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You make some valid points, but we are still talking about animals. I've seen people go to jail longer for animal cruelty than others go to jail for hurting people. Around here that usually happens when people have a sickly horse they can't afford to take to the vet. The judge that usually handles these cases around here just loves horses. I'm a public defender and I'm in court all the time and I've seen this happen several times. To me that's just crazy. Fine these people, take their animals, forbid them from keeping animals, but save the jail space for people who are a threat to humans.

I'm not sure that I agree completely with the notion that some animals are more worthy of protection that others. I understand that people feel that way, but I think that's kind of silly. In India cows are sacred and they roam the streets. In some countries dogs are food, and there are even places where rats are sacred. And ferrets, well I don't think there is any consensus in this country that they are more deserving of protection than other animals. I think it's more of akin to something like beauty being in the eye of the beholder.

I do not believe in being unnecessarily cruel to animals. I think that is wrong. I have a dog that I love, and we have two cats that I could do without, but I'd certainly never be cruel to them. There is a difference though to me in being cruel for the sake of being cruel, and acts that may seem cruel but are done for some legitimate purpose. Personally, I would think that feeding a small critter to a pet snake would be a legitimate purpose, regardless of what type of animal it is. Snakes eat live animals. That's what you feed them. Bunnies, puppies, ferrets, they all seem like fair game to me.

And I think you are a little bit reality challenged in your notions of how nice we are to the animals you eat. Do you ever eat veal? Do you know that comes from baby calves that are confined to the extent that they can never have room to even turn around? And as for chickens and it being "important to keep them healthy and in good living conditions until their deaths," you're cracking me up with that. I'm from an area where the poultry business is king and if you think chickens are raised in healthy and good living conditions you are definitely reality challenged. Broiler chickens live a horrible six weeks of life before being hung by their ankles and having their throats slit and then quickly being dunked into a vat of scalding water to remove the feathers, often when they are still alive and conscious. I started to give you a chronicle of the life of the average broiler chicken and egg laying hen, but it was going on too long so I deleted it. Suffice it to say that plenty of awful things happen to these animals. If you have a big heart and a great love for all animals, you'd probably cry your eyes out if you knew what these poor widdle chickies have to endure. I'll spare you that.

I realize that some people don’t go to jail as long for hurting people, but I think they should go to jail longer for hurting people. There are some people that deserve much longer in jail than they recieve. Anyway, I believe unnecessary cruelty towards animals is wrong, may it be the animals we eat, small animals, dogs/cats, and so on. There is a strong relationship between people who abuse animals eventually moving onto hurting people. If putting them in jail can lead to them no longer abusing animals and in turn prevent them from moving onto different sorts of victims, then I think it should be done.

I know different cultures deem different animals worthy of protection. Western Culture happens to deem dogs and cats worthy of protection, and the dog has been a great help via rescue, the blind, those with seizures, bringing comfort to the ill, and even sniffing out bombs and drugs. Vets and pet stores would never recommend feeding a dog or cat to a snake. They would recommend feeding an animal of the rodent variety to a snake. Sure, a snake will eat anything, but it doesn’t mean it should be given everything.

That’s horrible as far as the chickens. I have heard of farms that treat them very humanely until their death and feed them natural grains as opposed to steroids. I don’t eat veal because it is a baby cow, and the idea of eating a baby cow makes me sick.