Poll: Quick Death: A luxury?

[Mid-Boss]

Was at work today when one of my co workers came across a baby bird sitting out in the grass. After everyone oooed and ahhhed over how cute it was they went back to work. I was the only one, it seemed, who realized that the little peeping darling was going to sit there until it either starved or until a predator came along. Or worse, a cat who would bat around, cripple it, and play with it. Which is why I hate cats. Birds can't get their young back into the nest once they've fallen out and I didn't even know where this one's nest was.

A quick death is a luxury few humans are given, let alone animals.

So I did the only kindness I could. I stomped on it as hard as I could and repeatedly in an attempt to make its death as fast as humanly possible.

Afterward I cried, like I always do when killing something is the nicest thing you can do for it. It sucked. I'm not one of those guys who has only two emotions. Macho and horny. Those wusses have emotions, but live in fear of what other people might think of them. Disgusting and pathetic. But that's for another topic.

But I wonder if I should have just let it go and spared myself the pain of having to kill it.

 

[BanicRhys]

If I knew for absolute certain that it was going to die a slow and very painful death and I knew I wouldn't get in trouble for it (I'm not going to euthanize a person), then yes.

 

[Kpt._Rob]

That, my friend, is one hell of a difficult question. In fact, it's a question modern moral philosophy has yet to satisfactorily answer. And to be honest, I don't know.

I certainly think that if its death was inevitable that killing it would be the merciful right thing to do. That said, I don't know if I could do it. I'd like to think that I would have the guts to do what I knew was right. Don't get me wrong here, I don't think that life should be taken carelessly. And yet, I don't know if I could kill it. To be honest, no matter what I did, I would feel terrible.

So, I can't answer it, having never had to be in that situation. That said, I do think that you did the right thing, and even if it was really hard to do, and may even haunt you, don't forget that. You saved it from suffering.

 

[kalt_13]

For things I know that have a personality, humans, cats, dogs, a quick death is a good death. For things I don't know if they have personality birds, fish, bugs I don't care let nature take its course.

 

[Pat8u]

For things I know that have a personality, humans, cats, dogs, a quick death is a good death. For things I don't know if they have personality birds, fish, bugs I don't care let nature take its course.

woah birds have a personality have you ever had one as a pet
OT: I can't kill domesicated animals I just can't I know its humane but I can't (funny thing is my favourite food happens to be lamb and steak)
Also I take offence when people hate cats for being preadtors to birds its a way of life
heres a simple food chain
worms -------> birds ---------> Cats--------->wolves(not dogs)

 

[Mid-Boss]

After running over a rabbit hole (with a lawn mower), and sucking up a tiny baby bunny, I mangled it's legs.

I went to the garage and brought out a maul, then crushed it's suffering in a second.

It wasn't easy, but I would rather get a quick clean death than a prolonged suffering.

It haunts me that I took a small creatures life. But I still think I did the right thing.

You did something that was hard rather than ignoring it to save yourself from having to deal with it. You deserve respect for that.

 

[kalt_13]

For things I know that have a personality, humans, cats, dogs, a quick death is a good death. For things I don't know if they have personality birds, fish, bugs I don't care let nature take its course.

woah birds have a personality have you ever had one as a pet
OT: I can't kill domesicated animals I just can't I know its humane but I can't (funny thing is my favourite food happens to be lamb and steak)
Also I take offence when people hate cats for being preadtors to birds its a way of life
heres a simple food chain
worms -------> birds ---------> Cats--------->wolves(not dogs)

Can't say I've had a pet bird or known anybody thats had a bird thats more than a few in an avery (sp?). Interesting to know so thanks

 

[Mid-Boss]

For things I know that have a personality, humans, cats, dogs, a quick death is a good death. For things I don't know if they have personality birds, fish, bugs I don't care let nature take its course.

woah birds have a personality have you ever had one as a pet
OT: I can't kill domesicated animals I just can't I know its humane but I can't (funny thing is my favourite food happens to be lamb and steak)
Also I take offence when people hate cats for being preadtors to birds its a way of life
heres a simple food chain
worms -------> birds ---------> Cats--------->wolves(not dogs)

Oh no. No no no. I don't care if cats kill and eat things. What I care about is that they often PLAY with their prey rather than outright killing it. My mother in law has a cat because she lives out in the country beside a grape orchard. She needs something to kill all the mice or she'd constantly be infested by them. But at the same time she HATES her cat because it will sneak in half dead birds, mice, baby rabbits and bat them around on her floor like cat toys.

I've seen a lot of cats do this.

 

[Grell Sutcliff]

if we knew this stuff for certain a merciful death is okay but it is better to try and save the creature if there is a chance it can be saved.

 

[Treeinthewoods]

My dog mauled a pre-teen robin that fell out if it's nest (half fuzz, half feathers). The damn thing was all mangled but still breathing and bleeding and it just kept looking at me. I smashed it with a shovel and felt like a monster for the rest of the day.

Weirdly, I thought about The Maxx right before I swung the shovel which somehow gave me strength to get it over with.

 

[ThunderDumpling]

Try to save it.
I honestly don't see any situation where if you had these choices, you would pick the easy way out. Killing is killing no matter the justification.

Say a close family member of yours has cancer. Choices:
a) Kill him/her
b) Send him/her into chemo even though you know its going to effing suck and he's gonna die.
c) Not do anything...

 

[SteewpidZombie]

If I was trapped under rubbled, impaled against something, or deathly wounded, I totally would want someone to put me out of my misery.

 

[Happy Yay]

I certainly feel that the right thing to do is to kill it if the death is inevitable and you'll be able to shorten it, but I just don't think I'd be able to kill a helpless animal like that.

 

[dyre]

You did the right thing, though I hope you at least looked around a bit for the nest before you smashed the bird.

 

[zehydra]

Well you didn't actually save the bird from anything, it's dead.

 

[zehydra]

I certainly feel that the right thing to do is to kill it if the death is inevitable and you'll be able to shorten it, but I just don't think I'd be able to kill a helpless animal like that.

death is always inevitable, no?

What bugs me is when people have the arrogance to assume that the best thing they can do to something is kill it, when it's obviously the worst thing that can be done to it.

There is nothing humane about ending a life at all.

 

[Happy Yay]

I certainly feel that the right thing to do is to kill it if the death is inevitable and you'll be able to shorten it, but I just don't think I'd be able to kill a helpless animal like that.

death is always inevitable, no?

What bugs me is when people have the arrogance to assume that the best thing they can do to something is kill it, when it's obviously the worst thing that can be done to it.

There is nothing humane about ending a life at all.

Look at Sober Thal's post, where he mangled a baby bunny's legs with his lawn mower but instead of letting it slowly bleed to death or get eaten by a predator he ended its life in a second nearly painlessly. If something is certainly going to die soon and you can end its life with much less pain involved I think it's certainly a kind thing to do to kill it. I know if I was going to die horribly painfully and slowly in an hour I'd choose to have someone kill me painlessly now.

 

[nbamaniac]

Better to die by chopping my head off in one clean swipe than to slice thousands of tiny incisions into my skin just to get my intestines ripped off in the end.