Woman says sorry for dumping cat in trash

Mary Bale is under police protection as death threats continue to pour in.

By Associated PressWed, Aug 25 2010 at 8:29 PM EST

APOLOGY: The 45-year-old bank cashier said she could not understand the fuss after she was filmed tossing Lola into a trash can, but with Facebook groups like “Mary Bale is worse than Hitler” appearing, she started trying to repair the damage. (Photo: ZUMA Press)

A British woman who outraged pet lovers around the world after she was caught on surveillance camera dumping a cat in a garbage bin apologized Wednesday for what she called misjudgment and said the situation has gotten "out of control."

Online footage of Mary Bale tossing 4-year-old Lola into a trash bin and popping the top closed sparked angry messages online pledging retribution, and police had to post guards outside her house.

In a statement, Bale, 45, said she was "profoundly sorry" but offered no explanation of why she dumped the cat.

"I cannot explain why I did this, it is completely out of character and I certainly did not intend to cause any distress to Lola or her owners," said Bale, who is from Coventry in central England.

"It was a split second of misjudgment that has got completely out of control," she added.

Investigators at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which prosecutes cruelty cases, said Lola was trapped for 15 hours before being rescued Sunday morning by her owners. The distressed cat was unharmed.

Lola's owners told British media that they traced Lola when they heard her muffled cries from inside the bin.

The couple — who had installed a personal surveillance camera outside their home following a spate of thefts in the area — posted the short surveillance video of Bale online, drawing tens of thousands of views.

Bale said she would meet with the RSPCA and police soon and would cooperate with their investigations.