Cruelty To Animals

To protect his identity and frustrate possible retaliation, the undercover investigator behind the biggest beef recall in U.S. history refuses to disclose his name, his marital status, his hometown, his job background or even his age. One of the few personal things he will reveal is his culinary preference: He's a vegan.

Two men intent on stealing back a flock of cockfighting roosters from a Bakersfield animal shelter Friday had their middle-of-the-night plan interrupted by California Highway Patrol officers, authorities said. The men were apprehended near the Bakersfield Animal Shelter carrying burlap sacks containing feathers, said Lt. Brad Wahl of the Bakersfield Police Department.

The alleged bludgeoning of an opossum that triggered an animal cruelty investigation did not happen, according to a neighbor of the Anaheim father and son under investigation. Sonia Gallardo said Wednesday that she was there Monday evening when Lorenzo Oliver's 12-year-old son pushed onto a sidewalk an overturned bin holding an opossum that the Oliver family dogs had cornered in the backyard.

The head of Adelanto's animal control office has been charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty after investigators said he systematically drowned dozens of kittens over four months last year. Kevin Murphy, 36, was charged Monday with six counts of killing, maiming and abusing animals and faces up to six years in prison if he is convicted.

One of two men charged with animal cruelty after being seen on videotape apparently abusing cattle at a Chino slaughterhouse has been sentenced to six months in jail. Rafael Sanchez Herrera, 34, pleaded guilty Friday in San Bernardino Superior Court to three misdemeanor counts of illegal movement of a non-ambulatory animal. Under the plea deal, he will be deported to his native Mexico after serving jail time. Prosecutors had said a jury conviction could have put him in jail for three years.

. -- This is a sight no self-respecting hairstylist wants to see: an inch of white roots showing, the remaining color dulling to a lackluster shade. "It is faded, isn't it?" sighed Joy Douglas, owner of Zing Salon, running her fingers through her toy poodle Cici's tight, once-pink curls. Nearly a month has passed since Cici has had her bimonthly treatment of pureed organic beets and egg whites massaged into her white coat while she basks under a heat lamp.

Concern about the conduct of deputies inside Orange County jails intensified Tuesday as the Sheriff's Department investigated reports that deputies used a Taser stun weapon on a cat at Theo Lacy Jail. A cat's corpse was found on jail grounds. The department was awaiting results of a necropsy to determine whether the cat found dead at Theo Lacy had been stunned with a Taser, sheriff's spokesman John McDonald said.

An animal rights organization is urging the Orange County district attorney's office to "vigorously" prosecute a man who took a video of himself abusing rabbits and a dog, then posted it on MySpace, calling his behavior "extremely severe." Joseph Anthony Deiss, 19, of Yorba Linda was charged last week with three counts of animal cruelty and three charges of animal abuse by a caretaker after allegedly throwing a pug and two rabbits 15 to 30 feet in the air and allowing them to hit the ground.

The Marine Corps on Wednesday said it was expelling one Marine and disciplining another for their roles in a video showing a Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff while on patrol in Iraq. The 17-second video posted on YouTube drew sharp condemnation from animal rights groups when it came to light in March. The clip shows two Marines joking before one hurls the puppy into a rocky gully. A yelping sound is heard as it flips through the air. "That's mean.

Los Angeles County animal control officials closed an Antelope Valley horse sanctuary Monday, euthanizing a dozen animals and relocating almost 90 more. Authorities also arrested Janis Damiani, the caretaker of Equus Sanctuary in Pearblossom, on suspicion of animal cruelty, according to the L.A. County Department of Animal Care and Control.