Dogsey

I agree about cultures being different and all. But there is one thing that should be above everything and should be accepted worldwide, and that's not just my opinion or 'my view on it', it's a fact that being unnecessarily cruel to other living beings is wrong.
It's the law of nature. All killing should be done quickly and as painless as possible, as it happens in nature (except where people have interfered). And there should be a reason for it (to get food,
People exploiting other people and creatures, torturing them for money out of simple greed is unacceptable, no matter where you come from.

Florence, I am not going to sit here and disagree with you for no reason. I think that killing by us is often unnecessary... regardless of whether it's humanely done or not. We're the being that kill for no reason all the time, animals don't do this. THIS is just horrifying all the way through, I mean watching those videos is HARD WORK.

However, if you watched as many nature specials as I have, you'd certainly not say all killing in the wild is swift and painless. That is far from the truth. The wild is often vicious, and there is no mercy. We should do better than random and inhumane killing.

But wild animals aside, I don't think that people should be allowed to do things like this. We are the only beings truly capable of compassion and deep thought... and those dogs are at our mercy. Why we continuously fail to use our minds for useful things instead of indiscriminate destruction is beyond me.

I'm with you in that one day I hope we shall all come together, relinquish horrible cultures, mindsets, and customs and agree that life is extremely valuable and most everyone deserves one free of pain, cruelty, or THIS, and that this applies to ALL the creatures of the world.

There is only one exception where certain beings might not deserve life or it's luxuries... and that... is the being known as the homosapien. A more destructive and harmful creature in the world does not exist. These kinds of stories prove that... sad stuff

I agree, hard as it is for those of us who think of our pups up there if not more so than our human children...it's difficult to wrap our head around the mindset that it isn't like that globally. There are many countries where dogs are vermin or food. Not because of hate exactly but because it's the way it's always been.

I don't know if this parallels the issue but it's the different perspectives of rats for instance. My daughter has two, quite tame and friendly. I feed them a balanced meal each night. Did you know that a pet rat can kiss? They'll nuzzle your ear, neck or hand and lick you. We've had various pet rats for around ten years.

I work in a big box hardware store. One of the tasks I find incredibly difficult to do is stocking and selling any manner of products designed to kill rats. Poison so they go into convulsions and eventually suffocate I suppose. Snap traps that if effective break their neck or back instantly, unless it doesn't catch them just right then it might break a paw or leg leaving them trapped at the mercy of whoever finds them, or if the traps aren't checked very often they have a choice of chewing off the trapped limb and possibly getting free or dying where they are. Worse still with the snap traps.

Perhaps having your neck or back broken in an accident and laying there paralyzed but alert...no help is coming, you might starve to death first, trapped where you are. Unless perhaps the snap trap had poisoned bait. Now you're paralyzed but your body is reflexively convulsing until your airway closes off on it's own.

Then there are the sticky traps, one of the most hideous ways to die. Just for a moment imagine walking one day and suddenly your feet are stuck on the sidewalk. No one to help you, no one to call, the harder you try to get free the more stuck you are. But there's no one and nothing to help you. You can scream till you lose your voice and fight it all you want...you're stuck, maybe a few hours, maybe a few weeks. Then what? Someone sees you and perhaps throws you alive in with the trash. If you're very lucky they end your suffering perhaps cracking your skull before disposing of you.

For the die hard rodent haters this doesn't mean anything but surely someone understands. Rats and mice are living creatures, mammals like we are. Dogs, cats must be euthanized humanely by our culture. Pigs, creatures who can be as intelligent as dogs get whacked between the eyes with a stunner before being "processed". And rats and mice, I'm sure some people think nothing of killing them by any means available.

Just something to think about when we consider brutality.

I think the problem with 'vermin' is that we see it as a danger to our own species. Both rats and in some places dog and other animals spread diseases, eat rubbish and are 'filthy'.
But what we are forgetting is why this happens. It's because we humans have created the circumstances where a species becomes a pest, a plague or simple vermin.
It's because we've robbed them of their natural enemies and their natural habitat and instead have imposed our own strange world. If you don't want pigeons, rats, sea gulls, stray dogs etc. in your town, keep your rubbish sealed and don't litter the street with food. They will go find their food somewhere else.
I've got rats and they're really lovely, never bite and will 'groom' me, so while I can understand why some people might hate them, I don't agree that it should be acceptable to make them suffer simply for being alive. Because they're only a 'plague' because of us.
I just really hate any type of animal suffering and think there should be stricter laws about that globally. Here's hoping, if you look how we treat each other it says a lot about us

I can say this, I personally don't like rats or mice. BUT, I do not and have not ever poisoned them. Poison causes a slow and agonizing death. I think snap traps are bad, too. My parents used them when we were younger and often the trap was on a leg etc. and the rat suffered to death. Glue traps are cruel as the animal remains stuck suffering for hours or days alive and aware.

There really are not truly humane ways to kill rats that come into homes. We have cats, our cat caught one mouse.. whom she played with to death, as cats often do... so I think poor mice are just bait for inhumane deaths

Two random thoughts on rodents-

One thing is the myth of the dirty rat. Droppings can be nasty of course but in captivity rats often choose one or two corners of their cage as the bathroom facilities and only poop there.
Also if you observe them healthy rats groom themselves and their cage mates through the day. Before they begin a meal, ours wash themselves head to tail. Obviously wild rats who need to dumpster dive can't have the same standards but I'm just sayin'