Kristen Lindsey had posted photo online of the killing.
Kristen Lindsey, a Texas-based veterinarian who posted the photo of a cat that she killed with a bow and arrow, has been placed under suspension for one year by the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.
Lindsey in 2015 had killed a cat with a bow and arrow posted the image with the caption, “My first bow kill lol. The only good feral tomcat is one with an arrow through it’s (sic) head! Vet of the year award… gladly accepted.” Her post caused an outrage in social media with animal lovers demanding action against the veterinarian.
According to reports, soon after the picture went viral, Lindsey was fired from her job at a veterinary clinic in Brenham. Now, close to a year after the incident, the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners ruled that Lindsey won’t be allowed to practice for a year.
A spokeswoman for the state veterinary board was quoted by AP saying that the one-year suspension will be followed by four years of probation. She also added that during her probation period, Lindsey must serve under a state board approved supervising veterinarian who will submit the report to the state board.
Lindsey must also obtain additional education in animal welfare, Jones said.
According to Associate Press, Lindsey’s lawyer Brian Bishop told the board that the cat was feral and it was normal in the west Huston area to dispose of such untamed wild animals.
Bishop also added that she shouldn’t have posted the image on Facebook but said that she didn’t act with “criminal recklessness.”
“This case would never have gone forward but for the fact that we live in a social-media age,” Bishop said.
“We are also disappointed that the Board has, for all intents and purposes, chosen to take sides in the culture war between the animal rescues zealots,” wrote Bishop in an email to The Washington Post
He also wrote: “Dr. Lindsey and her family have the right to protect their property and their own animals from feral animals who are destroying their property and threatening their own animals.”