[JavaTheHutt]

First, your comment about slaves is a red herring.

OK, please explain how this is a red herring. Personally, I see absolutely no difference in the slave owner of olden days feeling saying he had a right to torture, mutilate, and take the life of his very own personal property, and your statement that if this guy was the owner of the kitten, then he did nothing that should be considered illegal.

[RobRoy]

OK, was the slave a human being? If so, this man's logic was quite flawed. People can rationalize all sorts of bizzare beliefs if there is enough in it for them.

Also, many slave owners saw their slaves as their responsibility and treated them with kindness as the Bible instructed them. It was a different time.

Some were treated with more dignity and respect than many "free" men today. The issue is not as simple as many would presume.