your opinion please

hello all,

in working for the RSPCA i have seen and learnt a lot.

i just wondered what your opinions are on the following.......


neglecting an animal and cruelty to an animal .... is one more acceptable than the other, or should they be classed as the same thing?

your opinions please!!

I think they are both as bad as each other They both cause animals pain and suffering unnecessarily

But maybe you have to be sicker in the head to physically harm an animal Only a little though.
Some people I suppose could accidentally neglect an animal Apart from that though I think both should be classed as cruelty.

I would agree purposly neglecting an animal is cruel therefore it is a form of cruely & should be classed as the same thing.

Prety much same thing I'd say. Poss some cases of neglect could be down to ignorance but for the most part I'd say it's just the same

It is one and the same in my opinion, if you 'neglect' a child it is still seen as child abuse.

Jules
xxx

Neglecting and cruelty may conjure up different emotions to us as humans but to an animal that has been domesticated it will instil the same level of confusion and hurt.

We have made animals our pets and they rely on us not only for love and companionship but also for food and shelter.

When ever we went away for the weekend my sister used to look after my cats and rabbits (not staying with them just going into to feed them). When we came back they were visibly miffed at us and it would take a while for them to come round. One of my cats actually treated my sister with total contempt - almost blaming her for the fact we'd abandoned her.

So yes I believe that each are as bad as each other...

After seeing that RSPCA programme a couple of months back which featured a cat with an abcess on its neck that the owners never bothered to consult the vet with and by the time the RSPCA took the cat off them and took it to the vets it was too late because the abcess had made a big hole in the poor cats neck - that was absolutely disgusting and even though the people didn't have much money I'm sure they could have sorted something out with the vet

Yes I agree that neglect and cruelty are as bad as one another sometimes.

One ad the same in my opinion and should be treated as such

Again I think they are one and the same although I think that in the case of neglect there may be some circumstances that should be taken into consideration.

The type of situations I am thinking about are if an owner is not intentionally causing neglect - perhaps is too old or incapacitated to be able to care for their animals in a suitable manner. This type of situation also reflects on society in that sometimes this sort of case is not noticed by family, neighbours or the community and it is also the owner that is suffering as well as the animal.

I think willful neglect is a different case and should be dealt with on the same footing as cruelty.

I broadly agree with Lizzeil. . Cruelty and neglect are both dreadful for any animal, however if we want laws to change to better protect animals we have to be objective and not lobby for a blanket response to all forms of cruelty or neglect. A court will decide based on intent and whether the act (or resultant of many 'acts') was premeditated or a result of other mitigating factors.

That's why, IMO, although we can berate orgs like RSPCA and others at times, then do make progress, and make changes. They just realise that things can't be changed overnight.