Man kills dog, gets 3 years.

[Sidoh]

I disagree.  People shouldn't kill animals just for the hell of it.  To me, it's almost as bad as killing another Human. 

That's exactly what I disagree with.  To me, killing an animal is offensive, bad and certainly deserves some punishment, but 3 years is ridiculous.

Exactly what I was going to say.

Westerners have really weird priorities when it's ok to kill certain animals, bad to kill others, and extremely bad to kill people. If you ask me, a life is, essentially, a life.

And no, I'm not a member of PETA, although I do believe in ethical treatment of animals.

I totally agree.  I don't see the difference between killing a cow and killing a dog. :\

[iago]

That's exactly what I disagree with.  To me, killing an animal is offensive, bad and certainly deserves some punishment, but 3 years is ridiculous.

But three years would be short for killing a human baby. :)

[Sidoh]

But three years would be short for killing a human baby. :)

I think that's pretty agreeable.  I realize there are a considerable number of people who would object, but wouldn't you agree that the majority of humans believe that killing another human is more offensive than killing a single animal?  I mean, if you're going to consider all life sacred (I'm reusing your example here), how do you justify killing insects that pester you?

[iago]

But three years would be short for killing a human baby. :)

I think that's pretty agreeable.  I realize there are a considerable number of people who would object, but wouldn't you agree that the majority of humans believe that killing another human is more offensive than killing a single animal?  I mean, if you're going to consider all life sacred (I'm reusing your example here), how do you justify killing insects that pester you?

Insects suck. :)

I guess it falls back on the wishy-washy concept, that, whenever possible and practical, lives (be they human or animal) should not be taken. That's not quite good enough to be a law, though, so I don't know. :)

[Rule]

3 years is only ridiculous in the sense that it's a ridiculously light sentence.  Abusing a sentient life in that way is worse than rape or other crimes everyone on this board would unanimously decide worthy of far greater than 3 years.  The argument that human life is >>> other life because you've been conditioned to feel that way in an human society uses a rather weak metric.

[effectionate]

We are at the top of the food chain, kill what ever the fuck we want

[Sidoh]

3 years is only ridiculous in the sense that it's a ridiculously light sentence.  Abusing a sentient life in that way is worse than rape or other crimes everyone on this board would unanimously decide worthy of far greater than 3 years.  The argument that human life is >>> other life because you've been conditioned to feel that way in an human society uses a rather weak metric.

I'm still not convinced that there isn't a difference.  I honestly don't want to get into it since I think it's a very subjective argument, but I suppose there are a few surface questions I can ask without turning this into a heated debate.

You mean directly, I take it?  Does using products which cause animals harm or discomfort immediately become immoral when you adopt this perspective?  Are you a vegetarian/vegan, out of curiosity?

[Hell-Lord]

"I've got to send a message to all dog lovers that we are going to protect that interest in our courtrooms," Cottingham said.

Thats exactly why he deserves it and maybe longer, no one can be sure he won't do it again and we need to be sure.

[rabbit]

The difference is that a puppy curls up in bed with you, plays with you, and does all sorts of things, while cows stand around re-eating grass and crapping.

[iago]

The difference is that a puppy curls up in bed with you, plays with you, and does all sorts of things, while cows stand around re-eating grass and crapping.

Ah, so you only care less about cows because you don't have an emotional attachment to them. Interesting!

[iago]

3 years is only ridiculous in the sense that it's a ridiculously light sentence.  Abusing a sentient life in that way is worse than rape or other crimes everyone on this board would unanimously decide worthy of far greater than 3 years.  The argument that human life is >>> other life because you've been conditioned to feel that way in an human society uses a rather weak metric.

I tend to agree with you. However, the point raised earlier in this thread is a good one: what about killing bugs? eg, swatting mosquitoes and stepping on ants?

There has to be a cut off point, a line drawn in the sand that isn't too arbitrary. But hell if I know where that should be.

[rabbit]

The difference is that a puppy curls up in bed with you, plays with you, and does all sorts of things, while cows stand around re-eating grass and crapping.

Ah, so you only care less about cows because you don't have an emotional attachment to them. Interesting!

Pretty much, yes.

[AntiVirus]

I get the feeling AntiVirus is a member of PETA.

Uhh.. never.  I have no problem having animals killed for food and I am nowhere near as extreme as PETA members.  I wouldn't go up to someone wearing a fur coat and throw paint on them and then tell them to go to Hell.

I just believe it is wrong for someone to just go around killing animals for no reason and I believe they should be punished for doing so, regardless if it is a dog or not.  Even if they just go and start shooting dear just for fun, I think that's wrong.  It's a waste and completely immoral, IMO.

Doesn't this show that this particular person has some mental problems?  He can easily throw a puppy off a balcony, so what makes us think he couldn't do that again to a human baby?

[iago]

Uhh.. never.  I have no problem having animals killed for food and I am nowhere near as extreme as PETA members.  I wouldn't go up to someone wearing a fur coat and throw paint on them and then tell them to go to Hell.

yeah, and it's more fun to do that to people wearing wool sweaters (or silk underwear) anyways. They wouldn't expect it! :)

[Sidoh]

3 years is only ridiculous in the sense that it's a ridiculously light sentence.  Abusing a sentient life in that way is worse than rape or other crimes everyone on this board would unanimously decide worthy of far greater than 3 years.  The argument that human life is >>> other life because you've been conditioned to feel that way in an human society uses a rather weak metric.

I tend to agree with you. However, the point raised earlier in this thread is a good one: what about killing bugs? eg, swatting mosquitoes and stepping on ants?

There has to be a cut off point, a line drawn in the sand that isn't too arbitrary. But hell if I know where that should be.

As far as I know, it has to be arbitrary.  It's sort of like the whole abortion argument.  When life begins is pretty opinionated.