Mattawa duo charged with cruelty to animals

OPP News Release

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Mattawa – Officers with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Mattawa Detachment have charged two people after an investigation into allegations of cruelty to an animal.

Police were called when a badly injured dog was located in the town of Mattawa on October 5th, 2013 by a concerned citizen. Subsequent investigation revealed that the dog had been badly beaten.

Charged is Steven TOUPIN, age 30, and Mathieu TREMBLAY, age 23, both of Mattawa with cruelty to animals, section 445.1(1)(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada. They are scheduled to appear in court on November 13, 2013 at the Mattawa Court House on Water Street.

If you have concerns about an animal's welfare, be it a domestic pet or livestock; do not hesitate to contact your local SPCA branch or Humane Society.

MORE INFORMATION:

Abuse of any animal is placing an animal in undue 'distress'.

What is distress to an animal?

The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals defines "distress" as...

"the state of being in need of proper care, water, food or shelter, or being injured, sick or in pain or suffering or being abused or subject to undue or unnecessary hardship, privation or neglect."

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