Cinemagoers told to boycott cat film

There may be more than one way to skin a cat, but animal rights activists in Canada are boycotting a film about the practical side of the issue.

10:06 15 September 2004

There may be more than one way to skin a cat, but animal rights activists in Canada are boycotting a film about the practical side of the issue.

Casuistry: The Art of Killing a Cat is being screened at the Toronto film festival - the movie examines the motives and ideology of three artists who skinned and beheaded a cat on camera, the act itself is not shown.

The artists themselves, Jesse Power, Anthony Wennekers and Matt Kaczorowski, pleaded guilty to animal cruelty and claimed their brutal act was an attempt to highlight the evils of the slaughter of factory bred animals.

The original idea behind the film was to treat the cat like an animal for human consumption. Skin it, behead it, gut it, drain its blood and then cook and eat it. However, the carcass was discovered before the cat could be consumed.

Pressure groups are calling for cinemagoers to keep clear of the 91 minute film.

During the documentary Zev Asher, director, interviews the artists themselves, animal rights activists, journalists and the police. While the more graphic scenes from the killing itself are not shown, a court transcript of the 17 minute film of the skinning does appear.

"Shame on the international film festival for allowing this to go on," said Suzanne Lahaie of Freedom for Animals, told Reuters.

Festival director Noah Cowan insisted the film will be shown, despite threats from animal rights activists to one member of staff to "skin him alive" and "shove knives in his eyes".

"Film festivals exist, in part, to generate intelligent, reasoned discussion, not to stifle it," Cowan said ahead of the festival.