So I might have gotten myself into trouble today...
Hey all, I made a couple of people angry today standing up for an animal. Granted, I didn't take the smartest route to help the animal, but...I got caught up in the heat of the moment. Judge for yourself. Here's the story.
So I ride horses. I have one myself, and board her at a public boarding barn. It's not a huge barn, by any means, but there are a small group of us that are very dedicated and are there nearly every day to work with other horses. Anyway...I was talking to a couple of my barn friends as one of them rides. We heard some yelling coming from outside the arena, and I decided to investigate. I went to the gate, and found one of the younger riders, (she's 11 years old), a friend of hers that lives nearby, and the the 11-year-old's mom screaming at one of our barn cats and chasing him from the front of the barn. (We have 4 barn cats whose only jobs are to catch unwanted rodents and critters.)
It seemed that one of the cats had climbed up into one of the trees on the property and snagged a baby squirrel from its nest. Another cat (the one being chased) had stolen the squirrel and was now carrying the still-living baby in its mouth. The three women were running after this cat, screaming at it to drop the squirrel. And then the 11-year-old starting throwing things at the cat and trying to corner it. (I think she was throwing rocks, but I don't know for sure.)
At this point, I start (futiley) calling out that yelling at the cat isn't going to help things. This is ignored.
They managed to herd the cat up into and barn, and corner it. He dropped the squirrel on the barn aisle, and was promptly scooped up by the 11-year-old and told what a "bad cat" he was.
All of this happens in about 10 seconds.
Now all of the adults (3-4) are telling the little girls not to touch the squirrel. Someone says to grab a towel and take it...somewhere. I volunteer, saying I'll get it. I walk forward and bend over to scoop up the bleeding baby, when I hear what sounds like 3 slaps. My mind remembers having just seen the 11-year-old take the cat up the barn aisle into the washing room/kitchen (don't ask). She's beating that cat! Adrenaline starts pumping through to my brain, and at this point, I lose pretty much all control on rational thinking.
I think I yelled the girl's name. (If I didn't, I know her dad did, and he didn't sound too happy.) Anywho, she reappears and lets the cat go. I say (too loudly) that if I ever catch her beating that cat, I'll beat her. She looks at me like she can't believe that I've just said this, and says "You can't touch me!!"
Her mom chimes in behind me, yelling "What did you say?!?" (She also said something to the effect that I couldn't touch her daughter.)
To finish up, I scooped up the squirrel, took him out back (away from all of the commotion) where he could die in peace. As I was returning from my trip, I saw the girl's mom and said "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to threaten her like that."
"Yeah right."
They left, and I finished up what I was doing. It's going to be an interesting day at the barn tomorrow.
I don't think that they can press any type of legal charges since their daughter's a minor, and I am too, I didn't have a weapon of any kind, and never actually came close to touching her.
So....yeah. There's my animal rights episode of the day. To top it all off, the girl's mom is a vegetarian. I would think that she, of all the people at the barn besides me (the sole vegan), would understand the circle of like. The cats were only doing what their instincts told them to do.
I have to confess first of all to not wading through all the replies... I'm feeling lazy.
It seems to me that a ton of "animal lovers" are talking only about domestic animals. Poor cat, being beaten by the kid... but also poor mice, squirrels, and birds. Part of being a pet owner is the responsibility to keep it from killing animals; in the cases of farm cats and other animals kept expressly for the purpose of harming animals, the case becomes even more distressing. I understand the child's distress, although it is sad that it manifested through abuse of the animal.
The cat was doing what cats do-- 100% of the time when they are able. Does that make it right that there are cats roaming free to shred the wildlife in the area? Not so much.
I do so much understand your reaction, though. I am often the crazy lady shouting at people to get their dart-throwing teenagers / duck-chasing brats / dogs the hell away from the wildlife at parks and so forth. And yes, I always wonder if I'm in deep trouble.
i don't see anything wrong with the cat eating the squirrel (ok, it is a little sad/gross to think about, but...). that is the natural circle of life. cats are carnivores, they eat other small animals. i think it is worse that they SAVED the squirrel from being eaten because it died, but did not provide the cat with any nourishment -- it was all in vain.
Okay, here we go. I'm probably going to get totally flamed for this, but so be it:
I have a lot of respect for nature and the circle of life. My reason for being vegetarian is two fold.
1. I hate the taste/smell of meat. Can't stand it. Hence, I do not eat it. Animal products in general pretty much gross me out. Cheese, eggs, and honey I'm okay with, to a limit, and only when gotten from responsible sources.
2. I find industrial farming to be a bizarre, oxymoronic and above all tragic reality. I will not support it under any circumstances, neither by eating it, nor purchasing it.
Here's the flip side.
I respect hunters and farmers, a LOT. They understand how life works, and participate in the circle of life, instead of trying to abuse it for personal gain. It pisses me off to no end to see people go, "eeeew," when faced with raw meat, or milk directly from a cow. If you can't handle the truth, don't eat it. Hunters who FAIRLY hunt, using skill and patience have my respect. It is not easy to walk miles through the woods tracking a deer. It isn't fun or easy to sit quietly for hours fishing if you're hungry and dependent on what you catch to feed you. Hunters who do it for sport and use technology to achieve their goals where they would otherwise fail are despicable.
I respect farmers who respect the animals they raise. The issue I take with people who believe farming is cruel, without exception, is this:
Right or wrong, these animals have been domesticated. It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to turn them wild, and would most likely result in the death of many of them at the hands of genuinely wild animals. To me, that isn't an ethical solution. Anyone who says otherwise smacks of hypocrisy.
Point is this: A cat is a cat, a baby squirrel is a baby squirrel. A little girl who is capable of understanding right and wrong within our culture ought to know better. So should everyone else.
/rant
The concept that cats will chase squirrels and kill them because it is in their nature is not necessarily within an 11 year old's realm of thinking. It's barely in my own. I would be really upset if I saw my dog killing another animal. I feed him every day, so he has no reason to kill another animal. I would not hit him over it, but I would be really upset about it. I know it's in his nature, but it's still sad. Because she hasn't learned about it yet, it doesn't mean she deserved to be threatened over it.
I'm a firm believer in "why do we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong?" So it's the same thing with violence in general. If you don't want her to hit an animal, don't threaten to hit her.
Pages