What!? Teen Put Her Pet Turtle in the Microwave Because ‘She Was Bored’

We can’t believe someone would be this heartless … Jonasia Simpson, a teen in Boston reportedly used a microwave to torture a baby turtle to death. The teen put the baby turtle into the microwave and killed the innocent animal. Why? She says she was “bored” What!?

Simpson posted the before and after of the horrific incident (warning: it’s graphic) on social media, maybe thinking the death would give her Internet fame. But of course, the senseless act has enraged social media users, with one user taking a screenshot of the horrific photos and tweeting, “I hate that people think that small creatures aren’t the same as regular sized pets. Why would someone do this?” The tweet now has almost 24,000 retweets, forcing Simpson to delete her social media accounts from the justified upset responses.

So much so, that now an online petition has been created with over 15,000 compassionate people urging the Boston Police Department to press animal cruelty charges against the teenager. The petition says that the teen’s mother was made aware of the act and “instead of taking action or disciplining her daughter, she laughed and supported her daughter’s actions.” This is NOT okay!

The petition goes on to note, “Charges of animal cruelty must be brought against the two of them and they must be imprisoned or at the very least fined to the full extent of the law in the hopes that they never again get the opportunity to kill or harm another innocent, helpless animal.”

And we couldn’t agree more. Animals are sentient beings with the ability to feel a range of emotions, and they are harmed both physically and psychologically by violent abuse, much as human beings are. They deserve to be treated, under the law, as the complex creatures that they are.

Animal abuse is also strongly linked with other forms of abuse, such as domestic violence and child abuse. One study found that animal abuse occurred in 88 percent of homes where child abuse had been discovered. Another study found that up to 83 percent of women entering domestic violence shelters report that their abusers also abuse the family pet. In fact, animal abusers are five times more likely to abuse people. With this in mind, these callous acts cannot and should not be taken lightly.

Please join us in urging the Boston Police Department to charge Simpson with animal cruelty by signing this petition! And be sure to share this post with everyone you know and ask them to do the same. Animal cruelty must be taken seriously.

Image source: Emily Elizabeth/Flickr