On the front page of my local paper this Saturday evening is the story of a young man caught on CCTV punching and kicking his pet dog, in a drunken attack lasting twenty minutes. The man currently awaits sentencing whilst the dog, a Staffordshire bull terrier, has been taken into the care of the RSPCA, who are seeking a new home for him.
Last week, two 17-year-olds were given community service for beating to death a young roe deer in a country park in Poole, Dorset. The female fawn, aged between 4 and 6 weeks and weighing less than 8lb, died after being viciously karate chopped in the head, then dropped to the ground and repeatedly kicked.
There have been many similarly cruel and incomprehensible attacks on animals recently:
Last week, two 17-year-olds were given community service for beating to death a young roe deer in a country park in Poole, Dorset. The female fawn, aged between 4 and 6 weeks and weighing less than 8lb, died after being viciously karate chopped in the head, then dropped to the ground and repeatedly kicked.
There have been many similarly cruel and incomprehensible attacks on animals recently:
• a cat, filmed on mobile phone as it was thrown in front of a car (such animal "snuff" movies are evidently quite popular);
• another cat, beaten to death by youths in a Belfast play park;
• a hedgehog, kicked to death by two grown men (ages 38 and 41) using it as a football;
• a mare, so badly injured by teenagers in the West Midlands that she had to be put down …
I won't continue, because it is too depressing – and more depressing to think that reported attacks like these may be just the tip of an iceberg of untold cruelty against defenceless creatures.
There are many countries in the uncivilized world where we would expect to see people cursing, kicking and beating their animals. But Britain isn't supposed to be one of them, because this is a civilized nation, a nation of animal lovers. Isn't it?
I won't continue, because it is too depressing – and more depressing to think that reported attacks like these may be just the tip of an iceberg of untold cruelty against defenceless creatures.
There are many countries in the uncivilized world where we would expect to see people cursing, kicking and beating their animals. But Britain isn't supposed to be one of them, because this is a civilized nation, a nation of animal lovers. Isn't it?
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