Should people serve time for killing pets?

Anyone who does this is sick and needs help!!!
If they'll kill a defenseless animal- where will they stop?

Besides, most serial killers, and various other sorts of lunatics, started out torturing small animals. And in abusive situations at home, the 'chain' usually goes like this.

Father beats Mother.
Mother beats Child(ren).
Child(ren) beats Pet(s).

Well,yes! Sure,is not serious as murder or manslaughter or anything.But yes."Jail is too good for them" is something I can feel,but is a bit extreme.Is extreme for people to be killed for killing people,let alone for pet-killers.So my reason says that maybe some short time in jail will do the thing.And fines,heavy heavy fines.Even if you assassinate fish! (not for eating,that's allowed .

Yes, but it is less serious than murder

Yes, to me it is a form of murder. One thing does sadden me about the sentences those convicted of animal abuse receive compared to those convicted of child abuse receive. I've noticed that those convicted of abusing or killing an animal will often receive far more jail or prison time than those who abuse or kill a child. As much as I love animals this isn't right. We put far more value on a pet's life than we do a child's life and then we have the gall to call the U.S. a developed country! >

I can't argue with you about that. In the book, "The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers" by Harold Schechter (who has also written books on Ed Gein and Albert Fish) & David Everitt there is a listing for "triad". There is no guarantee that if a person has all three elements of the "triad" present that he/she will turn into a serial killer, but it's considered a VERY BAD sign! The "triad" consists of: 1) Enuresis (betwetting) that persists beyond the age of 12 (more than 60% of serial killers were still wetting their beds as adolescents), 2) Fire-Starting. Children like to play with matches because they are intrigued by the bright, colorful, flickering flames, but budding serial killers carry this interest to a frightening extreme. Their fascination with fire is an early manifestation of their fondness for spectacular destruction. Ottis Toole, the sidekick of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, burned down a neighborhood house when he was 6 years old. Teenage thrill killer George Adorno set fire to his sister when he was only 4 years of age! 3) Sadistic Activity. Before they are big enough to inflict harm on other human beings, future serial killers get their kicks from tormenting small creatures. Jeffrey Dahmer liked to nail small animals such as bullfrogs to a tree when he was a child and Edmund Kemper buried the family cat alive and then dug it up and decapitated it. Kemper was only 10 years old at the time.

Its death for no reason, and death for no reason is murder. Pets are almost like children. They have little understanding what is happening to them, only the pain of being born into this world where this cruel treatment is happening to them. No form of communication and no access to get help for themselves to get out of the situation. Its murder.

It's a completely cruel and unnecessary thing...so yes. No, I'm not sitting on my PETA throne. Beyond the bloody pet corpse, if that person has so much pent up anger as to unleash it on the animal, they are apt to do it around a child or adult.

I misread this originally and thought the question was "Should people reserve time for killing pets?" which is another matter entirely; some people don't get enough pet killing in their day, on the other hand professional pet killers probably spend more than enough time doing it. But I'm glad I was wrong - yes, I think they should.

No, not jail, as long as it's their own pet.

If you mistreat and abuse an animal then;

Go straight to jail, do not pass Go!

Did I misunderstand this question? I certainly don't want to condone anyone who abuses animals but say a couple owns a dog and his spouse dies. He does not want the dog to remind him of his wife and can barely care for himself, let alone the dog. He humanely kills the dog himself, is this murder or euthanasia?

Yes, if it's cruel to the animal--like what those guys did to that kitten. That kind of behavior should be actively discouraged. I do think it's less serious than killing a human, however.

People are sent to jail for that, aren't they? There are animal lawyers and everything. But yes, I think people probably should serve time in jail for it, if there is enough evidence to prove that they killed the animal.

It should definitely be considered a criminal act

I think so, killing a pet is like killing a member of the family.

It depends on what rights you wish to extend to what kind of animals. Can any form of living thing *be* murdered? Does killing a dog merit a longer jail term than killing a hamster? Does killing a hamster merit a longer jail term than killing a spider?
If a man deserves to be sentenced to murder for kicking a dog to death in anger, what about for a boy who feeds his sister's pet mouse to his pet snake as a cruel prank, or a father that flushes his child's goldfish down the toilet as a punishment. A jail sentence is not always the most appropriate way to discourage inappropriate behaviour.
And besides, I have this horrible image of men sitting round a table in the prison canteen comparing what they're in for:

Person 1: I held up a convenience store with a sawn-off shotgun.
Person 2: I set fire to my workplace after getting fired.
Person 3: Next door's cat was sh*tting in my backyard so I killed it.
Person 1 and 2: You sick B*ST*RD!

Ah yes. For sure. Why do humans think they are better than any other form of life?

I don't think that all people who kill pets on purpose should be jailed. Some may have mental problems. Some may be too young to be responsible for their actions. With some people, it may be a one-off act of violence. Sentences should be malleable.

Um, heh, what if someone only has two of those? Cause I have NEVER, EVER, tortured small animals. And I usually only set fire to small plastic things to protest my Grandmother's gestapoesque attitudes towards me and candles, i.e. she won't let me buy any.

What about bedwetting? I personally wouldn't be concerned about burning small plastic thingys in protest because I don't think it quite the same as what these other guys did.

I'm taking the "assuming that it was not euthanasia" to mean that it wasn't done as painlessly as possible. I'm not up on all of the specific laws and penalties for animal cruelty in this jurisdiction, but I know from news reports and such that people can and do serve prison time for such things as inadequate care and feeding of livestock for example. I don't recall anyone rallying to their defense. Quite the contrary. People are outraged. I recall someone else being imprisoned for killing wild animals in a park with a similar response from the public. This only seems to apply to the "higher" animals; mammals, birds etc. I'm pretty sure you can torture insects with impunity...

I'd call that euthanasia. I'm assuming the survey is asking about situations where the pain inflicted is maximised rather than minimised.

The funny thing is; that has probably happened!

Wet till I was 15. I would occasionaly melt straws when I was bored, but I was always careful to do it over a non-flamamble surface just in case something went wrong.

I tend to be overly cautious when it comes to things that are hot. I have a scar on my arm from when I decided to carry too many pizza pans to the sink at once. For some reason the thin pans we use for hand tossed, thin, and stufed, pizzas hurt worse than the thick pans we use for pans, breadsticks, and hot wings. *shrug*

It's because the thin pans heat up more. Thicker pans take longer to heat up and distribute the heat. As to the bedwetting...do you have a medical problem? Some people have bladders with small than usual capacity, some have irritable bladders and certain food allergies can cause bedwetting as well. As I said before, your playing with fire doesn't appear to be any cause for concern...I mean you are careful and you aren't starting fires to hurt people. I'd said it's more of a rebellion than anything else.

It depends on the situation. If it was someone who went around the neighbor hood and killed everyones pets just for craps and giggles, then maybe some sort of punishment is due, maybe not even jail time, I don't know. But, NOT if it's say...someone who killed their dog or cat for scratching the eyes of their baby who is now blinded for life...then, no, that's no one's business but that familys. It just depends.

Same answer as the stupid AFV survey (stupid not in a bad way). Do animals have souls? I don't know. If they do, then yes, it's bad. If not, then there are SO SO many factors to consider before figuring out blah blah blah and no one is right.

True dat bout the pans.

I did have a 'drinking problem' in that I would swallow about five or six glasses of juice or soda before bedtime. And when I was 4 I had painful bladder surgery. For the longest time I not only coudn't pee without pain, it didn't come out straight.

Soda...especially caffeinated soda can really irritate the bladder and it doesn't probably help that you had bladder surgery. What was the surgery for...were you born with something wrong with your bladder? I bet your folks didn't like that you couldn't pee straight.

I don't really know, now that I think about it. There was just surgery done on my bladder.

But you just don't know why...is that it? I had surgery on my rectum when I was very young (less than a year old) because I was born with some problems with it.

Yes, animals have lives too.

Then jail is too good for 'em!
END ALL KINDS OF ABUSE!!!

I think that they should have to go through some therapy at least.

UGH... Vietnamese people kill dogs to eat them! I saw a video of a lady who just cut a little dogs stomach open while it was still alive!!! YUCK!! I don't necisarily (sp) think they should be killed, but I do think there should be some serious punishment!!

Yeah so I read that question wrong... sorry... I guess no one asked about people being executed for killing pets... So yeah I think they should serve time.

Sounds like you know a bit about serial killers. Kemper lived only about ten miles from me and best friend of Charles Ng lived across the street.

Ah, the magic triad. I qualify for that. But, dang, I missed the general age range of late 20's to become a serial killer. Right now I'm a SKIT. Hmm, actually I've learned (emphasis on 'learn') to love animals much more than humans, especially my cats. Would be much easier for me to kill a human than a dog or cat.

I think the basic issue here in the survey is the person you hear on the news who kills cats, dogs, mistreats horses, etc. and not bugs or hamsters. It would be hard though to discern where the cutoff would be for criminal prosecution.
Wouldn't want to go to jail for killing any of your ants would you Kate? My wife won't let me kill spiders in the house. I gotta take them outside and let them go. That's cool, they deserve to live too, but if left up to me I'd just kill them without thinking. Strangest thing was when one of the cats caught a mouse and had it in his mouth. The mouse was still alive. Wife had me pick up the cat, carry it outside with mouse in mouth, and then force the cat to let it go. Wasn't easy but it finally worked.

Calm down. You're getting all excited.

I don't consider ants to be on the same level as cats, dogs, horses, pigs, etc. For starters, I don't consider them to be pets in any sense of the word. You cannot domesticate them for starters.

Never had a toy ant farm when you were a kid?

No, but I still don't consider them pets just because they are encased in plastic. Ants don't have their own specific personalities, but a hive mentality (sorta Borg like).

Yes -- if they are capable of killing a helpless animal, they are probably capable of great harm to humans also. At least fine them heavily! Animals, especially the usual pets humans have, like dogs and cats, are so helpless and dependent upon humans and it is horrible to think that a person could do such a thing. I certainly would not want to be around such a person who could do this. There is something very wrong with such a person.

*drool*, *drool*, *pant*, *pant*, *drool*!
(heavy breathing....)

Yes, they should/need go to jail for a few months.

you wouldn't by any chance have recently read any articles by any Australian philosophers, have you?

That's not very becoming!

People in the West eat pigs which are much more intelligent than dogs.

No, but if they killed the pet for the pleasure or some demented reason, than they should be considered talking to the psychiatrist. If they killed for a good reason, than no. By the way, they kill all these animals everyday for us to eat, and they don't prosecute those people.

Not unless the animal is killed cruely, then only maybe a 2 month stint in jail. People who kill animals cruely with glee have a problem and need to be put on a database because many murderers start on animals. I have thought of killing a cat that continually jumps through a louvre and pisses in my sun room. Since I can never catch the cat, and don't know who owns it, I feel I would be justified in killing it although the killing would satisfy the above conditions.

If it was premeditated and done maliciously then, yes. They should be punished.

Yeah,but neutering him maybe would be better.
Please,don't kill kitty!

The cat might be desexed. It doesn't stop cats pissing and fighting contrary to what cat advocates will tell you. This cat comes in my home, pisses, eats my dogs food. I really don't see any alternative since I cannot catch it or determine where it lives.

Killing pets is wrong, even just hurting them intentionally is wrong! I have know people that shoot cats and dogs, and do other horrible things to them! It is awful!

No,it does.I have two neutered cats,I had another one.All neutered,never pissed.Sure,maybe if it's old it could keep on,but that's no reason to kill him!!!!
You kill an animal if 1)he's ill 2)you are hungry and want to eat him.I don't say it just because I love cats,I would the say the same for a dog or any other beast.Maybe for you it's the best solution,can't you ask some doctor to catch him? Maybe they could find a home,and if it has a owner maybe he would reclaim him.But I think for you it would be maybe a waste of time.

Maybe the problem is just that you HATE cats right? I remember you talking about cats in a harsh way.Cats are very intelligent and affectionate,but maybe for dog-people (if you are a dog person,you look like one.Maybe you simply don't like animals.)is hard to understand but cats are COOL .I'm not a dog person,but I don't hate dogs.I'm a little afraid of them and they would never take a dog.
Do you know that they say that ailurophobes are really women-ophobes.It's only a story maybe ,but looks like people who have an hard time with an "aggressive" female partner or even with any kind of woman that isn't too submissive are scared or despise cats.It's interesting,if you remember our discussion about male/female relationships.My dad used to hate cats,because he didn't know them.Then we finally took up one as a pet and now he's cat lover.Not that I want to turn you in cat lover,as I know I will never be a dog lover,but if you get to know them cats are deep and interesting creatures.

I hate any animal that does nothing, pisses everywhere, fights in the night and craps in the garden.

So you hate cats and humans .

I just realized that the discussion about male/female wasn't with you!

Sounds like my brothers.....

No, only cats. Humans do a lot. We feed cats after all. Most cats could be dead for days before anyone would notice since they do bugger all anyway.

Cats are good for relieving stress and high blood pressure.
Cats sleep 22 hours a day,in those remaining 2 hours they jump 8 times their height.Try do to that yourself.Sure they need lots of energy for this kind of accomplishment.They ARE useful too.Not dog useful,they aren't servants or obsessed lovers.They are friendly.I agree that a living cat looks much like a dead cat sometime.My black cat hardly looks like a living being.He fades into the ambient often.Good for a predator.Also,they need to sleep so much because of the meat digestion which is so long.They aren't lazy.And if they are,what's wrong with laziness?

"Yes, but it's less serious than murder" of human beings simply because animals have no ability to communicate feelings to humans in the same way that humans do. All animal psychics and similar mediums aside, animals are not people and laws were not written to protect animals in the same way as humans.

Nothing is wrong with laziness if you find another person stupid enough to do everything for you.

Animal cruelty is no laughing matter. People who senslessly kill anything should be punished.

I find myself straddling the third and fourth answers. I don't think it's murder, so the first answer is ruled out. I guess as for whether they should go to jail or not it depends on the circumstances. Basically if somebody is torturing animals I think that's really bad. If somebody just puts a bullet in his dog's head, that's pretty screwed up but I'm not sure how serious a crime it is. Pets and children seem to still possess that interesting property once also possessed by slaves - they are somewhere between person and property. Sometimes it's hard to know how to think of them.

Actually you might be surprised. With some of the new techniques that have become available in the past decade (mostly as spin-offs from the International Space Station program), professional pet-killers can now accomplish in mere minutes what used to take them a full day. Many of them are branching out into other related lines of work in their spare time, such as professional racing dog killing, professional service animal killing and, of course, pet counter-assasination.

I'm really glad to hear about the pet counter assassins; some airports I've been to recently have been quite overrun by pet counters and we definitely need to take some action to keep them under control.

I think mandatory psychiatric treatment should be in order. This is a very serious matter.