| Tuesday, September 24, 2002 |
It boggles the mind sometimes to imagine what goes on in some people's heads. Take the story I found today about an animal control worker who feed live puppies to a snake. If you are like me, you may not have realized this was possible, let alone probable.
Now, maybe you're thinking, "Snake's gotta eat--it's gotta be meat anyway." And I can understand that, as distasteful as it sounds. Also, I am not the type to grieve for a cute puppy or kitty killed while a (some might say less cuddly) rat or mouse is digested--all animals are equal in my book and deserve protection from suffering even rodents, reptiles and amphibians. So understanding that the snake has to eat, I might just point out that a puppy is probably not a regular "food chain" prey for these carnivorous animals. It may have been more difficult for the snake to prey on these animals causing suffering to both puppies and snake. And it certainly is tough for those of us who heard about the story, let's call the upset "suffering by proxy." All that pondering aside, an important part of this article is diminished by the sensational nature of the headline and lead story...the background story. Or should I say stories? Here's one (according to the Freep article) such fact that gets slight buried: animals that don't find loving homes to call their own are euthanized at this city's antiquated facility by way of carbon monoxide chamber--not the most humane way to die. Here's another: they sells unclaimed, unloved animals to "dealers who then sell them to researchers." Finally, their adoption record is woefully low: Of the 5,750 animals taken in this year, 529 were adopted, 632 were returned to owners and 13 went to research, city officials said. In 2000, only 78 out of more than 9,000 animals were adopted. So really, instead of being a publicity nightmare, this now fired employee and her ill-judgment offers animal control with a scape-goat like distraction. Instead of being criticized and corrected for their other problems, they will be lauded for taking decisive action by terminating this inhumane officer. [ ] |
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