quote:
Is there any difference between sticking an arrow in a deer and having it roam around for hours hurt and bleeding or two dogs fighting?
This is the TO and Woopy Goldberg argument.
For starters one is illegal and one is legal.
Secondly, the hunters I know (including myself) don't derive pleasure from suffering. Even though killing is involved in hunting, I have gone many years without getting a deer and still enjoy the activity - regardless of the kill. The meat from the animal is consumed just like with other farm animals. Fishing also involves taking the life of a living organism but most people don't consider that in the same vein.
In contrast, Vick clearly enjoyed the activity beyond just the sport of gambling on two dogs fighting which is cruel enough in itself. He financed the operation and meated out severe and cruel punishment for low performing dogs. Since we are analogizing this to hunting, he could have done many things to the dogs that were not performing to expectations. He could have nursed them back to health. He could have been kind to them but aparently this distracts from their ferocity. He could have taken them to the humane society. He could have used a .22 caliber bullet and ended things instantly. Instead, he chose electrocution, hanging, starvation, isolation, drowning, and slamming to the ground for example which are all forms of non-instantaneous death. This tells me he enjoyed seeing living things suffer beyond merely wagering on their demise. In my mind that makes him a sadist and also a creep. Other than that, hunting and dog fighting are the same