‘Mortified’ after dumping three kittens in charity clothes bin
Eugene Murphy, solicitor, said Evelina Satlenyte, aged 40, of Palm View, Lackenareague, Ovens, Co Cork, pleaded guilty to three charges, each stating that, on May 17, 2017, at Douglas Court shopping centre, Douglas, Cork, she neglected and caused unnecessary suffering and endanger the welfare of a young kitten.
Mr Murphy said on behalf of the Lithuanian woman, who has been working in Ireland for 15 years without a difficulty of any kind: “Quite frankly she is mortified. She has put in 12 months of torture in relation to waiting for the case and has felt the shame visited upon her when this was discussed on a radio show.
“She is an animal lover who did the wrong thing. She is a softly spoken person who is beyond apologetic about what happened.”
Inspector Adrian Gamble said that, on May 18, 2017, Garda Marie Courtney attended at the Douglas Court shopping centre near the charity clothes bins where a number of kittens were heard from inside one of the bins.
“After a period of time, and with the assistance of the charity in question, the bin was opened to find three kittens therein,” said Insp Gamble..
“The kittens were immediately handed over to a member of Cat Action Trust.
“From enquiries carried out and from CCTV footage, Garda Courtney identified and met with the defendant and she admitted to dumping the three kittens in the charity bin.
“She said her cat, who had the kittens, had been killed and the kittens wouldn’t feed for her and she panicked and dumped them in the bin.”
It was accepted that the defendant had been in a relationship which ended around that time and she failed to deal properly with the kittens.
Mr Murphy said Ms Satlenyte had paid €500 to the ISPCA as a gesture.
He said she had placed the kittens in a blanket in a shoebox. She was working six days a week and literally could not look after the kittens.
“She was hoping they would be heard and taken away,” said Mr Murphy. “She accepts that is a fairy story. She was going to leave the country over this. I was genuinely worried about her and told her that, whatever about the legal situation, she should seek medical advice.”
Acknowledging the plea of guilty, absence of previous convictions, total remorse, and payment of €500 to the ISPCA, the judge gave the accused the benefit of a dismissal under the Probation of Offenders Act.
