10 Celebrities Accused Of Mistreating Animals

#1.Kim Kardashian is in hot water with animal rights groups after tweeting a picture of her holding a black kitten by its scruff. PETA was uncharacteristically diplomatic, saying, “Kim Kardashian isn’t the only person who mistakenly thinks that because a mother cat picks up her kittens by the scruff of the neck that a supportive hand under the rump isn’t needed. But I’ll bet plenty of fans have let her know—nicely, we hope!”
Kim responded to the attention, writing, “I have been getting negative comments regarding the way I was holding the kitty, but rest assured, the owner and vet were on set and showed me how to pick him up. The cat was not harmed in any way and is perfectly fine! I love animals.” [NY Daily News]
It’s heartbreaking to hear about animal abuse—I still cry every time that damn Sarah McLachlan ASPCA commercial comes on. But because the number of celebrities accused of animal abuse is kind of shocking, we rounded up 10 offenders.

#2.Paris Hilton has had more accusations of animal cruelty and neglect than any other celebrity. Her neighbors say her animals wander the neighborhood—at least one kitten was hit by a car. Her employees allegedly reported that sometimes Paris will adopt a puppy but doesn’t want to train it so she’ll leave it in a closet and days later, they’ll find it dead. Another cat was taken back to the shelter after Paris failed to pick it up after it was neutered. Paris told Ellen DeGeneres that she had 17 pets at one time, many of which are apparently left in her home for months at a time with only a maid to feed them. She was also berated for carrying her chihuahua Tinkerbell around like an accessory and causing animal shelters to be flooded with chihuahuas whose owners had taken a cue from the socialite. With Paris’ attention span, she needs a pet intervention. [Monsters and Critics,Gawker]

#3.British artist Banksy, whose movie “Exit Through the Gift Shop” just came out in theaters, was accused of animal abuse after painting an elephant for an art show. The elephant was covered in nontoxic, floral paint and cards were handed out, which read, “There’s an elephant in the room. There’s a problem we never talk about. Twenty-billion people live below the poverty line.” Which, uh, the world’s population is an estimated 6.69 billion people. A representative from the group In Defense of Animals said, “It didn’t seem the elephant was under stress. There were carrots and things, but it’s another example of our exploitation of animals—so gimmicky.” I’m much more offended by the lack of fact-checking than the elephant.

#4.The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals went to check on Britney Spears’ dog London after officers received complaints from people who saw him in a cast and were worried that he’d broken his leg and had not been treated properly. The SPCA confirmed that they’d heard from Britney’s veterinarian that London had proper medical attention. What? Did people think that Britney had put her own dog’s leg in a cast herself?

#5.Everyone’s heard of Ozzy Osbourne‘s infamous chomping off a bat’s head during a performance. But did you know that an audience member threw it on stage and Osbourne thought it was fake and had to be rushed to the hospital for a rabies vaccination afterward? Kinda makes it less metal, huh? [MTV]

#6.Gerard Butler was accused of punching a guy’s dog in the face recently while walking his (super cute) pug Lolita. The dog’s owner claims that the dogs touched noses and Butler punched his greyhound so hard that it slammed into a fence and yelped in pain. Butler also allegedly ranted about how the dog should be put to sleep. Butler, however, says he was trying to break the dogs apart after the greyhound attacked Lolita and bit her on the neck, after which Butler had to spend four hours at the vet while Lolita got stitches. I believe Butler because the other guy’s story sounds totally illogical. And he’s probably much less attractive than Gerard. [Soft Pedia]

#7.Cesar Millan, known to many as the Dog Whisperer, has been accused of animal cruelty by the RSPCA, who say that his training techniques—which include electric shock collars, pinning them to the floor, and restricting their air supply with nooses—causes “unnecessary pain and suffering.” Millan claims he did not use electric shock but maintains that “dogs should be treated as dogs, not substitute children” and that owners need to be strong and calm leaders. Yeah, but it’s pretty lame to claim you’re whispering when you’re really choking. [Daily Mail]

#8.Because his karma ran out (or came full circle), Jesse James has been accused of animal abuse on top of the whole ruining Sandra Bullock‘s life thing. A source says that Jesse fought his pit bulls almost to the death and one of their legs was nearly completely torn off. According to the source, “Sandra was horrified and in tears when she first heard what had happened to those animals. She believed he was this gentle biker with a heart of gold. But if he can let this sort of thing happen to his dogs, that tells you who he really is—Jesse IS heartless.” [Ecorazzi]

#9.PETA asked prosecutors to investigate Mike Tyson‘s Animal Planet reality TV show about pigeon racing, saying the races likely involve illegal gambling and cruelty to animals. Mike Tyson has apparently been raising pigeons since he was little, but this will be his first venture into racing them. The important thing to take away here is that Mike Tyson raises pigeons. WTF? [Stuff]

#10.Jon Gosselin made the honest mistake of talking about how his kids treat the family dogs, saying, “Those kids beat them up, climb on them, pull their tails, bite at them, drag them around and everything you can imagine not to do to an animal.” Animal activists got all up in his business and Gosselin issued another statement saying, “We understand the responsibilities of being good dog owners. Whenever my kids are with Shoka and Nala, everyone is carefully supervised to ensure that no one—dog or child—is injured.” That’s just how kids are with animals. I used to get knocked on my butt by our German Shepherd and I would turn around and spank him. Just as Jesus would have done, had he been a toddler with a large dog. Probably. [Zimbio]

• Reference/Source: thefrisky.com by Olivia Allin