An overwhelming majority of people think that Mary Bale, the woman from Coventry who was filmed on CCTV placing a cat in a wheelie bin, should be prosecuted for animal cruelty, our survey reveals.
84% of respondents think that Bale should be prosecuted for animal cruelty versus just nine percent who argue that she should not. Engagement on the issue is strong among the panel as only seven percent say they ‘don’t know’ whether Bale should be prosecuted for her actions.
Owner Darryl Mann looked everywhere for his cat after she went missing, but had no luck until he looked in his wheelie bin after hearing Lola’s cries. Mr Mann, who says he has CCTV cameras set up outside his house to monitor alleged parking offenders, then checked the footage and saw the now infamous clip. A passing pedestrian, now known to be Ms Bale, first stroked Lola before grabbing her by the scruff of her neck and throwing her in the bin, closing the lid, and then continuing to walk down the street as normal.
Indeed, Bale is now facing an avalanche of angry messages on many forums, including highly offensive threats from a Facebook group named ‘Death to Mary Bale’. Bale herself, who initially told The Sun newspaper that she ‘thought [binning the cat] would be funny’, has since apologised for her behaviour, stating that she is ‘profoundly sorry for [her] actions’ which were caused by ‘a split second of misjudgement’. Police have not offered Bale any kind of formal police protection, but have admitted to speaking to her about her personal safety in the wake of the national distaste for her actions.
