I opened up that link, saw that lady's picture and then closed the link immediately because her pic said IT ALL!

hamster deserved it, i say

Serial killers usually start with small animals . . . .

Sounds demented, but I'm not really sure how you can get arrested for something like that.

Why would I be kidding?

Do you think the animals the kid has been most likely eating on a daily basis were specifically asking to get killed? How would it be that different from kids who go fishing with their parents? After you've caught the fish, you're basically supposed to club it to death in most cases. In many cultures, kids are taught to slaughter animals very early on and the same still takes place on farms in the Western countries as well. So, "animal cruelty" seems to apply only when the animal is a cute, furry thing that can be kept also as a pet. Kids kill animals all the time themselves as well - birds, rodents, you name it. You can constantly find small animals being stoned to death by kids where I live.

So getting arrested for instructing a child to kill an animal is pretty shaky. Furthermore, questioning law enforcement practices and their lack of logic has nothing to do with compassion. The mother who did this seems to be quite clearly disturbed, but this incident also seems to be one of those cases where it appears to be conceptually more eyebrow-raising than what it actually is when viewn more neutrally. It is of course a very good indication that she might not be fit as a parent, but taking legal action would preferably demand something else than just that.
[Edited 1/23/10 6:55am]

novabrkr said:

There are different categories of animals under the law. You can torture and kill a farm animal, but not a pet.

There are different categories of animals under the law. You can torture and kill a farm animal, but not a pet.

Where in the world do you live? Children stoning animals to death as a matter of play?

My goodness, it seems rather barbaric to just lightly throw this aside as child's play.

In the United States, we take cruelty to animals very seriously.

And as one orger posted, often children who torture and kill animals sometimes become serial killers as adults...Jeffry Dalmer, a prime example.

Shyra said:

I live in Finland. I'm pretty sure many American 12-year-olds kill animals quite often as well.



Not according to most animal rights activists.



Please elaborate what this has to do with anything. Other option would be not to condescend to such nonsense argumentation.

Well, your guess is wrong there.

Perhaps you should be ashamed in that case.

Okay. Missed the sarcasm, shame on me.

What I am saying is that what the mother did is indeed "fucked up", but what things like these expose is how contradictory legislation seems to be most everywhere in the world regarding such issues. People's strong reactions seem to convey more personal frustrations than anything they could justify by the same standards they are attempting to articulate their sentiments. At the same time, it's always alarming when law enforcement has to come up with different type of formal charges for the supposed crime than what actually caused the moral uprising.

Nevertheless, I really don't see a connection between a mother forcing a child to kill a hamster and serial killers often having killed animals in their childhood. That's just logically, conceptually and in all kinds of other potential ways a completely invalid connection to make.

Okay. Missed the sarcasm, shame on me.

What I am saying is that what the mother did is indeed "fucked up", but what things like these expose is how contradictory legislation seems to be most everywhere in the world regarding such issues. People's strong reactions seem to convey more personal frustrations than anything they could justify by the same standards they are attempting to articulate their sentiments. At the same time, it's always alarming when law enforcement has to come up with different type of formal charges for the supposed crime than what actually caused the moral uprising.

Nevertheless, I really don't see a connection between a mother forcing a child to kill a hamster and serial killers often having killed animals in their childhood. That's just logically, conceptually and in all kinds of other potential ways a completely invalid connection to make.

Sounds demented, but I'm not really sure how you can get arrested for something like that.

novabrkr said:

Are you kidding?! This is animal cruelty and child abuse! Think of what that child is experiencing emotionally! Geez, have you no compassion?

I do not care about the hamster. As far a emotional abuse...they typical potty training methods parents use every day probably leave more emotional scars than this.

OnlyNDaUsa said:

Are you fucking kidding? Making your kid kill the pet with a hammer as a punishment?