Uncorrupted by evil, malice, or wrongdoing; sinless Not guilty of a specific crime or offense; legally blameless: was innocent of all charges. Within, allowed by, or sanctioned by the law; lawful.
Not dangerous or harmful; innocuous: an innocent prank. Candid; straightforward.
Not experienced or worldly; naive. Betraying or suggesting no deception or guile; artless.
Not exposed to or familiar with something specified; ignorant.
Lacking, deprived, or devoid of something
n. A person, especially a child, who is free of evil or sin. A simple, guileless, inexperienced, or unsophisticated person. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin innocns, innocent- : in-, not; see in-1 + nocns, present participle of nocre, to harm; see nek-1 in Indo-European Roots.]
Since animals are considered incapable of intent, this is pretty much a default - regardless of their actions - making the term useless. It is not illegal for a cat to toy with a cute little chipmunk - torturing said chipmunk for hours until it dies from the abuse. It is likewise not illegal for the cat to go and kill other small animals and leave their remains lying about uneaten. It is not illegal for deer to charge travelling cars, or even to "jaywalk". It is not illegal for deer to abandon their elders to the elements, leving them out to freeze or starve. How many "deadbeat-dad" animals are out there. One rarely hears of one sending funds through the government "child-support clearing-houses" to support abandoned children. If you wish to elevate them to be the equals of men, then surely they can be expected to obey simple laws, yes?
Not dangerous or harmful;
Hardly applicable to animals. They act by their nature, and harm or not without regard to laws of men. Nearly all animals can be dangerous - especially mammals.
innocuous: an innocent prank. Candid; straightforward.
A deer or moose can be perfectly straightforward as it gores you. As to the smaller animals? Their death via hunting is almost universally far less painfull than their natural lot in life.
BTW, are you aware just how much damage prohibitions and limits against hunting deer do to the environment and to other animals - especially herbivores? According to a Smithsonian study from the early 1990s, deer reduce the populations of other forest animals by up to 90%. In other words, in some areas, deer reduce the number of birds, squirrels, flying squirels, and other smaller animals to as little as 1/10th of their natural non-deer-infested levels.
So... animals never kill each other just because one is in the other's way? Ever watch male lions? They drive out the leader of a pride, then kill the leader's cubs. Within weeks the females come into heat again because they have no cubs to look after and they pretty much throw themselves at the new leader who just prior to this had killed their cubs.
They sound so innocent... loving... I'm getting weepy.... (sobbing)