State animal control agencies are like this, and they are totally focused on killing wild animals ASAP that have come in contact with humans. They are utterly cold blooded and determined about it.
I have no idea where it comes from, but it is like the unofficial policy of many police departments to immediately kill any dog on a property as soon as they enter it, justified by warrant or not.
At a philosophical level, having this many people who do not just kill, but who want to kill and are enthusiastic about killing when they can, not just when they have to, is very, very frightening.
I remember years ago, an animal shelter was complaining that it couldn’t keep any employees to euthanize animals, even with very high wages (like $25/hr), because most would have close to nervous breakdowns after just a few days.
Joe Arpaio offered to set up an animal shelter and make jail inmates euthanize animals, and was shocked by the absolute rejection of the idea by both inmates and the public. Fortunately he then decided to make his shelter a “no kill” shelter.
So where are they getting people not just willing to kill, but enthusiastically wanting to kill?
The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures (1961) demonstrated that people will do horrible things to other people if they are ordered to. But how much killing can you get out of people that way?
Psychopaths have the wiring in the brain to be indifferent to the harm they inflict on others. Sociopaths are trained to be indifferent. If “reprogrammed” at an early age, sociopaths can be treated. If they are adults, likely not.
I doubt it is helpful to society to have so many sociopaths walking around, killing animals.
A lot more than you would ever imagine.
The percentage of your neighbors who would willingly participate in genocide would shock you.
As an board member and officer of a rural, no-kill, independent Humane Society, I can confirm that everything you say is borne out by experience. This has opened my eyes to what government really is capable of. The State refuses to accept even the concept of a “no kill” shelter for pets, and they seem to prefer euthanasia to rehoming. Most State interactions with both companion animals and wildlife seem to end in death, and they deliberately foster a mentality for killing. Our legislature keeps trying to slip through laws to facilitate more animal cruelty (like chopping off hens’ beaks and feet), unchecked puppy mills, etc. (To make it more depressing, we have a Republican majority and Governor, and still this goes on).