This is dumb. What’s abuse? If you don’t take your pet to the vet, is that abuse? How about shooting chipmunks or squirrels in your yard? If a dog is left outside all the time but is fed is that abuse? How about having a de-clawed cat because it stays in doors but destroys your furniture?
For every case of some deranged asshole setting an animal on fire to torture it there’s hundreds of what I listed above. It will all come down to who decides...
No, it’s not dumb, and of course common sense must be used. We are talking about people who hurt animals on purpose. Things like beating them or taking a hot iron to them or some such thing.
You’re talking about neglect which is wrong as well but does not rise to the level of hurting an innocent being on purpose.
I think that’s the problem here. Some people simply don’t see animals as living beings other than as food. Not sure where they got that idea but they couldn’t be more wrong if they tried. I think I’m becoming aware of just how many people in the population lack that all important empathy gene required to understand this. It could be something as simple as that sense of empathy was neglected and never got a chance to grow and develop in some people for who knows what reason.
Some people seem to think no animal has a soul so it can’t go to heaven. Try telling that to someone who’s dog or cat of 10-25 died. Who feels that loss as much as they would as if it were a child. Don’t bother trying to tell them it’s not the same thing because it most definitely is. We just condition ourselves to accept the shorter life span and to brace for that terrible day we all know is coming. The pain is the same.
Want to protect innocent human life? Start with protecting the innocent animals.