Greater Bay Shore coverage is funded in part by Shoregate, now leasing brand-new premium apartment homes in the heart of Bay Shore. Click here to schedule a tour.
The video of a black cat being beaten over the head with a metal bar outside of Brentwood High School has caught the attention of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal’s (PETA) national office.
Julie Everett, correspondence and project administrator of PETA’s Humane Education Division, TeachKind, sent a letter the school’s acting principal, Dashana Dulin, urging the school to take educational measures to prevent youth violence against animals.
Additionally, the PETA administrator sent an array of educational material that addresses discrimination, anti-bullying and other social justice issues, PETA said Tuesday in a press release.
A teenager who authorities said was a Brentwood High School student at the time he allegedly assaulted the cat in September was hit by Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) authorities last week with animal cruelty charges. Authorities said the individual, who was 17 at the time, and his friends recorded the attack and distributed the video over social media.
In the video supplied by the SPCA, a person wields a metal bar and uses it to strike the cat on the head. The cat is then heard yelping and a person sounds as if they are laughing.
“TeachKind is dedicated to providing free humane education tools to support young people in processing such information and to assist leaders like you in preventing future acts of cruelty,” Everett wrote in her letter to the school’s acting principal. “An epidemic of youth violence is surging throughout the U.S., and your district is far from alone.”
While noting a connection between violence against animals and violence against humans, Everett suggested that the school incorporate humane education into its curriculum.
The letter noted that PETA was sending the following free material to Brentwood High School:
• “Empathy Now,” PETA’s guide to addressing and preventing youth violence against animals.
• Challenging Assumptions curriculum, which PETA says is designed to encourage empathy and promote a positive school culture by supporting students in examining discrimination and other social justice issues.
• A copy of the book, “Animalkind: Remarkable Discoveries About Animals and Revolutionary New Ways to Show Them Compassion.”
• Anti-bullying posters.
Below is a video of the September attack on the cat. It was supplied by the SPCA.
Top image: Still image of YouTube video.
