Psychological question...

[n567]

http://www.news-press.com/news/local_state/030516catupdate.html

Do you ever wonder that people who take pleasure in doing such things to animals are more likely to hurt humans to (a general lack of respect for life, if you will).

But then, how does hunting fit into it? Why is hunting not considered cruelty to animals while this is, they both result in the animal's death.

I suppose different standards and their corrolating differance in laws has always struck me as an interesting topic...

[Mike Tx]

I haven't read your dumass article, but in modern times(that's today) many animals would starve to death. Hunting keeps the population in check.

Show us some more ignorance.

[Jim Burnes]

Mike, My Alleged Texan,

Read that article first. It just reports the common signs of a young person who takes pleasure in harming animals. And that, as you know, has been shown to be the type behavior that adults that are in serious legal trouble were prone to as children.

But to answer N567; Harvesting a deer or other game animal is exactly the same as harvesting a cow or just the lowly chicken. The killing is very quick, it overpowers their central nervous system nearly instantly in most cases and the deed is done. This is not in any way the same thing as the article reports.

One other way to think of this, is that deer, buffalo, sheep and bears are given to man for food and other uses. They are to exist until we need to take them for our own health.

Jim Burnes

[ 05-16-2003, 10:48 PM: Message edited by: Jim Burnes ]

[auntysuz63]

This was not someone hunting for food, thinning a herd or anything else like that. This was a malicious bully taking out his aggressions on something smaller and weaker than him. He needs to face the consequences for what he's done and get into some serious counseling.

[n567]

I haven't read your dumass article, but in modern times(that's today) many animals would starve to death. Hunting keeps the population in check.

Show us some more ignorance.

Hunting to thin the herds, because we hunted these herd's predators to the point that they couldn't keep nature in balance.

There was no need for survival or food involved in this, just the pleasure of hunting (certainly a quick bullet is less painful, as jim said), but in both cases, the killing was done out of pleasure one gets from doing so.

What if someone got pleasure out of shooting domesticated house cats, would that then be acceptable because the death was less painful? It'd certainly solve the feline overpopulation problem, dogs too, why don't we set them free on the range and shoot'm like we do other animals, to thin out the herds? Ooooh, that could make some money...

Though it's always a pleasure to bear witness to Mike's eloquent commentary, I must say.

One other way to think of this, is that deer, buffalo, sheep and bears are given to man for food and other uses. They are to exist until we need to take them for our own health.

Heck, all animals provide food! Basically what's going on here is that (and I don't disagree with this), if hunting is done for a good reason, such as sustanence, or maintaining balance within the ecosystem, it's acceptable... But if it's merely for pleasure...

[J-WS6]

I dont condone what the boy did, But he IS a kid, and we ALL tried things that we knew we shouldnt do when we were that age.

I think a long strech of community service, maybe working with animals, and maybe some bootcamp, would do the trick.

[jellybean40]

Yeah, that kid is sick. if he likes seeing animal death at that age, it's scary to think about what he'll do in the future.

Lots of people i know hunt, and eat what they kill. i also know some who hunt just because they LIKE to kill. to me, those type have a teeny bit of a short-circuit... JMHO.

[H&K-Guy]

N567, JB,

Ditto on some of your sentiments!

Do you believe that if you refuse to hunt for food because you don't enjoy killing that you are not a hypocric the instant you pull that Whopper out of the drive thru at Burger King? You may not have killed the cow, but you payed someone else to. Same difference.

Those that believe taking game is quick and relatively painless to the animal might want to reconsider, unless you are the lucky SOB that has never winged a fowl that got away, wounded a doe that escaped and you couldn't track it, or watch a Bass fumble on the bottom of your boat as it suffocates, enjoys the pain of hypoxia, pulmonary failure, and finally necrosis. Killing animals hurts them. If you have an ounce of humanity, it is up to you to make absolutely sure it is as painless for them as possible.

The facts are simple. Humans eat animals. Humans kill them to do so. Humans that kill animals for fun ARE animals.

H&K-Guy

[BeatleFan]

Being the animal lover that I am, and living in Florida where we have a 'gator in every body of water imaginable, I am appalled at the kid's actions. I do, however, think 5 years imprisonment is a bit harsh. What if the gator had caught the cat on it's own? (Not as likely as if it was a dog, but feasible. Some cats really like water and gators do come up on land.) I do think the little creep needs a little bootcamp, followed by probation, community service in an animal shelter and INTENSIVE psychological counseling. I don't have to tell a bunch of LEO's about the connection with childhood/adolescent animal cruelty and serial killers. What scares me is the kid's seemingly cavalier attitude, i.e., "he just wanted to see what it would do." Inaddition to the legal consequences, I really feel as though this kid would benefit from a good @ss-whoopin'.

[ 05-17-2003, 07:04 AM: Message edited by: BeatleFan ]

[celia]

No way is this kid going to get 5 years. He will probably get next to nothing, no jail time at all, because of his age and the fact that it was "just a cat" in a lot of people's minds.

About the matter of him being "just a kid", whaaaa? If he were 4, then I'd say "he was just a kid". Sorry, but at 14, there is no way you can excuse what he did with: "he's just a kid". What was he thinking when he kicked the cat in the stomach and head first? Didn't that bring him to his senses? I have a 13yo and I can't imagine him doing anything remotely similar to that, or even my 10 year old. This kid has some problems with his sense of right and wrong and frankly, I don't believe he's "never been in trouble before". Maybe he's never been caught, but he has not been a perfect angel until now.

And this has nothing to do with hunting.

[Knighthammer]

Well there are three things that psychologists are interested in when gauging future deviant behavior

1. Do you like to torment animals?
2. Do you wet the bed?
3. Do you take pleasure in hurting other's feelings?

I honestly don't know how the second applies but the former and later are somewhat obvious.

Frankly, I don't see the kid getting 5 years either. In the PA Crimes code, animal cruelty is like an M2 if I remember right. The article didn't state what state the kid is in, but only 2 states can direct file or file by petition to criminal court at 12 years old. This will likely be handled in Juvenile court and probably be a light sentence with some sort of community work or something.

Regardless of the law however, I can

[J-WS6]

I'm guessing it was in Florida, it says somthing about the Florida Fish and Wildlife service.

[Knighthammer]

It's defiantly happening in Juvenile then.

If I recall correctly, you can't even direct file a Juvenile when their 15 down there and they only start the prosecution of minors at 12.

I could be wrong with those exact numbers, but I do know it's defiantly going to be dealt with in Juvenile.

[Lictalon]

FWIW...

If I

[Knighthammer]

How bad the kid's punishmnet is going to be is obviously going to come down to culpability.

Maybe he thought the gator needed a snack?

[ 05-17-2003, 02:54 PM: Message edited by: Knighthammer ]