“the murder of animals”
Doesn’t even make sense. Might as well have said ‘murder of trees’.
I tried pointing out that very thing on Democratic Underground once, shortly before one of the many times I was banned there; there was a thread concerning an elephant hunt, and when the predictable "They're murdering those poor animals!" cry went up, I explained that ethical issues aside, non-human animals can't be murdered by definition.
It didn't go over well.