Cruelty to Kittens by Rearing Them In Jars–Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
This email says there is a Japanese man in New York stuffing kittens into bottles and rearing them so they’ll take on the shape of the bottle. They are being called “bonsai” kittens and have become the rage in New York, China, Indonesia, and New Zealand. The email refers you to the website at www.bonsaikitten.com
The Truth:
The bonsai kitten website is a hoax, created as a joke by some students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There are numerous published reports about the site, but one of the best is a article in USA Today from 2-20-2001by Janet Kornblum. According to Kornblum, the site was set up shortly after Christmas, 2000, satirize ”the human belief of nature as commodity.” Kornblum interviewed one of the creaters who used an alias, “Dr. Michael Wong Chang.” He said one of the main aims was to “punish the hypocritical and easily offended by upsetting them, and to amuse those who understand.” The result has been an international outcry by animal rights groups who say that even if the site is a joke, they object to the fact that it displays and could provoke animal cruelty. In response to concerns from Internet readers, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals investigated the site and found no evidence of animal abuse. No kittens have actually been put through the torture described on the site. An FBI investigation was also opened. For more information:
http://www.hsus.org/programs/companion/bonsai_kitten.html