We live in mountain country and have small livestock namely chickens, ducks and geese. People from the city come over here and dump their cats who go feral .... we shoot them when they come on our property .... so is that animal cruelty? It would be if we maimed or tortured them .....
“People from the city come over here and dump their cats who go feral .... we shoot them when they come on our property...”
I completely agree with you. When we lived in the California backcountry, city idiots would dump their dogs, which naturally, formed packs.
I had to carry a 12 gauge and sidearm when out for a walk. I don’t know how many dogs I shot. They would pack up at the manzinitas on the edge of the property and growl. I’d need to fire off rounds to scatter them so I could take a leak.
City morons don’t realize that gentle and sweet Fido becomes a killer pack animal without human control.
I rescued a few dogs that broke out of the pack after they were near starvation and took them to the animal shelter in town.
Quite simply, people, don’t dump your pets into the bush. People live there with their families. They pose a threat to private property and especially young children.
I think there’s a difference between you shooting strays on your property, a LEO just doing his job encountering a protective dog and a Dirty Harry wannabe going into a park and shooting what he thinks are evildoers.
You are on your property, shooting known strays protecting your livestock. The LEO is a shame but still an unfortunate accident. The Dirty Harry wannabe is a psycho who thinks he’s above the law.
There were options other than breaking the law available to this guy. He didn’t have to start shooting. Did he voice his concerns to the organization which ran the park? Did he explore a lawsuit to force the state to do something about it? No, he got the hankerin’ for killin’ and went off on his own.