The recent arrest of a West Palm Beach man on charges of animal abuse after he reportedly dunked a cat repeatedly in the Atlantic has spurred some advocates to call for stricter background checks of people who want to adopt.
We now know that cat, Ace, was adopted from Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League in West Palm Beach by the 24-year-old charged in the incident.
Mary Adam de Villiers, a Lake Worth Beach woman who went looking for Ace at night and actually found him, is fostering the cat and is one of those who is calling for more background checks. We understand the passion behind those calls. After all, cruelty to animals seems beyond the pale because they have no defenses against humans.
Read more: A cat was adopted, then abused, Palm Beach Police say. Some call for background checks.
However, two of the largest organizations that handle adoptions in the county, Peggy Adams and Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control, say such an approach is not practical because exhaustive checks slow the adoption process.