MONTREAL – Even for a man who has largely built his public persona on controversial statements, admitting to killing kittens may have reached a new level.
That may explain why Huntington Mayor Stephane Gendron has now formally apologized after making these inflammatory comments last week.
“When I see a cat in the street, I accelerate,” Gendron had said during his radio show. ”Stray cats have no business on the street. So bang! I accelerate.”
Gendron went on: “The other day I backed up over a newborn and I’m sure it didn’t feel a thing,” he said. ”The pickup truck passed over him like it was nothing.”
The outcry over these comments – notably from the Societe pour la Prevention de la Cruaute envers les Animaux (SPCA) – has prompted the small-town mayor to come forward and issue a public apology.
“On July 9, 2013, I made largely exaggerated comments on the overpopulation of cats that constitutes a nuisance in our urban and rural areas,” Gendron’s electronic statement said.
“I admit that the imagery used served no purpose in advancing the debate on this issue… For all these reasons, I apologize. The use of dark humour was inappropriate in dealing with such a subject.”
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