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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    2

    Default Website Threatens to Commit Animal Cruelty

    Hello everyone,

    I apologize in advance, as this message will be very long.
    I have recently came across a very disturbing website, in which a person is threatening to eat and kill their cat unless some celebrity reopens her Twitter account.

    The website is www.**************.com, and no one really knows whether or not it's a hoax.
    I was wondering about the legal issues regarding that site, and I need a professional opinion based on actual laws.

    According to the website, this person does not live in the United States and their actual whereabouts are unknown. It is also not clear whether this person is a male or a female, however most news sites claim it's a girl.
    The website, however, is hosted in the United States, specifically Arizona.
    PETA and The Humane Society have been notified and responded, and they both said that as of now, no crime has occurred and probably won't occur in the future, and they can't do anything about it right now.

    Before I join the efforts of the many people who are trying to do something about this site, I wanted to actually make some research and find out whether or not something can be legally done.

    Here are some of my questions - since the website is hosted in the United States, most of my questions refer to US laws, specifically Arizona. However, I assume that due to the fact that this person still haven't committed the possible-future-crime, as of now no law is being broken, otherwise the website would have been shut down.
    Before i ask my questions regarding US laws, I will ask a more important one: assuming this person is sincere, and is outside of the US, and assuming this person actually kills their cat, are there any grounds to actually open an investigation in the US, if the crime was not committed on US soil?
    I assume not, but just wanted to make sure. Also, I assume that if this person is outside of the US, and killing/eating his cat is indeed legal in their country, there would be no good enough reason to shutdown the website, even if it's hosted in the US, since it just tells a story about an action that was taken, but it was not taken in the US.
    - Please correct me if I'm wrong about those assumptions.

    Now, lets refer to US laws. I'm really hoping something can be done about this before this deadline arrives. I'm sure that the fact the website is hosted in the US and the person isn't, makes things a bit complicated. I'm asking about US laws for several reasons - the website is hosted there, and we have no actual info on this persons real whereabouts. Also, if it is illegal there, it may be possible to shut down this website.

    A. Is this person breaking any law, such as blackmail/coercion, just by threatening to go ahead with this action?

    B. PETA states there are laws against eating cat/dogs in seven states only, I haven't found a list of those states though, that could be helpful.

    C. Could this be considered animal cruelty? According to the website, this person suggested using a sedative during the killing process, and according to my non-extensive-research, assuming the cat gets killed in a humane way (for example by injection, or in any way that is not considered torture or inflicts physical pain), and this person indeed owns the pet, and is not selling the meat and only use it for personal consumption, then no law has been broken, even in the US. -Again, please correct me if I'm wrong.

    I guess what I'm trying to ask is whether or not there's a chance of an actual investigation depending on this person's current and future actions. I'm worried because nothing has happened so far, so I don't want to waste any time contacting organizations if this situation is hopeless. I need professional and educated opinions as to whether or not any law is broken, or will be broken if this person commits the proposed action.
    From what I found online, people are simply speculating, some say it's illegal for sure, others say there's nothing illegal about it. That's why I'm asking here.

    I'm sure there are some questions I forgot to ask, or didn't think about asking, so feel free to add any relevant information if you believe it can be useful in this case.

    Thank you for your time!

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