A few days ago there was case presented on TV in my country (Romania) about a group of three teenagers beating a poor cat to death

!!! I prevent everyone that the images are extremely shocking!!!

I was appaled, it made sick to witness such violence! The worst about the case is that they were eventually apprehended and they only got a fine of 500$ for this!

We really have no animal protection here and it's outrageous that those #@%&%$# should be getting away with a small sum of money that their parents would pay. On top of that, being interviewed afterwards on the matter, they showed absolutely no remorse and said they had done it just to be cool. :handbag:

Though I started the topis from a specific case, I want to discuss animal cruelty in general, your views on the issue, the punishment you consider suitable for such acts of violence, etc.

There is no punishment quite right for a crime like this the torture of animals in more or less unforgivable.

That is not to say I don't believe in eating animals. But atleast in that case they are killed instantaneously and for a purpose. Mindless torture is something else entirely.

Ugh, that's horrible. People who torture animals are sick, despicable human beings, and they're one step away from doing the same thing to other people.

Now, it's not going to happen, but here's my proposed sentence for animal abusers: mental health screening, enormous fine, five years in jail, being put on a blacklist so that they can never adopt, buy, or register a pet animal ever again. And it shouldn't depend on the animal. Isn't there a law in the US that states that rat and mouse abuse isn't a criminal offense? That makes me sick, especially because I used to have a pet rat who was sweet, happy, and quite intelligent.

The punishments should be exactly the same as what they did to the animal

I agree with you and others on this forum who have said that the punishment is in no way fitting of the crime. I would in this case say that these people should be punished in precisely the same way that the poor cat was. In the long run, it would be a good thing, as these hooligans wouldn't be alive to hurt another being again.

Edit: and that video clip was horrible and make me ill to watch.

That poor kitty.. Why do people insist on hurting animals that have never done anything to deserve that kind of treatment? The area I live in is bad for animal cruelty and mistreatment nad I'v rescued more then my fair share of injured/sick/abused animals. The worst part is, they get away with it. The punishment for abusing an animal should be just as sever as the one for abusing a child. After all, most of the times the animal can't do anything to protect its self.

I think that's a good idea, and I definitely agree with you on the rat & mouse thing. I've also owned rats, for five years, and they are just as capable as looking frightened and making pitiful sort of noises, in other words, you'd have to be a horrible person to torture a rat just the same as a dog or cat.

What about this video:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VIjanhKqVC4

I think that is just sick! I don't think animals need to suffer like that. I think that whoever gets caught doing it, goes to jail for a long time and not being able to buy any more animals. That video, cory_g, made me start to cry and can't believe stupid people like that would do that to a innocent little cat.

Is there anyone here who isn’t disturbed by this kind of thing? Really though, the majority of people must not be bothered or the penalties would be more severe.
I'd really like to hear someone saying that a fine is perfectly sufficient for cruelty like that.

I kinda agree with this..But I don't eat animals, which probably makes my opinion more extreme...

Animals in slaughterhouses aren't killed quickly. The workers slit their throats, making them bleed to death.

Animal cruelty is also quite bad. Teens that do that sort of thing can end up as murderers of people in the future. Scary, eh?

I agree with Manda. If they show no mercy beating a CAT to death, will the show mercy beatign a HUMAN to death?

Gah. I'm sorry I opened this thread. Now I feel sick to my stomach...honestly, if I ever came across someone doing that to an animal, I wouldn't be able to control myself and hit with whatever's handier.

*proud owner of three kitties*

I agree with everyone here. People don't get the correct punishment. How you can beat a cat to death is beyond me... I feel bad if I accidently nudge my cat by accident!

This made me cry though:


Dogs used as Shark Bait

Animal cruelty is just about one of the worst things a person can do, in my book. I can honestly say that, if I ever came across someone who had tortured/ was in the middle of torturing an animal, I would be hard pressed not to slap them silly. Everything possible should be done to punish those who abuse animals- long jail time, high fines, psychiatric counseling to ensure that they'll never do it again, etc. It's despicable and vile.

The worst part of it is that the animal doesn't understand what's happening. A human being tortured is capable of understanding- they know that it could be a political situation, a hostage situation, punishment for a wrong-doing, etc. I'm not saying that human torture is right (because it surely isn't), but I think animal torture is worse because they can't comprehend what's happening. They don't know why they're beaten or being fed to the sharks- they think they've done something wrong, in most cases.

This is terrible. No one should have to suffer like that, especially animals.

They should sentence the same punishment for the person as the person did for the animal: keep the animal in a too small cage, put the person in a small cell, beat the animal for no reason, beat the person.

I used to work at a pet store (got done today, actually, so that I could get a job out to sea) and for the most part a lot of people take care of their animals, but it's stupid ridiculous when they decide to buy a turtle (red eared sliders are the only turtle allowed to be sold in my state) and then put this turtle into a ten gallon tank, when a ten gallon is way too small. Or buy a finch bird cage for their cockatiel. It's horrible the state of some of the animals we rescued.

Animal cruelty is everywhere unfortunately, and it seems that successful prosecutions are rarely brought. That's before you even begin to consider how insignificant the penalties tend to be if people are convicted. These definitely need to be more harsh- though I think that also applies to many other crimes as well- someone beating a cat to death is hardly going to be given a long jail sentence when someone else can commit violent assault on another person and be out again within a couple of years

In my experience, the large welfare organisations (those with the power to seize animals, bring charges, etc., such as RSPCA) frequently don't even bother to investigate. I have been involved in too many situations (as part of the rescue team for a small welfare organisation) where animals are almost dead- no food, no water, sometimes horrible chronic injuries, sometimes deliberate cruelty- and they've refused to take an interest. With things as they are, I don't think the penalties are likely to change any time soon...

What concerns me most though is that in Australia at least, there is no formal, organised system for reporting incidents of animal cruelty. (I am only considering deliberate abuse here.) We're told so frequently that people who inflict cruelty on other people often start out by harming animals. As I've said, I've done a lot of animal welfare work and I am soon to qualify as a veterinarian. I have already seen far too many cases of animal abuse and there is almost nothing that can be done about it except in the worst of the worst cases.

My feeling is that there needs to be a way of logging all these cases (even where there is only strong suspicion, even if nothing solid can be proven) and that this may in the long run do the human population some good as well.

I'm an animal rights person, and I beleive that they all have rights. What I don't like as well is when a dog or other animal attacks a perso, small child ETC they immediatly blame it on the dog. Almost everyone of these cases the animal has come from a bad environment, and has been treated horribly. Is it the owners fault or the animals? I strongly believe in these cases it's the owners fault and they should be punished and not the animal. I'm not saying to let these animals run loose, but to put a dog to sleep because it had a bad upbringing? That's wrong, I've got three cats who I love dearly like my own children and if I caught ANYONE hurting any of them I'd probably beat the living %^$%^$% out of the person. I also agree that people should suffer the same treatment that they gave to the animal, if you beat and kill an animal well...all I have to say is Karma.

I think that killing animals purely for sport or fun, like that harmless cat for example, is just wrong. Those people are sadistic and just plain evil. I think a hefty fine and some jail time would serve them right.

Of course it's usually the owner's fault with situations like that (and the owner should be punished), but what else can they do with a dog that's become a danger to people? The idea (hopefully) is not to punish the dog, but to remove a dangerous animal from society. Either way, it's sad.

I just watched part of the video because I couldn't take it anymore and that was THE most horrifying thing I've ever seen on a video in my life!! Why the hell would someone do that to animal?! And to be cool?! HA! They can kiss my @$$.

I agree, just as a lot of people in here have said, that the punishment for animal cruelty is extremely wrong and needs to be changed. After just gazing over the thread posts, I saw that someone said that the punishments should be the same as they did to the cat. HELL YA! I completely agree. Although the gov't. would no way in the world change the punishment to death for the cruel punishment of animals.

'Eh.

When working at the pet store, I had some guy come and tell me about his pittbull or other large dog (of that sort). The guy keeps his dog in his truck, and was in Massachusetts at the time. Some stranger walked up to the truck (windows were rolled down for the dog) and the guy started poking and slapping the dog around.

Being a good guard dog, the dog bit the guy's finger straight off. The police decided that the dog was not at fault because the stranger started it, and the dog was doing its duty. So, not every case where a person was bitten ends up with a dog being put down. It is the owner's fault most of the times for raising their dog that way and not socializing it. Please people, how many times do I have to say it "Spay and neuter your children?"

The laws relating to "dog attacks" (around here at least) are quite bizzare. If a person stands at your gate and provokes your dog, and the dog bites them, you are still legally responsible. The council has the power to declare the dog dangerous, meaning that it must be kept in a special enclosure, wear a special collar and not go out without a muzzle, or can have it destroyed. The same applies if someone comes onto your property (invited or uninvited) and is bitten- I can only hope that The Powers That Be would be able to exercise common sense if a dog bit someone in defence of its owner or property. However, if a neighbour's dog puts it's nose to the fence and is bitten, you are not responsible. (This came up in discussion the other day because we had to treat a dog who had been dragged under the dividing fence and attacked by the neighbour's dogs and there was a bit of an argument as to who should be paying the vet bills) Go figure...



I agree. Just the other day, we had to euthanise a dog surrendered to the pound because she had badly bitten one of the owner's young children. We're all pretty sure that it was probably the owner's fault- not supervising the child around the dog. There was a horrible case here a few years ago where a boy (I think around 12 years old) was killed by the family dog- obviously there was no choice but to euthanase the dog, but a friend of mine used to 'pet-sit' for the family and was always horrified at the way the child tormented the dog when he thought no-one was watching. Very few dogs are 'bad' if they're trained and socialised properly, but animals that bite (even in certain cases of provocation) can be a major issue.

I'm from the top end of Aust, and a few months ago we had a serial cat slaughterer going around. This person would take people's pet cats and slaughter them in the most horrific ways, then leave them on display. Classic signs of a potential serial killer. The killer was never caught. Even if he/she had been we've go bugger all punishment for animal cruelty. A fine and a ban from owning animals. That's it.

I recently adopted a stray dog who had either run away or been dumped. He'd been seriously abused, and was terrifed of hoses, shoes, sticks, taller men, rope and a lot of other things.

Because of how rural it is up here the animal cruelty is terrible and it's easy enough for someone to hurt their animals without anyone knowing.

There was a case in the news last week where someone had discovered a litter of bleeding puppies in their wheelie bin. Whoever had dumped the puppies had slit their throats first.

This is something that happens almost every week here. It just doesn't always make the news.

We're nowhere near as rural as the top end, but we have similar problems round here. There was someone round here a while back slaughtering kangaroos and leaving the heads on display. Around the same time, a group of horses were poisoned and some donkeys were attacked by someone with a knife.

A few weeks ago, we had a dog brought into the emergency centre after being left on a beach- the best theory I can come up with to explain his injuries is that someone had put a pickaxe through his skull.

Nobody's been caught in any of these cases, and I think the roo incidents were the only ones to make the news. Most of them don't...