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Squiggle Dog · #13 08-24-2018, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyMan

Been thinking about the violent animal issue the past few days. If you are hiking either by yourself or with others in Alaska and a violent out-of-control grizzly bear attacks you or the other hikers, no one blinks an eye if you pull out a gun and shoot the bear DEAD. Seems no one objects to your right to defend yourself and your friends while hiking in Alaska.

OTH, if we city dwellers gun down a violent out-of-control people killing pit bull THAT IS ATTACKING ADULTS or CHILDREN, we may face criminal charges.

Go figure.

Laws often don't make sense. There are too many disconnects in peoples' minds and often laws are made based on monetary considerations.

I personally think that there is justification in killing an animal if it's in self-defense. If I could protect myself or others without killing the animal, I would also make that choice if it were an option, but sometimes it's not.

But, you are right that a person may face criminal charges even if it's in self-defense, similar to if a person breaks into your house and comes at you with a knife and you shoot them. You were protecting yourself against a criminal who broke the law by coming into your home, and protecting yourself against physical harm, but may still face charges of manslaughter. Sometimes you're condemned either way and have to choose the lesser of the two evils--make the choice to be killed or critically injured, or to end up in jail for a while.

I suppose the difference between being on a hike in Alaska and shooting an attacking, out-of-control dog is that one is considered "property". It's not really anything to do with the intrinsic value of the animal as much as taking something of monetary value away from someone.

It's similar to how it's legal and even protected for "food" animals to be treated horribly and killed because it makes money for the economy, but if a person did the same thing to a "pet" animal, it would be considered animal cruelty and they would spend time in jail.