A Pennsylvania dog groomer thought she had come up with the perfect sideline for her business: Piercing kittens' ears and necks and marketing them as "gothic" over the Internet. Holly Crawford, 34, says she didn't think she was doing anything wrong when she decided to pierce her black kittens and attempt to sell them for hundreds of dollars apiece.
Humane officers disagreed, charging her this week with cruelty and conspiracy in a case that has sparked outrage among animal lovers.
Click here for the full article.
Here's what I think you should learn from this incident: Animals do not understand why you hurt them (although, from my personal observations, they seem to be able to tell if you hurt them on purpose or not). Therefore, when you stab a hole through a kitten's skin, thread cold metal through it, and apply burning disinfectant to the wound, the kitten is not justifying its pain by reminding itself of how much money you are about to make on Ebay. All the kitten knows, and all any animal you hurt knows, is that it is frightened and in pain and wants the pain to stop.
The only excuse for deliberately hurting an animal is if it will result in an overall benefit to the animal -- NOT to your pocketbook. According to this logic, rabies shots and vaccinations are good, but decorative piercings are bad.
Whether or not this woman intended to treat the kittens cruelly is irrelevant. What matters is that she intentionally hurt a kitten through a process that failed to directly benefit the kitten in any way, for her own personal gain.
Also, unless you are a qualified, competent veterinarian, you should NOT dock animals' tails. Nor should you perform minor surgical procedures such those resulting in body piercings.
P.S. - calling all crafters and artsy types... New Contest: Pet Craft Projects - suggest one to win!
Loading ...
