The problem for all of these apologists of cruelty is that they conduct their actions in a society that has an increasing understanding of animal cognition and feelings and that has a growing body of law against animal cruelty. As communities and nations, we make judgments about what sort of uses of animals are outside the bounds of civil behavior. It’s one thing to kill animals for survival or self-defense. A lot of people also will argue it’s okay to kill animals for food, or the defense of property, or for the supposed benefit of science. But to kill animals just for entertainment–and to do it by stabbing bulls to weaken them over a 30-minute time frame, to watch birds fitted with knives slash each other for gambling purposes, or to chase a frightened bear for 3 or 4 hours through the woods, and then ultimately to shoot the animal off of a tree limb–well, it’s just hard to stomach in our time.
The Running of the Fools
06 Jul 2012 Leave a comment
in Animal Cruelty, Animal Welfare, Animals in Entertainment
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