Urgent Message from Anne Gibson in Toronto re: Bill C15(b).

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The Senators will be returning from Summer Break on Sept. 17, 2002 when they will decide the fate of Bill C15(b).

We need as many people--as soon as possible--to continue to write to the Senators at this critical time. The bill is in jeopardy of either being rendered meaningless --worse than what we have now-- or being shelved all together!

PLEASE write the Senate--again, if possible--Contact information and advice on letter writing is available at http://www.anticruelty.ca/senate.html

Sharon Carstairs has already publicly supported the bill. Her fantastic letter can be found at: http://www.anticruelty.ca/car.html

Please include a 'thank you' letter for her support...Thanking people for their support is extremely important too.

Detailed information on the history and answers to the opposition's proposed amendments are at: http://www.cfhs.ca/CriminalCode/index.htm.
Short and simple is the way to go!

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TORONTO SUN ARTICLE:
August 30, 2002
On the trail of a fugitive cat killer
By MARK BONOKOSKI -- Toronto Sun

It was five months ago this week that a Toronto Humane Society press release had the media scurrying to the Old City Hall with news that the judge in Courtroom 123 would be viewing a videotape depicting the live torturing and skinning of a cat.

The very nature of this beastly story guaranteed it would make headlines around the world. And it did.

The tape showed two sickos -- Jesse Champlain Power, 22, and his 25-year-old pal, Anthony Ryan Wennekers -- hacking and stabbing at a striped tabby cat as it hanged by its neck from a cord.

A third man, identified only as Matt, was also an active participant in the brutality. He appears in the video wearing a hooded black sweatshirt. "Legalize murder," is written on the back.

"This is good stuff, man," says Matt, as the cat flails away at the end of its rope.

The tape then shows Power and Wennekers stabbing and kicking at the animal, stopping only when Matt says, "Give me a shot." Pulling out a knife, Matt then hacks off the cat's left ear.

"Beautiful, man," he says.

In this Internet world, there are fewer and fewer places for people to hide. Yet Matt has managed to do just that. He's disappeared.

"The search continues," said 14 Division Det. Gord Scott. "My sense is that he may be out west, perhaps in the Vancouver area.

"But we've had absolutely no assistance from the two idiots we convicted. And no fresh leads in quite some time. But we are not giving up."

Neither has the Toronto Humane Society. It continues to offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to Matt's arrest and conviction.

As one spokesman stated: "We want him badly."

Back in late April, shortly after Power and Wennekers were each given a kiss sentence of time served, plus 90 days, Sun columnist Mike Strobel introduced readers to 20-year-old Katie Woodward, a Haliburton-area animal rights activist who had just launched the Find Matt Campaign.

Well, she's still on Matt's trail too, aided by an updated, state-of-the-art Web site that tells everything anyone needs to know about the case -- including pictures of the elusive and abusive Matt.

It can be found at www.angelfire.com/ma4/findmatt/youcanhelp.html.

The beating, stabbing and disembowelment of this tame cat -- nicknamed Kensington because it was reportedly stolen from the Kensington Market -- came to light in late May 2001, when a concerned neighbour phoned police about an animal in distress.

Upon entering a third-floor apartment in the Queen-Bathurst area, humane society investigators and 14 Division police personnel went to a refrigerator and found Kensington's skinned corpse, along with a bag containing its severed head.

As it came out in court, the accused Power, a student at the Ontario College of Art and Design, rationalized his macabre behaviour as having something to do with art, and fuelled his bizarre fascinations by taking jobs that involved "defleshing" carcasses at the Royal Ontario Museum and working in the killing chamber of a slaughterhouse.

Despite the fact police believe that Matt, a squeegee-kid drifter, is no longer in Toronto, the Internet can be a powerful tool in tracking him down.

"He could be anywhere. That's why the Internet is so important," Woodward said. "Both Power and Wennekers have refused to cooperate with the police, so it is up to the public to track Matt down.

"I just want him found, brought before the courts, and have all this come to an end."

According to Woodward, her Help Find Matt Web site has received "thousands" of hits since it first went up back in April and, while there have been no solid tips regarding Matt's possible whereabouts, there have been a number of suggestions regarding what should be done with him -- most of which involve a little vigilante justice.

"Which I do not condone," Woodward is quick to add.

One has to wonder, though, what Matt himself would think of those who might wish to do him harm.

After all, he was the one with the sweatshirt that had "Legalize murder" written on the back.

Perhaps he will e-mail an answer.

Anne Gibson
Toronto Coalition For Bill C-15 Anti-Cruelty Legislation
www.anticruelty.ca
mailto:anne@anticruelty.ca