is killing puppies wrong?

[dave_a]

story (http://www.local6.com/news/3716897/detail.html)

Ok, so this guy was shooting puppies he couldn't find a home for in the head and one of the puppies shot him (not kidding, read the story).

The guy is being treated for injury at the hospital, but he has been charged with felony animal cruelty.

At first I was thinking, good for the puppies shooting back and good for the state charging him.

Then I thought about it more and while I think the puppies can fairly claim justifiable self defense, why would the state charge him with anything?

The city/state usually turns stray/unwanted animals over to the humane society where they are routinely killed if they are viewed as unadoptable or they wait to be adopted for too long a time period.

As far as I know the animals are usually killed with a lethal injection. How is shooting an animal in the head more cruel than a lethal injection? Seems a head shot would be instantly fatal and no pain in most cases.

While I don't like the idea of shooting dogs, I don't understand why it would be illegal for the dog's legal owner to kill them in the most humane way he can while the/city state routinely does this with animals turned over to them.

Thoughts?

[Clutch Munny]

I grew up on a farm, and pretty much every fall we would have to shoot some cats. (Or, as Grand-dad said, "give them a ride on the Remington express".)

I love cats. It's very hard to shoot a cat if you love cats, especially when it's looking at you. We always kept a few good ratters. But cats gravitate to farms (or they did to ours); you can't spay or neuter them all; they breed like crazy through the spring and summer; you can't feed or house all the resulting kittens; and once you've seen a cat or a kitten freezing to death in a Saskatchewan winter -- if you love cats -- you come to see shooting them as merciful. It's making me very sad now, just remembering it.

Anyhow, I guess I think it depends on the situation.

[JoeP]

I don't know about 'instant' and 'no pain'. I would think a gunshot to the head could easily result in several seconds of remaining life, excruciatingly painful. Certainly more than the pinprick of the first injection which just anaesthetises the animal, before the second one which actually stop the heart.

However, I think the operation of the law here does reflect a social perception that there are things we are prepared to tolerate but only if they are done by people/orgs that are officially sanctioned. Like not just anyone can convict and imprison someone they don't like. It's felony cruelty (whatever felony means...) not because of the act itself but because of who did it.

This was a free thought. You will be invoiced accordingly.

[viscousmemories]

Yeah I think JoeP's response comes closest to what I was thinking. Just 'cause your state has the death penalty doesn't mean every citizen is free to administer it.

[Ex-zombie]

The big question for me; why wasn't the puppy arrested for attempted murder? :D

[livius drusus]

Thank you, Ex-zombie, for giving me the proper context in which to post this: :rimshot:

[Gawen]

This was all over the news down here. In the old days, it's what people did. But now it's politically inncorrect to do what your father and grandfathers did. AND it involves a firearm. It's messy. No one likes to hear of puppy brains all over the place. Messy. Inhumane. But it's better than throwing them in plastic garbage bags and letting them suffocate. Or drowning them. But no. Now people are expected to drive many miles to 'dispose' of unwanted animals at shelters where they die anyway. This guy took the responsibilty for himself...and gets whacked for it by the state.


These people could save themselves a whole bunch of trouble by having their pets spayed or neutered.

{edited} That's not to say that everything your grandparents did was right either...and it's fine for you to do it today. But this example doesn't apply in my POV.

[JoeP]

here
Am I the only one who's noticed that almost every thread in this forum ends up becoming a discussion of food in some way or another?
Roland, I've got to think you're wrong. Although - is it ok to kill puppies if it's for food? :eww: