Question:
OMG, that makes me want to vomit. I think someone should take those children and crush the bones of one hand, to give them some idea of what it feels like. It's a good job I'm not a lawyer or judge, because if a parent came before me and said 'My child was too young to realize that dropping a cinder block on the cat would cause it pain or kill it' I would slap them upside the head. If a child is old/strong enough to break the bones of a cat or pick up a cinder block, they're old enough to know the repercussions of their actions. God, I hate people sometimes


Answer:
Children can be taught not to hurt animals at a very young age, toddler. They can be taught to love and care for animals very early. Empathy can, and must, be taught at a young age.


Answer:
What do you think of young kids, sub-teenage, who do this sort of stuff? Are they "innocent"? Is it "not their fault" because "they didn't really know what they were doing"?
I like the idea of the offending child being taught what pain & sufferring are first-hand, if they "can't understand" why they torture animals.


Answer:
Neuro, I think that parents have been trying to protect their children for years and when it becomes obvious that the child learned something that the parent would rather not have them know (ie. sex, is one of the big ones, but also causing harm to others, etc), it is often far easier for the parent to simply say (and thus convince themselves) that their child didn't know what they were doing, and didn't understand what was going on.
Thus, we have an Act (the Young Offender's Act) which originally was for the children who DIDN'T know what they were doing, but now is used for any child that fits the age group.
A few years ago, there was a murder of a wonderful lady in our community (roundaboutly associated with friends of ours, she was a youth worker, a top-class equestrian rider, a mother of three, staunch volunteer, and the list could go on). She was murdered by a young boy (15 at the time). Not just murdered, but raped and abused and left to suffocate to death in her house, which they set fire to at the time (I say they, because the officials still suspect another person was involved though the guy they arrested insists it was just him, as now he has pled guilty to the charges). There were huge arguments about whether to try him as adult or a child, and finally the Judge declared he would be tried as an adult, at which point, he promptly pled guilty to all charges.
I have it on insider information that the boy was from a malfunctioning family, and that the first day in court, his parents didn't even show up to support him. Sure he was a bad kid, but his parents should still be there to say, "Yes, this is our son, and we're here for him (not because he is innocent or guilty, or ignorant or knowledgable or anything, but because he is our son)."
Now, the kid is 17 and he gets to serve the first part (2 years) of his sentence in Juvenile hall (ie. watching tv from stuffed chairs, access to computers/internet, basically, easy street) before being transfered to an adult prison when he is 19.
I know of another kid who was caught shoplifting from a local corner store. The police brought him back to the store for identification, and the police officer told the owner that there was no use pressing charges, as the kid would get off because of the Young Offender's Act, at the most there would be a slap on the wrist. The kid was standing within earshot when the officer mentioned this, and the store owner was convinced to not press charges. Later that weekend, his store was completely vandalized (I think they may have even set fire to it, but can't recall the details right now). The kid who did it has been involved in similar things before and not once had anyone really done anything to discourage his behaviour.
My point is, If kids (any age) can get away with this kind of thing, then it doesn't surprise me that they can get away with animal abuse.


Answer:
Wow, that totally makes me sick.


Answer:
Originally Posted by Christy
but people saying to break there hands, excute them are no better than the kids doing the crime in the first place.
I think there may have been a less offensive way of getting that particular point across?


Answer:
How would there be a less offensive way? Saying to execute a kid is pretty darn offensive if you ask me.
If you want a kid to learn to NOT abuse animals you dont abuse the kid, hit a kid, kid learns to hit what wont them back. And I stand by what I say if your outraged by a child abusing an animal (which EVERYONE should be), you should be just as outraged by someone wanting to excute or break bones on that child, killing and hurting the child that did the crime only shows them that adults feel that viloence is okay as well.


Answer:
hurting the child that did the crime only shows them that adults feel that viloence is okay as well.
So true, Christy.
Children learn by example. I have really noticed this first hand when babysitting and when monitoring the 2 and 3 year old class at the church on Sundays.
Some parents would be surprised to see how much their children pick up. In my class, there were many kids who (though only 2 years old) did some of the same things their parents do. For example, I knew this one lady fairly well as she is a very prominent figure in the church --- well known as she is often the organizer of many of the events at the church... Her daughter was in the class one day (normally she was in the older class, but her brother was in the younger class so she stayed with him), and she immediately set out to play house with two of the other girls, both younger with shorter attention spans. Did that stop the older girl from trying to boss them around? Uh uh... nope, she behaved in a very similar manner as her mother did when she was organizing something....... coincidence? I think not.
Anything and EVERYTHING influences a child.


Answer:
Children NEED to be taught compassion for other living beings. Unfortunately, if their parents do not have this compassion, I doubt it the children will learn it early on in life. Perhaps later on when they have grown up and think for themselves, they might develop compassion or just see other living beings as entertainment for themselves.
I feel sorry for these children and I believe that good parenting would have prevented this incident. It's tragic that a life was lost because of the lack of guidence in the children's lives.


Answer:
My psychoanalyst believes, after years of psychological training & working as a philosophy professor as well, that animal/human torturers are clinically considered psychopaths or sociopaths, & that these are the only incurable, hopeless human mental illnesses.
I said execution because if there is no hope of rehabilitation, the only other options are institutionalize them for life, protecting the public, or talk about their "rights" & unleash them to act violently. It is seldom an isolated incident.