Why is it not animal cruelty if you kill certain animals?

Question

If it is illegal for us to participate in dogfighting, cockfighting, or killing stray cats and dogs. Then why is it legal for us to use our rifle to kill deers and beers as a sport?

deers and *bears

Answer 1

I think the distinction between which animals can be killed, and which ones are prohibited from slaughter under animal cruelty laws, are based not on any empathy with the suffering of the animal, but is instead based on how useful the animal is. In other words if an animal can be domesticated to fit human needs, then needlessly killing them in dog fighting, cockfighting, or random acts of violence would be seen as cruel.

In issues of whether to kill or not to kill, the utility of the animal is paramount. Dogs and cats have a variety of human uses such as being a companion, giving comfort to the sick, being used to assist the police in law enforcement activities, and assisting the handicapped (i.e. the blind and deaf). Roosters and chickens obviously have agrarian uses and thus it would be seen as wasteful to destroy their lives through some wanton entertainment.

Deer and bears cannot be domesticated, and the hunting of such animals helps to curb their population, which if left out of control, could be dangerous to our society. Bears frequently encroach and ravage human lands and are potentially dangerous. Deer, once their populations burgeon, become a real nemesis to highway traffic.

So in the final analysis, it is the ease of domestication and utility of the animal, both of which are dependent on the overall intelligence of the animal, that determines whether it is fit to be protected under animal cruelty laws.

Answer 2

People make up the rules.
Thousands of dogs and cats are killed everyday in America, maybe even more?
There is noting human about dog fighting and/or cockfighting. These critters do not train nor fight as they did in the wild or in times of long ago.
There is more to hunting then aiming and shooting. More hunters come back with nothing then with something. Some hunters should never have a weapon in there hands. Just ask the farmers and ranchers who have horses and/or cattle killed by these kinds of hunters......

Answer 3

Honestly, I can't kill anything bigger than a dime. It seems mean, but I really try not to kill anything. I believe that everything has a right to live, including bugs and everything. But the problem is that there are so many of them, and they just get so annoying sometimes, but killing an insect is not animal cruelty for some odd reason. I think it's just that humans desire mammals like cats and dogs more than rats and roaches. It's not animal cruelty to kill rats and roaches, but it is to kill Cats and dogs. I get your point there, but laws are based on people's biases for the "common good" so, the reason is just point of view. I think it's because they're tamed animals, and are considered as "pets" that's why it's animal abuse, they're closer to your family and have an emotional value. But does anyone have a pet cockroach (I know some people have pet hissing cockroaches, but it's not problem for others to kill them...) All in all, it's just points of views. That's pretty much it. Not everything is supposed to be equal.

Answer 4

First off it is illegal to shoot them during any other time of the year other than that particular season. Secondly, because they provide food to us. Dogs, cats, roosters do not. They also provide their hides as protection from the elements. My guess is you have never been hunting before. Well, you can go sleep on the ground with a sleeping bag only but I prefer to use the hides with my sleeping bag because it is much warmer on those November nights with them. Now trophy killing, I am disgusted with. If you are not going to use all of the animal you shoot then don't pick up that gun. That animal should not die in vain. Another thing deer meat is a heck of a lot healthier(leaner) than beef and in my opinion taste better too.

Answer 5

Personally, I don't hunt. Never have cared for just randomly killing some animal. I understand that there are cases where we need hunting to help control overpopulation of some species. Deer are a perfect example. In our state, wherever deer are protected they are smaller, and many suffer from food shortages due to competition. They hold small selective hunts to reduce the population, which improves the rest of the herd.
As for bears, Gatlinburg Tn. is constantly battling the effects of overpopulation of Black Bears. They cannot find enough food in the limited amount of natural enviroment they have left, so they raid campsites and garbage cans. They can also be highly dangerous when starving.
Cows, pigs, and chickens? I don't kill them, but I'm guilty of eating them. I wouldn't want to see them suffer, but understand that they are raised to be food someday.

Answer 6

History and general human practice tells us that since pets have become companions that we love, we cannot kill them for sport. But is ok to kill deer because it fun to hunt them and eat them. It is also ok to kill cows and pigs because we just have for so long. It's basically a product of practice, and opinion. Some places have made foods made out of ducks illegal, yet it is still perfectly ok to slay a cow to eat. I dont understand it myself, but god help me if I bring up the issue with hunters because all I get is "deer tastes good". Or the oh so popular "if we dont shoot them they will overpopulate the earth". Yeah right.
I just make it a practice to not eat any meat, not wear fur/leather/wool, and do my best to not hit animals when I'm driving at night. Until more people become enlightened, there's nothing much more I can do. I also spay and neuter my animals. I think one day more people will realize that all animals deserve respect- regardless of how good they taste.

Answer 7

You are allowed to kill stray dogs and cats in some places. Cockfighting is legal in two states until sometime next year. I think it is Lousiana and New Mexico. The reason animal fighting is illegal and hunting is not is the way the animals are treated. It is more torture to stick to animals together and make them fight, than it is to go hunting. It isn't like you are out hunting to torture the animal.

Answer 8

Because we achieve a use from those animals-meat, hide, etc. They also are not forced into a situation specifically to die, such as dog fighting and cock fighting, and domestic animal euthanasia is to help curb rogue pet populations so there are fewer suffering and dying animals in the streets.

I do not hunt, nor condone the killing of animals, but this seems to be the best answer.

Answer 9

I don't think it's the killing that is cruel but the way the creatures are killed. If you are a sloppy hunter then you don't deserve a gun. If you earn money with the sport of an animals basic instincts then you don't deserve the house you live in. If you're clubbing baby seals to death for the money then you should be looking for a better job. If culling feral cats and dogs is a cruel sport for your fancy then you should be forced to the ping ball table for five years straight.
If you can't kill a steer in one quick shot then you don't deserve meat on your table.
There is death all around us my friend, but we as the stewards of the animals about us should use a compassion and wisdom above mere base instincts. Other wise the spirit of men is a black and cruel thing more so than we would like to believe.
We allow ourselves to hunt for varied reasons and sport is one of them, it has been with us for millenniums. I don't condone this because if we have the money to afford the thousands of dollars of equipment to go hunting. ( like trucks, tents, gas, camoflauge gear, rifles, top of the line scopes, sleeping bags, specific footwear for wood gear, axes for firewood, skinning knives, etc. etc. etc.) If we could afford all that then we can afford to go to the butcher's shop and fill our needs there!!
There are some men and women who do benefit from a hunt. They go in with sparse equipment, make a clean kill and literally feed their family with this supplement. Those people I have nothing against.
There is also the actual need for culling. whether we like it or not. There are herds of wildlife that have to be culled by man because the natural predetors of the region have been displaced by communities and the cougars, wolves, and natural predetors are gone. I've known of deer in some regions to starve to death over winter because there were so many of them that there was no food for them all. As a result, more than neccesary died a slow death of starvation. So we do have to go in and cull them. Like it or not. That or let them all die of slow starvation.
But to kill for sport? I have to agree with you, why do we allow it?

Answer 10

Deer over populate ... that's why they are allowed to be killed (I don't agree with hunting at all!!!) And there are reasons why there is a "season" to hunt for certain animals.

Also there may be stray cats and dogs but most of them are not out to hurt people and leave us alone.. they are pretty harmless really.