Texas teacher Emily Marie Benner has been arrested, accused of telling her students to staple a live cat during a class.
Benner was charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals and released on bond on August 25, according to Law and Crime.
The alleged incident happened last Friday at Westwood High School, a public school in Palestine, Texas, during an agriculture class.
Local TV station CBS19 obtained video purportedly from the incident but did not broadcast it. The outlet reported that the footage appears to show students in a classroom and then shows Benner instructing them to each grab a cat and lay it on their table.
According to CBS19, the cat was visibly alive and resisting the students as they held it down. Benner then reportedly guided the students to staple the cat’s incision. The outlet doesn’t specify who the incision was made by.
Teacher from Palestine, Texas was charged with animal cruelty for allegedly making her students staple a live cat during her agriculture class last Friday.
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According to CBS19, the cat is alive and in the care of veterinarians. Palestine Herald reported that students who recorded the incident posted the photos and videos on social media and included Benner in the posts.
Benner was taken into custody on August 25, according to local ABC affiliate KLTV. Law and Crime reported she was smiling on her mugshot and wore a T-shirt saying “Teach AG.”
According to the county jail documents seen by Law and Crime, Benner’s bond was set at $7,500 and the teacher paid it immediately. The outlet reported that it is unclear whether she has an attorney, but that she could have a possible defense as per the statute if the person who performed the alleged cruelty “was engaged in bona fide experimentation for scientific research” they can be found not guilty.
CBS19 reported that the investigation is ongoing.
“This procedure amounted to animal cruelty, and we want to make it absolutely clear that our district takes such matters extremely seriously,” said Wade Stanford, Westwood school district’s superintendent, wrote in a letter to parents and students obtained by KLTV.
It went on to offer “sincere apologies to our students, their families, and the entire community for this unacceptable occurrence. Please be assured that we will implement appropriate measures to prevent any further incidents.”
The letter did not mention Benner but said that “this behavior is not in line with the values and standards” and that the district would take “immediate and decisive actions to address this issue.”
Newsweek has contacted Westwood district and Anderson County’s officials for further information.
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