cat was uninjured and is believed to be recovering well from its ordeal.
There's a tradition in Japanese horror of building up scary effects by dropping occasional bizarre and creepy but not all that serious events into everyday life (What's that film about the dead girl where the mum keeps finding the taps running and some kid's school bag in her house? A variation would be Chaos Head, where the guy sees wierd murders going on but can't tell if they're hallucinations or not.).
Doesn't work when there's CCTV everywhere.
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The 45-year-old bank worker sparked an angry online campaign after being caught on CCTV throwing the pet into a large green rubbish bin in the Stoke area of Coventry.
Miss Bale told The Sun that she binned the pet as ''a joke'', adding: ''It's only a cat.''
Tabby Lola was trapped for 15 hours after being picked up by the scruff on the neck and dumped in the container.
The four-year-old emerged unscathed but footage of the incident, posted on social networking site Facebook, provoked angry reactions.
Hundreds of people joined groups on the site, including one entitled ''catch the evil b---- who put the cat in the bin'', and many have posted threatening messages about the woman depicted in the CCTV.
The footage also led to an ongoing RSPCA investigation.
Speaking to The Sun, Miss Bale said people were ''overreacting''.
She said: ''I really don't see what everyone is getting so excited about - it's just a cat.''
Ms Bale explained to the newspaper that she noticed the cat as she was walking home from work and began stroking it.
''I don't know what came over me, but I suddenly thought it would be funny to put it in the wheelie bin which was right beside me.
''I did it as a joke because I thought it would be funny. I never thought it would be trapped. I expected it to wriggle free.''
Ms Bale admitted that she ''shouldn't have done it'' but added that she did not deserve the hatred of people around the world.
Lola's owner Stephanie Mann, 24, has appealed for calm and urged people not to take ''matters into their own hands''.
She said: ''I can't believe the reaction to the story. I only posted it on Facebook because I wanted to see who she was.
''Now that the police know who she is, I think people should leave it to them and the RSPCA and not take matters into their own hands.
''Whatever she has done, I don't like her, but I don't want her to get hurt. It needs to be dealt with properly, not by people getting aggressive with her.''
West Midlands Police said Miss Bale had not committed a criminal offence.
A spokesman said: ''The RSPCA is leading an investigation into the incident and will be interviewing the woman shortly.
''Coventry police are supporting the society's investigation and would urge the public to leave the matter to be dealt with in the appropriate manner by the authorities.
''Coventry police have not arrested the woman because she has not committed a criminal offence.''
The force said the woman was not being given police protection and community support officers were outside her address monitoring a large group of people for ''public order purposes as per routine police procedure''.
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Is it not a crime of some sort to release CCTV footage to Facebook? If it is the cat owner who's done it, how did she get that CCTV footage? Since when do we give victims access to the evidence in their crime?
"Oh, I'll just drop a bag of cocaine in the evidence box of my yet-to-be-convicted burglarer..."
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CCTV images show kitten dumped in bin
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