omg duh yes animals are ppl too

I've lost a lot of pets over the years because someone killed them.
I think killing an innocent animal is the same as killing a human being and both crimes should be treated equally. Murder is murder despite the species.

I agree with Dada that would be a little silly. But any other animal like dog, cat etc. I'm sorry but i feel very strongly about this, people do these things to there animals or to other animals, and i say that the people who do that should be treated exactly the same. So if they kicked, punched, left them in a room and never fed them, then the same should be done to them.

all the way

I think this makes since. What if the animal was suffering and needed to be put out of its pain? For that case it wouldn't be cruel. For most other cases that aren't like that then the people who mistreat animals should get the worst punishment possible!

What if you where driving along and the animal ran in front of your car? and you had NO time to swerve or move?

Imagine being charged for murder every time you accidentally did it. NOT FUN.

i didnt really understand that question but yes

Some guy put a little puppy into a microwave. If I could decide this, I'd put the guy into something like a microwave too for as long as the dog was in it, so he feels the same pain.

^^^Agreed

Depends on the animal.Hunting for sport is wrong,but I SUPPOSE they can kill deer...Because its law.But if you run over it by accident it shouldn't be wrong.Poachers should be shot.(Depending on the animal)

Yeah, in my wildest dreams. This would NEVER fly with the general public, they are too callous.

Just one question. To those of you who picked 'yes absolutely!' how many of you are vegetarians? Because if killing an animal was punishable, no one would be able to eat meat. Also, to those of you who eat eggs, that could be classified as killing. Also, if you had a beloved pet who was in horrible pain, you wouldn't be able to have it put down, and you would instead have to watch your pet suffer until it's body slowly shut down. Would ANYONE want that? and what about driving late at night and accidentally hitting a squirrel because you couldn't see it. there are too many shades of gray to classify crime unless it's very definitive that someone set out to hurt that animal.

I find it strange that no one has even mentioned animals used for food. I guess that some people don't even consider things like cows, pigs etc. animals anymore. Sad, people, very sad.

Hi, Bookaholics. I created this pick. I am vegan and I object to animals being murdered for (i.e. slaughtered) or enslaved (egg and dairy production) to make food products for humans, since humans *can* live without reliance upon animal food products, therefore avoiding supporting the cruelties that go into producing said products. Therefore, I am very concerned with the animals species used for food for humans. But you are right that there are circumstances in which humans don't intend to kill animals (accidental deaths like auto accidents, stepping on bugs by accident, etc.) so not all animal deaths should be equally punishable. However, I do believe deliberate, avoidable, and unnecessary murder of animals that are not a direct threat to humans SHOULD be punished as severely as another human's murder. We don't ever have the right to kill animals because they are inconvenient or causing problems without exhausting all possible ways to solve the problem and allow the animals to continue to co-exist along with us.

I was watching Animal Cops and one case a guy left their dog outsid ein the heat tied up with no food or water and left the hous and never came back poor dog. It had flys around it...

Of course.

Hunting? people need to live off meat!

NO WAY! THAT IS A SIN TO SAY! A HUMAN'S LIFE IS BY FAR MORE IMPORTANT AND THE PUNISHMENT SHOULD NOT EVEN BE CLOSE TO TAKING A HUMAN'S LIFE!!!!!

I am a vegetarian i dont eat eggs either and its one thing to kill animals humanely for food if you need it but vivisection, skinning animals alive for clothes, killing them just because you can these are all WRONG and btw ecpjll im just going to say this bluntly you are a dumbass.

ecpjill is a cruel animal hater!!! He should be punished!!!!!!! What he wrote is a sin!!! How on earth is a human life more important then an animals!! Off with his head!!!! Kick him off the site!!!!! He is a dumbass!!! Execution!!!
P.S. If someone is shooting a rabid animal or killing a mosquitoe, then it is okay. If they are doing it for no reason, they should get punished the same way as killing a human.

To an extent. I mean, if I'm walking down the side-walk and step on a worm, am I going to be legally punished for that? Or what about if I swat a fly? Kill the roundworms my chinchillas can get? Kill the fleas, ticks, and heartworms my dogs and cats can pick up? What about if my dog is extremely sick and in massive amounts of pain and I decide to euthanize it? Am I going to be legally punished for these things, despite the fact that I'm saving my pets life in some of these cases?

And what about people who hunt for food? Are they supposed to starve because the other option is to go to jail? What about my neighbor, who keeps his chickens in amazing conditions, but does, occasionally, eat them and their eggs?

There was a guy in England put his Cat in a microwave. The Cat did not die and was restored back to health in a rescue home. The guy went to Prison I don't know how long for but he definitely deserved it. But if you get attacked by a dog sometimes you have to kill them or they would kill you.

Why shouldn't it? Humans don't have any other excuse to kill an animal, other than the meat addiction! So cannibalism is wrong, but eating animals is right? Since when are we in charge of Nature? Animals are the originals!! >:(

People don't get put down. Animals should die naturally, unless you would put yourself down when you're too old???

The only time a animal should be killed is when they are suffering. As the caretakers of the animals, it is our job to see that they are treated kindly and protected. To kill animals for food, test on them, use wild animals for our entertainment or harm them in anyway is wrong and should be punished as if it was a person being mistreated. No one has to eat meat.

From beasts we scorn as souless,
in forest, field, and den.
The cry goes up to witness
the soulessness of men.

Definitely!! What about killing animals for food? Why is that not a crime? I seriously don't get why it's ok to kill farm animals or hunt yet there's punishment for killing other animals....? Killing animals in general is inhumane and should all be punishable. I don't buy the 'it's part of the food chain' crap either. There is no difference between killing a wild animal, a farm animal or a pet, it's still a life.