What to do with people that murder pets?

[Travis]

As some of you know over the weekend my beloved cat, Simon, was shot and killed by savages unknown. It is currently a matter of investigation by law enforcement.

While I was in the process of burying the single most affectionate cat I ever had the pleasure of knowing someone brought up the idea that we should put humans down that do bad things to animals (yes this cat made many friends and so there was a bit of crowd when I put him into the earth). It was meant to be a statement of emotion in the moment but the more I though about it the more I realized we should take these things more seriously.

I mean imagine the kind of human being that shoots a defenseless house cat that only ever wanted to get more cuddles out of people? Is that a person you really want in our society?

We put down dogs that bite people. I'm thinking people that bring violence the other direction for kicks ought to be removed from society too.

 

[theprestige]

When you reported that your cat had been killed, I imagined how I would feel if the same thing had happened to my own cat, and I felt sorrow for your loss.

When you advocated the death penalty for whoever killed your cat... I lost all sympathy for your situation.

 

[Captain.Sassy]

Sure as soon as we start locking up pig farmers too.

But not actually.

Sorry for your loss though, really. Cats are awesome.

 

[Travis]

Well I'm not advocating the death penalty.

I'm just saying that people that kill animals for fun should maybe be locked up for a very long time. Or put on a list of people to keep an eye on.

 

[angrysoba]

I would be surprised to hear that it is not already illegal to kill pets, either your own or someone else's. Does anyone know what the current laws are in California (or elsewhere)?

 

[theprestige]

Well I'm not advocating the death penalty.

I'm just saying that people that kill animals for fun should maybe be locked up for a very long time. Or put on a list of people to keep an eye on.

Cruelty to animals is already illegal. Are you unaware of the current laws, or just dissatisfied with their leniency?

 

[triforcharity]

That sucks Travis. People who harm animals, are one of the lowest lifeforms. Just above most lawyers, and child molesters.

 

[TheGoldcountry]

Travis, I empathize with you. I lost my best buddy a few months ago, and if it was caused by a malicious person, I honestly don't know what I would have done.

But you need to calm down for a second, and think about what you are advocating. Also, as theprestige noted, cruelty to animals is illegal, if you have evidence.

In any case, I'm sorry for your loss, I miss my friend every day.

 

[mijopaalmc]

I mean imagine the kind of human being that shoots a defenseless house cat that only ever wanted to get more cuddles out of people? Is that a person you really want in our society?

I'm being serious here: fanatical bird watchers.

House cats are an introduced predator everywhere except where the were originally domesticated and they do kill indigenous wildlife. That is, however, absolutely no for killing a cat, but, given that people sometimes act grossly out of proportion to the situation, there does need to be a band of sociopaths roaming the neighborhood.

I am sorry that you lost such a beloved companion. I was devestated when I had to euthanize the cat I literally grew up with. (He was my parents' first "kid", so he was with me all my life.) He was 20 and the whole family could see that his end, though immanent, was excrutiatingly slow in coming; I can't begin to imagine what it is like to have a cherished friend torn away from you so suddenly and callously.

We put down dogs that bite people. I'm thinking people that bring violence the other direction for kicks ought to be removed from society too.

Hmmm...that's awfully callous given cats' own penchant of killing wildlife.

 

[Hungry81]

As some of you know over the weekend my beloved cat, Simon, was shot and killed by savages unknown. It is currently a matter of investigation by law enforcement.

While I was in the process of burying the single most affectionate cat I ever had the pleasure of knowing someone brought up the idea that we should put humans down that do bad things to animals (yes this cat made many friends and so there was a bit of crowd when I put him into the earth). It was meant to be a statement of emotion in the moment but the more I though about it the more I realized we should take these things more seriously.

I mean imagine the kind of human being that shoots a defenseless house cat that only ever wanted to get more cuddles out of people? Is that a person you really want in our society?

We put down dogs that bite people. I'm thinking people that bring violence the other direction for kicks ought to be removed from society too.

First, I'm sorry for your loss, I know how it feels to loose family pets, and if you don't let your cat roam then ignore most of the following, BUT If you do keep your cat contained then you won't have to worry about random cars, accidents or psychopaths killing it.

Cats kill other people's pets too, they deficate on other people's lawns and every time they injure or maul a wild animal to death they leave a mess for others to clean up.

Whoever the ******* was that killed your cat was wrong and deserves to be punished, but letting your cat roam is probably not much better either.

Trapping it and calling the owner or pound is a better solution but why should someone else invest time and money simply because someone else wants a pet?

Edited by LashL: 

Edited to properly mask profanity. Please see Rule 10 re: the auto-censor.

 

[Travis]

Cruelty to animals is already illegal. Are you unaware of the current laws, or just dissatisfied with their leniency?

I made it very clear I am dissatisfied with their leniency.

Hmmm...that's awfully callous given cats' own penchant of killing wildlife.

First, I'm sorry for your loss, I know how it feels to loose family pets, and if you don't let your cat roam then ignore most of the following, BUT If you do keep your cat contained then you won't have to worry about random cars, accidents or psychopaths killing it.

Cats kill other people's pets too, they deficate on other people's lawns and every time they injure or maul a wild animal to death they leave a mess for others to clean up.

Whoever the a-hole was that killed your cat was wrong and deserves to be punished, but letting your cat roam is probably not much better either.

Trapping it and calling the owner or pound is a better solution but why should someone else invest time and money simply because someone else wants a pet?

I wasn't aware so many people were in favor of shooting cats in front of people's houses.

So that's the solution? Keep cats locked away inside houses for all time because if one is outside, even on the front lawn, it must be shot?

If that is the state of things I say humanity has lost its way.

 

[Information Analyst]

Well I'm not advocating the death penalty.

I'm just saying that people that kill animals for fun should maybe be locked up for a very long time. Or put on a list of people to keep an eye on.

I wouldn't say any of these constinute "a long time," but these are the sort of sentences perpetrators of animal cruelty/causining unnecessary suffering get in the UK:

BBC News (21 Nov 2006): Man who fed cat to dog sentenced - detained for 4 months, and banned from keeping animals for 20 years

BBC News (27 May 2011): Lancashire cat killer Jason Metcalfe jailed jailed for 16 weeks, and banned from keeping animals for life

BBC News (19 Aug 2011): Portsmouth man sentenced for 'microwaving' pet cat - 16 weeks suspended for 18 months, six weeks night-time curfew, and banned from keeping animals for life (cat survived)

BBC News (14 Dec 2011): Devon kitten in microwave woman Gina Robins jailed - jailed for 24 weeks, banned from keeping animals for 10 years

BBC News (13 Nov 2012): Man who put cat in tumble dryer jailed - jailed for 8 weeks, banned from keeping animals (cat survived)

You'll note that all were banned from keeping <u>any</u> animals, either for a considerable length of time, if not indefinitely.

 

[Travis]

I'm sorry but for me I want them in prison for at least ten years.

 

[Hungry81]

I made it very clear I am dissatisfied with their leniency.





I wasn't aware so many people were in favor of shooting cats in front of people's houses.

So that's the solution? Keep cats locked away inside houses for all time because if one is outside, even on the front lawn, it must be shot?

If that is the state of things I say humanity has lost its way.

Well if I have a trained pet rabbit why shouldn't I be able to let it roam my yard without worrying about someone's cat jumping the fence and mauling it? Does my rabbit not have more right to roam my yard than your cat? Why should I have to keep my pet locked up so yours can do whatever it wants? Why should I have to clean up the feces and carcases from your pet in my yard?


Also I did not say I advocate killing them and I agree the killers should be suitably punished, I said trap it, and contact the cats owner to come and get it OR contact the pound from where the owner can collect it.

There is no excuse for killing someone's pet, just as there is no excuse for allowing your pet to kill another persons pet. As I said I know how it feels to loose a family pet, I've lost a few over the years.

 

[Rolfe]

Just after I read Travis's original thread on this, our local SSPCA inspector brought in the body of a cat who may well have been murdered for post mortem. This one was poison, and in that situation it's difficult to prove that it was a malicious act rather than the cat accidentally having access. The poison was ethylene glycol - antifreeze. People have this in their garages. From time to time there are multiple cases of this in the same neighbourhood, and an anti-cat vendetta is suspected. This was one of those times.

I was discussing the difficulty of achieving a conviction with the SSPCA officer, and she told me about the one time they were successful. The police had been able to raid the woman's premises immediately after a cat was taken ill, and found evidence that she had deliberately laid the stuff out. She denied it, but in the witness box her hatred of cats came over so strongly nobody believed her denial.

I don't know what punishment she was sentenced to. I can ask Louise next time I see her. I think, though, that this woman is in a different category from the shoot-a-cat-for-fun brigade. There, there is a definite proven link between violence to pets and violence to people, and someone who will do that to a cat will have less of an inhibition about doing it to a human being. So I agree, it's not just about punishment, it's about seeing the incident as fair warning of what that person may be capable of doing in the future.

Rolfe.

 

[Travis]

Also I did not say I advocate killing them and I agree the killers should be suitably punished, I said trap it, and contact the cats owner to come and get it OR contact the pound from where the owner can collect it.

There is no excuse for killing someone's pet, just as there is no excuse for allowing your pet to kill another persons pet. As I said I know how it feels to loose a family pet, I've lost a few over the years.

You'd trap a cat in the street in front of somebody elses house?

 

[gnome]

on the OP, in the words of Johnny Five:

"Pursue... Capture... Incarcerate".

The leniency of laws can depend where you are I suppose. Maybe someone can fact check me on this one but I've heard of some jurisdictions where cruelty to animals can get you stiffer penalties than assault on a person.

To me this reflects being too light on assault penalties, rather than too easy on animal cruelty.

 

[jhunter1163]

I think that any cruelty that results in an animal's death should be a felony, and should have a fairly stiff mandatory minimum sentence (say, three to five years). I'm an animal lover of long standing, but I realize that you can't equate animal lives and human lives.

 

[Akri]

I wasn't aware so many people were in favor of shooting cats in front of people's houses.

If that's what you're taking away from the comments in this thread, then I think you need to maybe walk away and come back when you're capable of thinking about this more rationally, because that is not what is being said.

So that's the solution? Keep cats locked away inside houses for all time because if one is outside, even on the front lawn, it must be shot?

No. The solution is don't let your cat wander around the neighborhood unsupervised, because it is dangerous and irresponsible to do so. It's considered unacceptable for people to let their dogs wander around unsupervised; why should cats be any different? Train your cat to use a lead, or put up a cat fence in your yard, or else, yes, keep it in doors.

There are more risks to an outdoor cat than malevolent humans. They can get injured in fights with other cats, get maimed by dogs, or even carried away by hawks and eagles depending on where you live. And of course there's always the risk of getting hit by a car.

To be clear, I'm not saying that it's your fault your cat died, and the person who shot him is in the clear. The person who shot him takes 100% of the blame. What I am saying is that if you ever get another cat, and you don't want him or her to be at risk of a similar fate, then you need to adjust how you behave as an owner. You can't control what other people (or other animals) will do, but you can control what situations you put your pet in.

 

[Cleon]

In many cases, I think animal cruelty punishments are too lenient. It varies widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Perhaps, when you catch the **********, civil litigation is the way to go (mental anguish etc).