RISPCA “outraged” over court allowing accused animal abuser to keep pets

By: Amanda Pitts

alpitts@abc6.com

@AmandaPittsTV

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The RISPCA is speaking out after a person accused of abusing animals is allowed to continue having pets.

Kayla Card and Michael Williams plead not guilty in Superior Court Monday to a slew of animal cruelty charges.

The Attorney General’s Office requested Williams and Card be banned from owning pets. Williams was banned, but Card was not.

“It’s difficult to explain to the animal community how these people charged with these allegations are permitted to maintain their animals,” said RISPCA President Dr. Finocchio.

Williams was first arrested in 2017 for animal abuse and was allowed to keep his pets. Then in March, he was arrested again for keeping hundreds of animals in squalor in his Smithfield home.

According to police, Card was working with him, running an un-licensed ear cropping business out of a car wash in East Providence.

“When you have these multitude of offenses, what does a judge do? He turns around and says, ‘You can take the animals home and you can live with animals.’ To me, that’s totally ridiculous,” said Finocchio.

Williams is facing 26 counts of animal cruelty, Card is facing three.

With Monday’s decision by Judge Patrick Burke to allow Card to continue owning animals, the RISPCA is now calling for a change. They’re saying the solution might be to move cases to an animal court, adding the state’s judicial system should treat animal cruelty cases like any other abuse case.

“Who’s to say they’re not going to continue to abuse these animals? The judges have to take these things in a more serious manner. That’s it.”

The RISPCA tells us all of the dogs seized from Williams’ home have been adopted.

Williams and Card are both due back in court October 1.

(c) WLNE-TV 2018