# Another Act of Cruelty to be Enraged About



## Devyn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74fvoX_CeTc​
I didn't realize what this link was all about when I clicked it, but it absolutely tore my heart to shreds when I seen it; someone caught a mouse with a glue trap and gave it to a hoard of fire ants. I've been bitten by one before, *one*, and it hurt fiercely.

It scares me how "normal" this is among people. My brothers have tortured insects and vermin since they were little and are encouraged to do so; My grandfather has helped them stone trapped mice to death and my dad would put huge spiders in jars of poison for them to watch as they writhe and die. The video above is something they would do without ever feeling conflicted about, and yet they are good people otherwise and have always been.

I've asked them why they do it, but they never have an answer. They don't think it's wrong but they don't try to justify it either, they are just compelled to do it and seem to enjoy it. I don't understand, and it bothers me to no end.


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## Jess <3

Sadly, for a lot of people, if they are taught something is right they will go on believing it is right without ever stepping back to question their actions. Some people are naturally more compassionate than others, which is perhaps why your brothers go on believing something is okay because of influences in their lives, while you've realised for yourself what is right and what is wrong. I'm glad that i've grown up with parents who would catch mice in humane traps and even wake me up in the middle of the night so we could release it together. Hopefully there are more good people out there than bad, and so we can teach our own future children (should we decide to have any) how to respect and treat other living creatures. I guess it's a case of nature vs nurture though i'd like to believe that however i was raised i could've seen that hurting animals isn't something that should be done and enjoyed. 

I didn't click the link because just reading your description of it is disturbing enough, i always see titles to horrid YouTube videos when i'm watching pet rat videos, things like: 'Shooting rats with pellet guns' or 'live feeding of baby rats!' it just baffles me that anyone can enjoy themselves watching things like that....


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## sarah424

Very upsetting, people just don't seem to think of rats as living things that feel pain like cats and dogs but just something to feed to other animals


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## Devyn

Jess <3 said:


> Sadly, for a lot of people, if they are taught something is right they will go on believing it is right without ever stepping back to question their actions. Some people are naturally more compassionate than others, which is perhaps why your brothers go on believing something is okay because of influences in their lives, while you've realised for yourself what is right and what is wrong. I'm glad that i've grown up with parents who would catch mice in humane traps and even wake me up in the middle of the night so we could release it together. Hopefully there are more good people out there than bad, and so we can teach our own future children (should we decide to have any) how to respect and treat other living creatures. I guess it's a case of nature vs nurture though i'd like to believe that however i was raised i could've seen that hurting animals isn't something that should be done and enjoyed.
> 
> I didn't click the link because just reading your description of it is disturbing enough, i always see titles to horrid YouTube videos when i'm watching pet rat videos, things like: 'Shooting rats with pellet guns' or 'live feeding of baby rats!' it just baffles me that anyone can enjoy themselves watching things like that....


That makes sense. I immediately and vividly imagine myself as the creature or person suffering, so I could never be made to believe that it was okay. It's difficult to grasp how someone wouldn't have that same reaction. I know that in some cases abusing small creatures could be precursor to something much worse in a child, and I think those red flags would easily go unnoticed if abuse is already a casual thing in the family.



sarah424 said:


> Very upsetting, people just don't seem to think of rats as living things that feel pain like cats and dogs but just something to feed to other animals


I don't like how people can put one animal's feelings beneath another, I believe there is no difference between the pain of your beloved dog and the pain of a filthy rat.


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## sarah424

Exactly if someone did this to a dog there would be a huge uproar but it's "just a rat". Just a pest, like a bug you step on or like pulling wings off of flies. If it has to die we can at least be humane


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## ratty213

This is disturbing and cruel. My stomach is in knots. It is a living breathing thing and it can feel pain, show some humanity.


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## ratty213

The poor thing is struggling and twitching. It is writhing in pain while people just stand there for their own amusement.


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## ohmyhi

This bugs me so SO much because they do not realize or want to believe that other individuals besides themselves have feelings and know exactly what pain and suffering is. They don't realize that we NEED those 'pest' because without them our ecosystem would fall and they wouldn't be here. And worst of all is that they have no respect for life. Gosh it sends me into tears because these animals do not want to harm us and yet people WANT to harm them and then turn to blame the animal! 


UGH! I couldn't even watch it because I can only imagine. But I am sorry that you are surrounded by this and I wish I could tell you something that you could say to them to make them realize but really they can't. If they are religious you can say 'this is not what God intended man to do to the other living beings on earth. This is against God's wish for us to care for the earth as he would'. Personally I am not religious but in college we have to take at least one to graduate and I have learned a lot and its helping me understand people who are Christians but anywho. Maybe that could help? But I am so deeply sorry that you have to be surrounded with people who think that way and I am so sorry that they do not see the light.


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## DustyRat

This is why I hate humans so much.


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## PawsandClaws

I just cannot understand the mentality behind amusement in the pain of other living things. These individuals are incredibly cruel and poor excuses for a human being.


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## Effy

*I haven't watched it, as the more a video is watched, the more it is promoted...but I did report it for animal abuse.*


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## Kinsey

I looked for about two seconds. My heck it is horrid.

People, humanity- they are a sick species. To many, this behavior is a warning sign of child torture, murder, etc but it's becoming normal in our society to treat living things with no respect or kindness at all.


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## Jess <3

If we all report it for animal abuse, will the op be reprimanded and the video taken down? I haven't clicked on it because as soon as i've seen something like that it stay in my head forever but i do think people need the message reinforced that this isn't okay and shouldn't be viewed for entertainment.


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## Devyn

ohmyhi said:


> ...If they are religious you can say 'this is not what God intended man to do to the other living beings on earth. This is against God's wish for us to care for the earth as he would'...


They are religious and I could try to play that card, but it reminds me of something else: The men in my family have a saying, usually used to justify hunting for sport, and I can't remember it word for word but it goes something like "God put animals on this earth *for our* use." I don't like to imagine the implications of that phrase.

Thank you to those who reported the video. I can't get past how helpless the struggle against abuse of any kind is; we could take down every video and silence every opinion advocating it, but all that would do is fan their flame the next time they let loose their troubles on a living thing.


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## MissSix

I can't even watch the video. I just don't understand why people go out of their way to do these things, let alone document it and share it! "hey guys, look, I caused a living creature pain!" Seriously, what is WRONG with these people?! 

It reminds me of the vids that keep popping up when I look for videos of centipedes and spiders. This guy will put two predatory arthropods in the same container and record them fighting to kill each other. It's flat out animal fights, but no matter how many times I report him he never gets taken down and those horrible videos are still out there! There is no justification for things like that or the video in the original topic. Another horrible video I've found before was someone feeding their 'pede a whole mouse! Not a pinky, but a live adult mouse! Not only is this cruel to the mouse but it endangers the centipede too, who could not have been more than 7 inches long (IE NOT BIG ENOUGH TO EAT MICE!) 
I can understand recording a predatory animal being fed it's natural prey (in as humane a fashion as possible), I find the way these animals eat fascinating- and also because that is their normal prey they are equipped to kill it efficiently, thus minimizing any suffering. In that regard it is simply a record of nature, of the the care of the animal that must be taken. 

What sucks is that even if you do report stuff like this, it's been so atrociously normalized that rarely anything gets done.


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## Voidrae

Devyn said:


> They are religious and I could try to play that card, but it reminds me of something else: The men in my family have a saying, usually used to justify hunting for sport, and I can't remember it word for word but it goes something like "God put animals on this earth *for our* use."


There is literally no way that torturing another animal is a use. If they think that it is, I suspect their minister needs to give them a stern talking to.


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## ohmyhi

Devyn said:


> They are religious and I could try to play that card, but it reminds me of something else: The men in my family have a saying, usually used to justify hunting for sport, and I can't remember it word for word but it goes something like "God put animals on this earth *for our* use." I don't like to imagine the implications of that phrase.
> 
> Thank you to those who reported the video. I can't get past how helpless the struggle against abuse of any kind is; we could take down every video and silence every opinion advocating it, but all that would do is fan their flame the next time they let loose their troubles on a living thing.



We did talk about that in class, that the idea that the planet is here for '*our use' *is what has caused so much pain, devastation and destruction on our beautiful planet. And it is what continues to destroy our home. i know personally that you cannot change peoples minds so easily unless they are able to see it themselves and feel it. If only there was a way to allow those who harm animals like that to be able to feel their pain and suffering. Maybe then they would be able to see. 

I am so sorry that you are surrounded by people with those mind sets. But maybe if they see the light they'll be able to change their minds. 

When I was younger my dad always told me that animals were only instinctual creatures and did not have thought or reason. He would never intentionally hurt an animal nor does he approve of hunting. I always told him even as a young kid that, that wasn't true and always tried to prove it to him. And the other day years later he admitted to me that he use to think that they just acted on instincts but now he realizes that yes they do think and reason in their own way  
Of course that transformation isn't as big of a step because he has always believed that torturing or harming animals on purpose or fun is a horrible act. But still proof that people can change their view. 


But the biggest step is for society to not be accepting of such acts and having the information to back it up. Good luck and I hope my rambling gave you some hope or at least helped a little and made some sense.


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## Voidrae

That kind of brings up the other biblical idea that the world and animals are there for man to use and care for. A truly attentive reader of the bible would likely not conclude that entertainment and hedony are legitimate interpretations of the word "use" and again I doubt that needless killing is "caring for" in any sense of the phrase.


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## ohmyhi

Voidrae said:


> That kind of brings up the other biblical idea that the world and animals are there for man to use and care for. A truly attentive reader of the bible would likely not conclude that entertainment and hedony are legitimate interpretations of the word "use" and again I doubt that needless killing is "caring for" in any sense of the phrase.


Unfortunately a lot of people like to take their own interpretation and run with it. 

What all this really brings out is the very VERY scary reality that children will learn from and follow their parents very closely. Thankfully not all will agree with their parents when they do wrong and thankfully not all parents teach their children wrongly but its still scary what some parents teach as acceptable and how some children do not even challenge the idea. Even when they are adults


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## Devyn

MissSix said:


> I can't even watch the video. I just don't understand why people go out of their way to do these things, let alone document it and share it! "hey guys, look, I caused a living creature pain!" Seriously, what is WRONG with these people?!
> 
> It reminds me of the vids that keep popping up when I look for videos of centipedes and spiders. This guy will put two predatory arthropods in the same container and record them fighting to kill each other. It's flat out animal fights, but no matter how many times I report him he never gets taken down and those horrible videos are still out there! There is no justification for things like that or the video in the original topic. Another horrible video I've found before was someone feeding their 'pede a whole mouse! Not a pinky, but a live adult mouse! Not only is this cruel to the mouse but it endangers the centipede too, who could not have been more than 7 inches long (IE NOT BIG ENOUGH TO EAT MICE!)
> I can understand recording a predatory animal being fed it's natural prey (in as humane a fashion as possible), I find the way these animals eat fascinating- and also because that is their normal prey they are equipped to kill it efficiently, thus minimizing any suffering. In that regard it is simply a record of nature, of the the care of the animal that must be taken.
> 
> What sucks is that even if you do report stuff like this, it's been so atrociously normalized that rarely anything gets done.


Some people take curiosity way too far. I don't think there's anything wrong with observing nature's intention, but to throw animals together like that to amuse yourself with a gory fight is just sick. :[



ohmyhi said:


> We did talk about that in class, that the idea that the planet is here for '*our use' *is what has caused so much pain, devastation and destruction on our beautiful planet. And it is what continues to destroy our home. i know personally that you cannot change peoples minds so easily unless they are able to see it themselves and feel it. If only there was a way to allow those who harm animals like that to be able to feel their pain and suffering. Maybe then they would be able to see.
> 
> I am so sorry that you are surrounded by people with those mind sets. But maybe if they see the light they'll be able to change their minds.
> 
> When I was younger my dad always told me that animals were only instinctual creatures and did not have thought or reason. He would never intentionally hurt an animal nor does he approve of hunting. I always told him even as a young kid that, that wasn't true and always tried to prove it to him. And the other day years later he admitted to me that he use to think that they just acted on instincts but now he realizes that yes they do think and reason in their own way
> Of course that transformation isn't as big of a step because he has always believed that torturing or harming animals on purpose or fun is a horrible act. But still proof that people can change their view.
> 
> But the biggest step is for society to not be accepting of such acts and having the information to back it up. Good luck and I hope my rambling gave you some hope or at least helped a little and made some sense.


Thank you for your rambling. :]

I think they could change, they've already come a long way by realizing that domesticated rats make wonderful pets. Almost everyone knows that rats are intelligent but it took my family awhile to see that they are also affectionate. I think they are more open minded now days, so next time I catch one of them mistreating an animal maybe they will listen to what I have to say.



Voidrae said:


> There is literally no way that torturing another animal is a use. If they think that it is, I suspect their minister needs to give them a stern talking to.
> 
> That kind of brings up the other biblical idea that the world and animals are there for man to use and care for. A truly attentive reader of the bible would likely not conclude that entertainment and hedony are legitimate interpretations of the word "use" and again I doubt that needless killing is "caring for" in any sense of the phrase.


I agree. 

I'm not entirely sure if they actually think torturing animals for entertainment is included in "God's will" or if they just never realized that what they're doing is wrong. So far I've only heard them use that phrase to support raising animals for meat, hunting both for food and sport, or consuming animal products in general. Either way, I've had enough of it and next time I see it happen I'm going to get an actual answer from them.


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## Jessiferatu

Some people just have this disconnect where they don't realize that animals are living, breathing, _feeling_ beings. I don't understand it either.


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## Effy

Jess <3 said:


> If we all report it for animal abuse, will the op be reprimanded and the video taken down? I haven't clicked on it because as soon as i've seen something like that it stay in my head forever but i do think people need the message reinforced that this isn't okay and shouldn't be viewed for entertainment.


*With enough reports, the video would be taken down for sure. I'm not sure on what happens to the person who posted it, I haven't ever been able to find that out.

Wanted to report a video I saw a while back where a woman was beating her daughter with a belt...and I wanted to know how to report the person, not just the video...but never found out....*


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## Voidrae

Effy said:


> *With enough reports, the video would be taken down for sure. I'm not sure on what happens to the person who posted it, I haven't ever been able to find that out.
> 
> Wanted to report a video I saw a while back where a woman was beating her daughter with a belt...and I wanted to know how to report the person, not just the video...but never found out....*


According to my aunt, who is an officer with the sheriff's department, the best way is to contact your local police to get the ball moving properly


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