What is the overall ethical standard one should adhere to in making the decision to end a pet’s life? People put down cats because they won’t stop spraying or dogs that are out of control and a hazard. Where is the line drawn?
As a side question can you legally terminate your own pet for “cause” or do you have to get the shelter or a veterinarian to do it?
From this other article: Why did a Somerset man allegedly shoot his own horse?
sounds like the defendant has had a penchant for disputes with his neighbors. It probably didn’t help him that his neighbors were the witnesses to his shooting of his horse.
Seems to me that cruelty to animals is cruelty to animals, regardless of the status of the animal as “pet,” “feral,” or “wild.”
Or, to flip it around, “not cruel” doesn’t depend on the status of the animal either. So if it’s acceptable to kill wild animals during hunting season, and acceptable to surrender a pet to a shelter where it’s likely to be euthanized (either because the animal is unsuitable as a pet or because the shelter is overcrowded), then it should be acceptable to kill your own pet for any reason you can think of, be it for sport, mercy, or inconvenience - as long as it’s done without inflicting unnecessary suffering. In the OP’s article there is mention of the horse squealing for several minutes after being shot; if that’s true, then it represents unnecessary suffering, and I don’t particularly object to Price serving a little bit of time for failing to promptly dispatch the horse after the first shot failed to kill it.
I will say that if someone can kill their “pet” for sport, then their relationship with their “pet” is very different from the relationship I had with my cat.
What a terribly-written “article.” Is that what passes for journalism in (checks) Delmarva (sic)?
Guy seems like a jerk. So glad he has access to high-powered rifles.
“If it wasn’t for my horse, I never would have gone to jail.”
That’s a hairball because “ethical” when it comes to animal welfare depends who you talk to. Even people like me who work in animal rescues don’t agree.
There are many regional laws that allow you to kill your own pet/animal. Jurisdiction matters.
Much as I do not want any mini-horses to die ever, I am not a vegan and I’m sure meat-farmed animals are subjected to far worse cruelty than a few minutes of post-gunshot pain. Society bitches about the cruel treatment of farmed animals, but no one goes to jail as long as they follow the rules. Likewise, the Humane Society keeps terrified animals in cramped cages for days and then ends their lives in a non-painless manner, and we think it’s sad or terrible, but it is legal. The man’s actions were no worse than a farmer or dog pound worker’s daily jobs.
Apparently the judge disagrees. He broke a law in whatever jurisdiction he lives in, therefore, illegal.
I’ve heard of cases where the State Police shoot animals on busy roads to prevent accidents. Maybe he should have called for assistance, followed the rules, etc.
ETA: I have also myself found loose horses on busy roads, got them off the roads, called the local police, helped locate the owners and generally been responsible. It’s not that hard with one animal and a few helpers. I’m being very careful NOT to express my opinion of this person.
I didn’t say his actions were illegal, just that they were no worse than lots of legal actions. There are a lot of irrational animal cruelty laws.
I grew up out in the boonies, and we practiced the “Old Yeller” variety of animal euthanasia. When the time came, Dawg and Paw walked off into the chapparal, there was a gunshot, and Paw walked back.
I once euthanized (.22) a feral cat that was half eaten away with some kind of cancer. It wandered onto the ranch and only had half a face. It was an act of mercy.
Nowadays, this isn’t so much done, and I’d go to a vet, or capture the cat and take it to a shelter. But the end-result is the same.
We also used to butcher our own beef, but now would hire it done. Again, the result is the same (a freezer full of meat.)
I’d argue that the old way was less traumatic for the animal. We have kind of schizophrenic animal cruelty laws.
I love animals. We have dogs, cats, horses, and chickens, and I love them all. But I also eat meat, and meat comes from animals that don’t die painlessly in their sleep. Someone has to kill them, and I think it’s better that they have good lives and die quick, sudden deaths while they’re relaxed and happy in their homes, than live in shitty (literally) conditions their whole lives, then die under stress, which is how most grocery store meat is produced.
Gunshot wound to the head? Better than 4 days in a crowded horse trailer to a slaughter house in Mexico, and then killed by some stressed out stranger who doesn’t have time to be gentle and kind.
Granted, this guy sounds like a total asshole, going by the article. Neighbors were trying to help catch the mini. It didn’t sound like the horse was running toward a highway and needed to be taken down immediately. It’s a mini. About the size of a large dog. Guy was a dick. But he did own the animal, and I don’t think there would be much said about the situation if it was a cow or a goat instead of a pony(!). 'Cause ponies are special.
There’s a humane way to kill a horse with a single shot, and at a distance with a high powered rifle near residential homes is not it. The article is terrible, but AFAIK the horse wasn’t on the road nor even heading towards it. “there was a road sort of nearby” is up there with “he was coming right for me!” in the panolpy of reckless discharge excuses. An uncooperative horse can be waved away from a road very easily.
The humane way, in case anyone curious, is this:
Draw two imaginary lines from the right eye to the left ear and vice versa. Place a bullet in the cross of the X.
I think the OP’s question was " at what point can you ethically kill a pet for being annoying?"
I think “pet” confers a different status than “animal”. Adopting or buying a “Pet” usually means that you’ve decided to provide a certain standard of care. You’ve agreed to feed, house, provide medical care, and not randomly terminate them or leave them in the wilderness because they’re annoying. A pet is not livestock.
“Animal” for most people does not receive the same level of care. They may or may not be known to the person in question. They may or may not be killed for food or sport. They may or may not be killed for being annoying. They are not entitled to the same level of ethical consideration. I am not arguing this is correct, btw, merely pointing out that this reality.
“Annoying” - covers a wide range of activities. Could in theory cover dangerous behavior. I would still argue that if you have a pet you have an ethical commitment to handle annoying behavior or re-home your pet.
To answer the OP, Termination is a last resort. Not something you undertake because you’d rather go get a beer or watch football. Pets are not a toy. They are a serious commitment.
I mostly agree… But it’s a bit risky, and can be botched. Every good old boy in the whole back country thinks he’s the best damn shot since Daniel Boone, and, alas, most of 'em (us!) ain’t.
The advantage of the vet is he’s licensed. Not that he’s trained; he’s licensed. He has specific protections in place if he makes a botch of it. If I do, I can (and should) be prosecuted, but the vet has legal protections.
But…you’re right that the vet’s office is a very daunting environment for most pets. Pets hate that place. Just going off for a one-way walk into the chaparral is much more comfortable for most pets.
I first read that in a fantasy story by Roger Zelazny, and always wondered if it was true, or if he just made it up. I’ve also heard that you shoot from the side, just under the ear.
Sad, but true, a horse’s brain is a pretty damn small target.
I post on a board that has a lot of people who raise and “process” their own meat, and I’ve heard the X thing many times.
One of my cats was driving me crazy earlier this evening (she does this the day before we have thunderstorms) but I didn’t kill her. I put her in the bathroom for a little while; she appears to have settled down now.
Better check that the bathmat is flat on the floor, and if it isn’t, be VERY careful about straightening it out.
Legal in PA, with or without “cause”.
There was a case near us where a woman complained about her neighbor’s dogs barking. The dog owner waited until the woman and her kids were in their yard, then executed the four beagles one by one.
The woman called the police, but it was eventually determined that beagle shooter broke no laws.
I once had a neighbor with beagles. I should have complained more.
Well, there’s the rub. It is damn near impossible to rehome an annoying pet. This guy shouldn’t have shot his horse and I think the judge was right to put him in jail (seriously, the horse is screaming for several minutes and a second bullet doesn’t occur to you?) but rehoming his horse was probably not an option if it was really annoying.
I have a dog and two cats. The dog and one of the cats are simply delightful. Cat #2 is an insane dickbag. He bites, scratches, tries to escape every time the door is opened, scratches up the walls and furniture, screams and yowls the entire night, shakes doors if you shut him in another room, etc. He hates being an inside cat and feels like his payment for being allowed to sleep on your bed for 18 hours every day is that he should be allowed to torment you so you can’t sleep at night. We’ve tried to rehome him and have been looking for someone who needs a barn cat so he can be outdoors and not disturb people but it turns out that almost no one needs a barn cat and the ones that do don’t necessarily want a dickbag of a cat hanging out in their barn. He can’t be an outdoor cat here because we are on a major road so we have settled for shutting him in the bathroom at night, where as a sign of his anger at being shut in there he ignores the litter box next to the toilet and shits and pisses in the bathtub instead. I’m not going to have him put down because I adopted him and committed to him as my pet long ago, but I can understand someone else making a different choice if they have tried every other way to address the annoying behavior and have been unsuccessful in rehoming their pet.
Animals exist for the benefit of mankind. 4-5 minutes of suffering? In the wild, the horse would have probable suffered from a painful and extended illness before finally succumbing to death or have been eaten alive by predators. Humans have the ability to dispose of our property as we wish, and the suffering of this animal is no greater than what humans choose to put themselves through every day. Judges like the one in this case need to get a bit of perspective both of the conditions in factory farms and of the almost incomprehensible cruelty of nature.
Laws need to be enforced as written, and if the farmer did in fact commit a crime, he should have been duly punished. But in that case, the laws need to be revised, and it doesn’t seem here like the judge’s had was forced.
Those who seem most opposed to animal cruelty almost always seem to live in concrete jungles divorced from reality and enjoy a romanticized bucolic view of ‘the wild’. Nature is brutal and uncaring.