Should animal abuse be punishable by prison time?

[Firuthi Dragovic]

I actually particularly loathe the "it's just gonna be meat anyway lol" stuff I hear from some onlookers when things like the Hormel factory farm abuse scandal erupted

....preeeeetty sure the meat of abused animals is objectively lower-quality from a health and taste standpoint, so the onlookers' statement baffles me from a business standpoint as well as a moral one.

I divert to answering that because I might explode with rage if I have to directly answer OP's question about animal abuse.

 

[Regret]

Yeah, I believe animal abuse and cruelty should be punishable by prison time. Hell, I believe that current laws and punishments should be strengthened, not only for the animals but also for society as a whole, since animal abuse and cruelty is one of the great warning signs for future and more fucked up behavior. Furthermore, I would love for the authorities to start taking animal abuse and welfare seriously instead of the current lax approach of "we'll get around to it eventually" and the "well we didn't witness anything so?????"

 

[O.D.D.]

Yeah, I believe animal abuse and cruelty should be punishable by prison time. Hell, I believe that current laws and punishments should be strengthened, not only for the animals but also for society as a whole, since animal abuse and cruelty is one of the great warning signs for future and more fucked up behavior. Furthermore, I would love for the authorities to start taking animal abuse and welfare seriously instead of the current lax approach of "we'll get around to it eventually" and the "well we didn't witness anything so?????"

The FBI has started paying it more mind recently and some states are catching up (slowly), what that will result in... I don't know, but I'm loath to trust in the competence of government officials at any level, and the higher up I look the less I think they can or will respond adequately and appropriately.

 

[SerlisTialo]

a lot of animal abusers make good money and simply pay off the fine.
i think repeat offenders should go to jail or the abuse community is never going to take the law seriously.

 

[Connor J. Coyote]

the abuse community is never going to take the law seriously.

Hmm.... I've never heard of the term "abuse community" before, and so..... that's a new one for me.
But.... (perhaps your correct).... as paying is a fine isn't a very harsh penalty - for those who are wealthy to begin with.

 

[Mambi]

a lot of animal abusers make good money and simply pay off the fine.
i think repeat offenders should go to jail or the abuse community is never going to take the law seriously.

Getting a fine for a crime simply means the "crime" was perfectly allowed by the law with no repercussions...if you had enough cash. Justice is irrelevant in that equation.

 

[Outré]

Just like with everything it should go through the court system.

But I can’t lie… I personally would love to see the mouse boiling people go to jail.

 

[Chomby]

When I learn about people like Timothy George Amoroso, I think lobotomy should be brought back for some people.

Note: Don't look him up if you love puppies and don't want to be extremely sickened and enraged.

 

[SerlisTialo]

Getting a fine for a crime simply means the "crime" was perfectly allowed by the law with no repercussions...if you had enough cash. Justice is irrelevant in that equation.

i need that on a shirt

 

[O.D.D.]

Getting a fine for a crime simply means the "crime" was perfectly allowed by the law with no repercussions...if you had enough cash. Justice is irrelevant in that equation.

Justice has been for sale for a long time unfortunately

Thank lawyers for that (Shakespeare was right)

 

[Kinguyakki]

Yeah, I believe animal abuse and cruelty should be punishable by prison time. Hell, I believe that current laws and punishments should be strengthened, not only for the animals but also for society as a whole, since animal abuse and cruelty is one of the great warning signs for future and more fucked up behavior. Furthermore, I would love for the authorities to start taking animal abuse and welfare seriously instead of the current lax approach of "we'll get around to it eventually" and the "well we didn't witness anything so?????"

I would like to see animal abuse by minors taken MUCH more seriously. Too many people pass it off a "kids being kids" or even if they do get into trouble, their record is clear when they legally become an adult. That's kind of a whole other story, though - any criminal behavior that involves violence (including sexual) toward other people or animals should be tried as an adult, and the record remain into adulthood.

 

[NotSafeForCat]

I'd assume we cannot punish animal abuse by law, because the consumers want their cheap daily meat. And to produce that much meat for cheap induces heavy animal abuse. Then, if we actually had real, strict rules against animal abuse, the consumers would be the ones whinning about it, as they wouldn't be able to eat their KFC anymore.

Or what should the law be ? "Torturing dogs is forbidden but torturing cows is allowed" ? Or "it is okay to heavily abuse an animal as long as you're eating it afterwards" ?

I'm sorry but claiming to be against animal abuse while knowingly buying meat from tortured animals is quite hypocrite.

 

[Filter]

I think it should be, for the simple fact that animals are being abused. However, if I was trying to convince a law-maker for harsher penalties, I might mention that animal abusers often go on to abuse humans. Imprisoning animal abusers could arguably prevent other crimes.

Meat is another matter. Although I eat meat, I feel bad about it and I'm looking forward to engineered lab-grown meat. The kind that doesn't require animals.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

Then, if we actually had real, strict rules against animal abuse, the consumers would be the ones whinning about it, as they wouldn't be able to eat their KFC anymore.

I was debating which part of your post to address because I'm too used to people who talk like your post going on to say all meat is bad. (And they are probably the people who are knowingly buying tortured meat, if you ask me.)

With this one... still turns out better for the consumer in the end because I heard from an article about a few years ago that KFC hasn't caught up when it comes to their farms overusing antibiotics. Like, at a rate where I'm pretty sure it's causing the humans that eat the birds to overdose on them. I don't want to get too much into gross details but overdoses on antibiotics are most likely a big factor in a LOT of long-term diseases.

Or what should the law be ? "Torturing dogs is forbidden but torturing cows is allowed" ? Or "it is okay to heavily abuse an animal as long as you're eating it afterwards" ?

I think the main hangup I noticed with this one is "active cruelty" vs. "passive cruelty". I'd treat them as two different crimes. "Animal cruelty" laws tend to target the former, while the latter usually falls under "neglect" or "negligence"

It's the difference between a dog-fighting ring and a cat hoarder.

You could get these factory farms on both counts though, because with those farms, the overcrowding falls under "passive cruelty" and what counts as "active cruelty" is the rampant overfeeding necessary to grow the animals that quickly.

I've been reading up on slaughterhouses to see if I can find an extra cruelty there - the way those are SUPPOSED to work.... is more one-and-done and worryingly winds up the least cruel part of the process. There are enough exposés demonstrating meat processing facilities doing otherwise that someone could watch them for years without repeats.

I'm sorry but claiming to be against animal abuse while knowingly buying meat from tortured animals is quite hypocrite.

What's your suggestion for people who actually can't eat fruits and vegetables without serious health problems? As I'm getting worryingly close to that stage.

No seriously, not being able to avoid meat does NOT reduce the hypocrisy.

 

[Kinguyakki]

I think the main hangup I noticed with this one is "active cruelty" vs. "passive cruelty". I'd treat them as two different crimes. "Animal cruelty" laws tend to target the former, while the latter usually falls under "neglect" or "negligence"

It's the difference between a dog-fighting ring and a cat hoarder.

In the USA, many animal control/humane society laws are really, really lax to the point that they can do nothing when an animal is being severely neglected as long as the owner shows they have food and water and shelter. They may WANT to pull that animal out of the situation, but legally they can't and the owner refuses to turn the animal over to give it a chance at a better home. I'm not sure what's in the mind of hoarders/neglectful owners to make them unable to see they can't take proper care of their animal(s). It's not just about poverty or lack of education in animal care.

I've talked to people who support/defend the "Big Lick" Tennessee Walking Horses, and they fall over themselves trying to defend their sport, claiming the horses are "well cared for" and "love it" and that it's totally natural. That's a generational thing - many of them grew up with family who were involved in doing those same things, so it's like growing up in a dysfunctional household where they just accept these things as "normal." In their minds, it's totally fine because it's all they've ever known. It's very cult-like. . .the trainers and judges and owners are in their own little world. The USDA does go to shows to do inspections, but they can't be everywhere, and even if someone gets disqualified or suspended, they're right back to doing the same thing as soon as they can. One guy was found GUILTY of soring and banding (using chemicals on the legs to make them sore, so the horse lifts its legs higher in the show ring, and putting a zip tie around the front teeth to cause pain so the horse won't flinch when its legs are inspected). He was actually found guilty. . .as soon as his suspension was up, a show HIRED him to be a JUDGE for a Big Lick class. So. . .yeah. . .there are times when blatant abuse is completely ignored by the people who could do the most to STOP it.

 

[Rimna]

Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: Absolutely yes.

 

[TyraWadman]

Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: Absolutely yes.

Says the guy with a monkey getting clubbed as his PFP!!! <O<

 

[TR273]

Let me think about this for a sec...
YES!

 

[Troj]

Absolutely. I think we need to take animal abuse and neglect much, much more seriously than we do---for the sake of the animals themselves, and because people who intentionally torture animals have a tendency to graduate to harming people.