How did Ozzy Osbourne and his family respond publicly to claims he shot their pet?
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Executive summary
Ozzy Osbourne publicly admitted in past interviews to killing animals, including a widely reported confession that he shot 17 of his family’s cats during a drug-fueled breakdown; that admission appears in multiple posthumous obituaries and retrospectives [1] [2] [3]. Family members have emphasized later-life animal advocacy and presented a different image—Sharon and Kelly Osbourne have worked with animal-rights causes and PETA praised Ozzy’s later efforts—creating competing narratives between his past statements and his later reputation [4] [5].
1. The confession that resurfaced: Ozzy’s own accounts of killing cats
Ozzy himself described an episode in the early 1980s when, he said, “the final straw came when I shot all our cats,” language that has been quoted repeatedly in recent coverage of his death; that anecdote appears in interviews and in retrospective pieces and has been cited by outlets including Hindustan Times and Primetimer [2] [1]. Times of India likewise recounts the story as something Osbourne framed as a turning point during a period of heavy drug use [3].
2. Earlier remarks about shooting animals on his property during lockdown
Beyond the decades-old confession, Ozzy made other on-record comments about shooting animals more recently, telling a radio interviewer that he’d been “shooting cats and birds” that wandered into his property during lockdown and laughing that “they f**k off” when he did so; that 2021 interview sparked immediate backlash at the time and has been reposted in later coverage [6] [7]. Tabloid and entertainment outlets highlighted the crude delivery and quoted his remarks directly [6] [7].
3. Family response emphasized rehabilitation and later advocacy
After Ozzy’s death, memorializing voices in his orbit and some animal-rights organizations pointed to a different arc: PETA published a tribute noting Ozzy’s later efforts to speak against cat declawing and praising “the gentle side he showed to animals,” and the Osbourne family’s public record includes Sharon and Kelly’s involvement in animal-cause campaigns—details outlets flagged while acknowledging the darker stories [4] [5]. That framing positions the violent anecdotes as part of a troubled past rather than a defining present.
4. How media treated the clash: confession vs. contrition
News outlets and opinion pieces replayed both themes: the shocking confession that helped explain a personal low point, and the later life in which Ozzy was cast as a devoted pet owner and reluctant icon for animal-advocacy messages [1] [8] [5]. Some coverage stressed the inconsistency—PETA’s laudatory note drew ridicule online precisely because it omitted the infamous “bat” and cat stories even while celebrating his later stances [5].
5. Limits of available reporting and unanswered questions
Available sources recount Ozzy’s own admissions and family/advocate statements about later animal work, but they do not provide independent, contemporaneous documentation (police reports, vet records, or external witness accounts) verifying the 1980s shooting episode; current reporting relies on his interviews and retrospective narratives [1] [2] [3]. Sources also do not quote Sharon or Kelly directly denying that specific confession; instead, they highlight the family’s later animal-friendly actions [4] [5].
6. Competing narratives and possible motivations behind them
There are two competing emphases in the record: one draws on Ozzy’s own accounts of extreme behavior during addiction and frames the shooting anecdote as evidence of a nadir that precipitated change [3] [1]; the other emphasizes redemption and public advocacy later in life, a narrative useful to family and allies when commemorating him [4] [5]. Each framing serves different purposes—historical reckoning versus protective legacy-building—and both are present in the sources.
7. What readers should take away
The factual throughline in available reporting is that Ozzy publicly admitted to shooting animals—an admission repeated by multiple outlets citing his interviews—and that family and advocacy groups later highlighted his very different behavior toward animals in recent years [1] [2] [4] [5]. Independent corroboration of the historical episode is not provided in these sources; readers should weigh firsthand admissions against the absence of external records and consider the family’s public emphasis on later-life contrition and activism [3] [4].
Limitations: This account uses only the supplied sources and does not claim material they do not mention (not found in current reporting).