"The cat could clearly be seen thrashing its legs and tail in agony."
First, the word "agony" implies pain, something that can only relate to human consciousness. Second, the thrashing could also have been the equivalent of a beheaded chicken running around - something I saw quite a bit of as a child at my grandparents farm.
Had you personally bit off any of those chicken heads? Just asking.
A cat or dog can experience agony just as thoroughly as a human can. And it tends to have very similar psychological effects if the animal survives: anti-social behavior within its own species, severe aggression and/or fear, and very easily startled into expressing aggression/fear, just like humans with PTSD.
Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding, but are you implying a cat doesn't feel pain? Again, sorry if I'm way off the mark.
Animals don't feel pain in your world, do they? Just asking because your post indicates that pain "can only relate to human consciousness."
Animals, especially mammals, are most certainly capable of feeling pain. I think the guy definitely went about this the wrong way since he could just put a pair of work gloves on and put the poor cat down.
Of course, his convinction was way over the line as well; it was only a cat.
Have two cats at my house currently being lazy pests, but oh well, that's the price we pay for demostic tranquility with the wife.
Are you saying by your post that animals don't feel pain?
Their distress is not analytical - oh my I have a broken leg and I may have trouble walking in the future - but animals do feel pain just as we do. Did you believe otherwise?
Surely you don`t really believe animals are incapable of feeling pain? If that was true, why will a dog cower in fear from someone who beats it?
Wrong! Animals are clearly capable to experiencing pain and feeling it consciously. Human consciousness is not by any means the only consciousness necessary to perceive pain.
Anatomists used to nail the four feet of a cat or a dog to a board and proceed to disect the living animal in front of medical students in the 1700s. The excuse was that the animals had no consciousness and could not perceive pain when they clearly were in....agony.