I kill kittens.

[Revoltingest]

Things have been too quiet here lately, so it's time to ruffle some feathers....or raise some fur.
Hypothetically....suppose I once found a family of very young kittens living in a car (an open convertible) stored in my barn. Certainly, I wouldn't let my customer
have his car soiled by their living arrangements, so I presume I must remove them. They wouldn't survive in the wild, even with mom's help so I thought I should
do something. My solution (which is legal where I live): I'd take a large shovel & quickly euthanized (executed? murdered? killed?) each one. (And yes, for those
who want the gory details, their little intestines would squirted out & get me.) I wouldn't want to take them to the Humane Society, since they'd want money from
me just to do the same thing, but more expensively....& they'd whine for donations.
So....was this hypothetical solution:
1) Right
2) Wrong
3) Neither, but you'd do the same
4) Neither, but you'd do differently

Btw, I didn't enjoy it, but I don't feel bad about it either, since my plan was to minimize suffering.

Note: Edited for legal reasons.

 

[Engyo]

Never been faced with that situation.

My mom's dog used to maim any cat (which she didn't consider already hers) that came onto our 22 acres. They would be left alive, with broken backs. I had the job of putting them out of their misery (usually with a .22) and burying them.

Another time I was helping a neighbor in his barn, and we moved his large grain bin. We ended up killing 21 rats using pitchforks and boot heels.

Didn't enjoy either situation, but considered them necessary.

 

[Cypress]

*Finally I found him, the one who killed my family*

Why did you do that, could you not have taken that kittens at home with you?

 

[angellous_evangellous]

I would have given them to the pound or nearest animal shelter.

 

[Noaidi]

I would have given them to the pound or nearest animal shelter.

I agree. I wouldn't have taken such extreme measures.

Sorry, Revoltingest, but I can't agree with your methods.

 

[Revoltingest]

*Finally I found him, the one who killed my family*

Why did you do that, could you not have taken that kittens at home with you?

We already had enuf cats. I did take in a stray once....Lucy Stinknagel is her name.

 

[Eliot Wild]

Okay, here's the deal. Nobody knows about this but you and all of us folks here on RF, and we won't saying nothin' to nobody. If the kitten authorities come asking, just tell 'em it was self-defense. Sure, one or two kittens on their own would probably be no real threat to a grown man, but a whole group of kittens, organized and coordinated in their efforts, hey, a man's got to do what a man's got to do.

Besides, those kittens most likely had it coming. Who hides out in a barn or old shed if they're not up to something illegal? You very well may have thwarted a feline terrorist cell planning kitty jihad against Western freedom. Homeland security should probably give you a citizen's medal.

 

[Revoltingest]

I agree. I wouldn't have taken such extreme measures.
Sorry, Revoltingest, but I can't agree with your methods.

I wondered about it being "extreme", but I decided it wasn't.
My reasoning was thus: They were going to die (either by my hand, by predators, by starvation or by lethal injection) anyway, so chose something instantaneous, painless & expedient.

 

[Noaidi]

I wondered about it being "extreme", but I decided it wasn't.
My reasoning was thus: They were going to die (either by my hand, by predators, by starvation or by lethal injection) anyway, so chose something instantaneous, painless & expedient.

Do you have a local animal pound that you could have taken them to?

 

[Revoltingest]

Do you have a local animal pound that you could have taken them to?

Yes, but we've a glut of kittens, & the end result would've been the same....except that more money &
fuel would've been spent. If I could've found'm a new home, I'd have taken that step.

I wonder how many of us grew up on/around farms, & how that colors our perception of killing animals?

 

[Reptillian]

Thats horrible! I guess I once destroyed a wasp nest full of larvae in my tool shed though, so I'm in no position to judge...still, the thought of doing something like that to a cute little baby mammal is instinctively horrifying. You could have kept them around to kill mice or something...cats have a special relationship with humans. Lets just say you're more cold blooded than I could ever be. Why were you certain that they wouldn't survive in the wild with their mother's help? I hope nobody ever euthanizes me in such a "compassionate" manner.

 

[LuisDantas]

How sad.

One question: how would a farm environment color the perception of killing animals? Would it make it seem less of an issue, perhaps?

 

[Noaidi]

Revoltingest
Okay, I can see your situation more clearly. If the pound has no more space, then, yes, the animals will be killed anyway. Having said that, I'm sure someone would have taken them in if you advertised free kittens.

Regarding growing up on a farm, I think that may allow some to view animals as commodities, thus killing them may not seem such an issue. A friend of mine grew up on a farm and she had a pet lamb. She had no qualms about the other sheep when it came to slaughter-time, but she would have been horrified if her pet had been rounded up with the others.

 

[The_Evelyonian]

I would have given them to the pound or nearest animal shelter.

Agreed.

I've found several litters of kittens that have been abandoned by their mother. I always take them to either an animal shelter or a vet's office. My reasoning being that, even though they may still die, they deserve a chance to live and I'm giving them the best chance that they'll get.

 

[Revoltingest]

Thats horrible! I guess I once destroyed a wasp nest full of larvae in my tool shed though, so I'm in no position to judge...still, the thought of doing something like that to a cute little baby mammal is instinctively horrifying. You could have kept them around to kill mice or something...cats have a special relationship with humans. Lets just say you're more cold blooded than I could ever be. Why were you certain that they wouldn't survive in the wild with their mother's help? I hope nobody ever euthanizes me in such a "compassionate" manner.

I wasn't entirely comfortable about doing it. It just seemed best.

Btw, those who live by the shovel also die by the shovel. I started the Shovel Club. A group of us have made a pact that if any of us ever becomes
incapacitated, another member will deftly & mortally wallop the drooler upside the head with a shovel. There are about half a dozen of us now.

 

[Engyo]

How sad.

One question: how would a farm environment color the perception of killing animals? Would it make it seem less of an issue, perhaps?

Animals are born. Animals die. Humans are born. Humans die.

Living on a farm, especially a working livestock one, exposes you to a) the above facts, and b) the understanding that sometimes the range of available choices are not what you want to choose from, but the choices must still be made. If the choices are either ignored or avoided, the situation will become worse, the available choices worse, and the end result is more suffering than if you had chosen one of the originally unpleasant choices.

 

[LuisDantas]

Fair enough.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Animals are born. Animals die. Humans are born. Humans die.

Living on a farm, especially a working livestock one, exposes you to a) the above facts, and b) the understanding that sometimes the range of available choices are not what you want to choose from, but the choices must still be made. If the choices are either ignored or avoided, the situation will become worse, the available choices worse, and the end result is more suffering than if you had chosen one of the originally unpleasant choices.

:yes:

I can't add anything, really. I once was a very committed vegan for years who would have been horrified at the OP, but after working closely with an organic farm in the area, animals' deaths don't seem to be as moralistically black-and-white anymore. We plan on raising animals, too. And we see that animals breed (a lot) and can exhaust their food supply, they get sick and possibly infect the other animals, they attack us or each other, they GET attacked by predators, and so on and so on.

At a certain point, one has to come to the decision on what REALLY is the most humane and compassionate option for the animals themselves. I'm admittedly very much an amateur in this part of sustainable living that isn't discussed very much, but it shouldn't be ignored.

 

[Misty]

Things have been too quiet here lately, so it's time to ruffle some feathers....or raise some fur.
I once found a family of very young kittens living in a car (an open convertible) stored in my barn. Certainly, I couldn't let my customer have his car soiled
by their living arrangements, so I had to remove them. They wouldn't survive in the wild, even with mom's help so I thought I should do something.
My solution: I took a large shovel & quickly euthanized (executed? murdered? killed?) each one. (And yes, for those who want the gory details, their little
intestines squirted out & got me.) I didn't want to take them to the Humane Society, since they'd want money from me just to do the same thing, but more
expensively....& they'd whine for donations.
So....was this:
1) Right
2) Wrong
3) Neither, but you'd do the same
4) Neither, but you'd do differently

Btw, I didn't enjoy it, but I don't feel bad about it either.

Well it is a good job for you you don't live in the UK because you would be done for animal cruelty and probably put in prison. The fact that you appear to be exalting in this cruel deed is truly horrible, and I talk as somehow who isn't particularly sentimental about animals but abhore cruelty.

 

[Engyo]

Well it is a good job for you you don't live in the UK because you would be done for animal cruelty and probably put in prison.

What would be the legal and socially acceptable thing to do in such a situation in the UK?