This abominable act is one of the most utterly foul and despicable things I've read about in quite a while. Read it, and be angry.

Why is it so foul? They're only animals, you say.

Because there is no possible excuse for such behavior. Nothing could conceivably justify such cruelty. It is inhumane, and inhuman.

Let's get something straight right up front here: I'm not about to join PETA, nor am I going to splash paint on some matron's fur coat. I do believe that if there's a choice between saving a human life and that of an animal, the human wins. I eat meat daily. I wear leather. Contrary to PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk's vile assertion, a rat is not a pig is not a dog is not a boy.

Nevertheless, I believe that we, as individuals, have particular responsibilities towards those over whom [or over which] we have stewardship. If you don't bother to get your dog spayed and she has puppies, those puppies are your responsibility, just as if you sire or bear a child, the child is your responsibility. Not mine. Not society's. Yours.

Being a participant in adult society is almost entirely a function of the ability to take responsibility. The rights and privileges we have as adult humans are contingent upon that ability. I must take responsibility for myself and my actions – other adults, and maybe even the law, will hold me to account. If I voluntarily take responsibility for someone or something else, I am bound to it; I cannot then simply walk away from that charge.

To deliberately betray a responsibility towards those in your charge – be they children, handicapped relatives, elderly parents, or even animals – is to make yourself less than a full adult human. They are essentially helpless, and if you don't want that responsibility, it's too late to merely disclaim it after the fact. If the responsibility is too much to bear, the adult thing to do is to look for an alternative – a different caregiver for your parent, an adoptive parent for your child, a new owner for your animal. You don't just abandon them... or worse.

To shirk your responsibility, either by your action or inaction, particularly if it leads to harm, makes you inferior to those in your charge. As such, you should never be entrusted with adult responsibilities, nor enjoy the rights and privileges that come with the adult ability to take responsibility.

You have betrayed your own humanity. You are fit company only for brutes.

Such company can usually be found in prison.

(via Ian S.)

Posted by Russ at 01:16 PM, June 29, 2004 in Animals