Appropriate punishment for animal cruelty

skippy3481 · #1 02-02-2007, 03:34 PM

what do you recommend cajun?

Danzig · #2 02-02-2007, 03:37 PM

i know a lot of places, animal cruelty is still a misdemeanor-and it should not be. it should be handled like many other crimes, with different 'classes' depending on severity. much like stealing $500 worth of stuff is a class c, but stealing tens of millions is a class a-or however it's set up.

time in jail-maybe, depending on the severity of the crime. community service would be good, as would getting these kids some education! obviously for some reason they weren't taught about common decency.

somerfrost · #3 02-02-2007, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by merasmag

i think their parents need as much counseling as they do

I would tend to agree....don't know the circumstances of course but most times, behavior like this just doesn't manifest without family being a factor.

Cajungator26 · #4 02-02-2007, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skippy3481

what do you recommend cajun?

I think that they should be put in prison for 10 years (without bail) and enrolled in one of those programs (where they are constantly monitored), but required to care for animals. Some of those programs work with dogs, some with horses etc. Point is, they should not be able to have the freedom by just doing community service. They need to learn about these animals and RESPECT them, and the only way they're going to respect them is by having them be the only recreation outside of prison that they get. I am a huge believer that a person who does this to animals DOES have a great potential for becoming a serial killer. If you can't respect an innocent animal who has done nothing to you, how are you going to respect a human being?

somerfrost · #5 02-02-2007, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cajungator26

I think that they should be put in prison for 10 years (without bail) and enrolled in one of those programs (where they are constantly monitored), but required to care for animals. Some of those programs work with dogs, some with horses etc. Point is, they should not be able to have the freedom by just doing community service. They need to learn about these animals and RESPECT them, and the only way they're going to respect them is by having them be the only recreation outside of prison that they get. I am a huge believer that a person who does this to animals DOES have a great potential for becoming a serial killer. If you can't respect an innocent animal who has done nothing to you, how are you going to respect a human being?

The weakness of that is that society can't impose morality especially via punishment. The trick is to change their thought process, not just their behavior. being forced to care for animals could just as easily make them hate them as respect them.

Cajungator26 · #6 02-02-2007, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by somerfrost

The weakness of that is that society can't impose morality especially via punishment. The trick is to change their thought process, not just their behavior. being forced to care for animals could just as easily make them hate them as respect them.

That's very true, but I don't know of many people who can honestly "hate" an animal once they've been forced to spend that much time around them. That's a huge risk, I agree, but community service is looked at as a joke to many people and I'd rather have these kids behind bars.

Danzig · #7 02-02-2007, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by somerfrost

The weakness of that is that society can't impose morality especially via punishment. The trick is to change their thought process, not just their behavior. being forced to care for animals could just as easily make them hate them as respect them.

that's true. can't make those kids love animals. but of course you hopefully punish the crime enough to keep them from behaving in such a way again. or from getting worse.

somerfrost · #8 02-02-2007, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danzig188

that's true. can't make those kids love animals. but of course you hopefully punish the crime enough to keep them from behaving in such a way again. or from getting worse.

True! But as with all punishment, it only addresses the act not the cause.

randallscott35 · #9 02-02-2007, 04:27 PM

Somer,
Your heart is in the right place and most of society apparently agrees with you b/c you know the punishment will be small.

But, to me, the torture of defenseless animals is done by morally weak people that have evil in them. Stupid decisions are one thing, this is another....The fact is, these people do not benefit society at the end of the day. No different than sex offenders, which have been proven to not be able to be rehabilitated. So what's the use....They'll get little if any punishment and it will be swept under the rug. But these guys are every bit as bad as the person doing the driveby shooting. And don't be surprised when they are 30 and in jail for violence against humans.