Appropriate punishment for animal cruelty

[somerfrost]

Originally Posted by Cajungator26

I like the sound of the death penalty better.

Nobody loves animals, especially horses, more than I do...and nobody gets angrier than I do when folks abuse/torture/kill any animal needlessly but calls for prison rape, bestiality and death are part of society's problem not part of a solution...yes, sociopathic behavior is often preceeded by animal abuse but to generalize that every young person who kills an animal will become a serial killer is absurd. These appear to be semi-intelligent young folks who committed a horrible, indefensible act of cruelty...they deserve punishment but they also need to learn to respect life...all life. We teach kids at an early age to shoot guns and to hunt...part of the macho bonding experience (and yes, even girls play today), it isn't surprising that once a young person loses respect for life that he/she is then able to rationalize such behavior! Punish these kids in a constructive manner...community service, therapy along with perhaps some incarceration...it is the role of society to teach our children, not brutalize and kill them!