R v Steiner, 2014 BCPC

Mr. Steiner lived with 40 cats in his property. One of the cats ‘Hellboy’ urinated on the couch and Mr. Steiner threw the cat against a wall. Hellboy sustained a broken leg. Mr. Steiner surrendered the cat to the BC SPCA and the cat was treated and found a new home.
Judge Hewson found Steiner to be guilty and noted aggravating factors to be: the offence committed was a serious offence against a vulnerable animal, the animal suffered a serious injury, Steiner never accepted responsibility for his conduct and Steiner had a criminal record.
Mitigating factors in this case are: Conditions of release were complied with, criminal record is dated and unrelated, Steiner made some attempt to seek vet care for Hellboy, the offence committed was not premeditated.
Steiner continually interrupted the judge which caused a brief adjournment. The judge was very close to changing Steiner’s sentence due to his lack of respect for the court.