Texas High School With “Killer Batting Cages” Is Shamed Into Compassion

July 2001

An activist alerted PETA that several cats had suffered and/or died after becoming entangled in the batting cages’ netting at Incarnate Word Academy in Corpus Christi, Texas. PETA obtained disturbing video footage of a cat trapped in the mesh, spread-eagled, panting, and clearly in distress, desperately struggling to escape. The footage also showed the carcass of a cat who had perished between a batting cage fence and its netting.

A letter from PETA asking that the nets be raised after each use received no response, so we provided local television stations with the heartbreaking video footage and issued a news release. Our activist contact reported that after our efforts, the school began raising the nets to ensure that no more cats would be injured or killed.