After 1840, the year Queen Victoria granted to it royal status, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals became ever more busy in its good work. Mostly it was the overworked horses and the neglected farm animals who benefitted from the society's protection but in 1877 Mrs. Guscott, a married woman living at Western's Court, Saint Thomas, appeared before the magistrates at Exeter Castle charged with hitting and stunning a cat with a broom.
"In defence Mrs. Guscott stated that she was preparing her husband's dinner, when the cat came in and took up a piece of meat and was making off with it, and she ran after the cat and struck it with a brush she had in her hand in order to make it drop the meat. She only struck the animal once, and it would have recovered if it had been left alone."
Mrs Guscott must have been pretty nifty and strong-in-the-arm to catch a cat on the run and stun it with a single blow. What then became of the cat is not spelled out but Mrs. Guscott's last sentence makes me fear the worst.
"The Bench said that taking into consideration the facts as stated by the defendant the expenses - which were very heavy - woud be reduced to 10s; the fine would be 1d." (one penny).
Source: The WesternTimes, 10th April 1877.
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