Is it wrong to kill animals?

[catholicboy2]

Today when I was out on our hill pulling weeds, I noticed a large amount of what looked like snake holes (I don’t know if they were made by one snake or many). When I was picking up the debris from the weeds I was chopping, I realized it was right next to a snake hole. I at first was frightened and scared and without really thinking about it, I used the masheti I was using to chop weeds with to close the hole with dirt. Either immediately or very soon I realized I shouldn’t have done that (since I find that even killing animals for food or any other reasons makes me feel bad and sorry for them) and moved the dirt away so the hole was open again. Now I realize that killing animals for the mere pleasure of killing them is bad, and when I closed the snake hole I can’t really remember what exactly how I felt about it since I kind of did it without really thinking it through, but most likely for fear a snake might come out and bite me. So now my questions are: Would my case be bad? Even though I can’t really figure out what made me do it (I’m pretty sure that I didn’t do it because I wanted to enjoy it dying), and I reopened it right after that.
Are there any other reasons why killing animals is bad besides just wanting to enjoy it dying?

 

[ready]

You weren’t being bad; you were afraid. Its only bad to be cruel to animals and to kill them for bad reasons. Killing an animal to eat or to protect yourself from harm is not bad.

 

[RosaryCrusader]

Despite what society will tell you animals have no rights. Rights are God given and are proper only to man who is made in the image and likeness of God. Animals were put here for our use and the act of killing them, for whatever reason, is not sinful. It can become sinful when the motivations are rebellious in nature to God or arises from some other sin ,as in the case of expressing hatred or disgust for life, but the taking of animal life in itself is not sinful.

In your case there was nothing wrong at all and my philosophy is: the only good snake is a dead snake

 

[ProVobis]

Sorry, my cats are my kids. Even the Pope loves them.

 

[North_of_Nod]

You weren’t being bad; you were afraid. Its only bad to be cruel to animals and to kill them for bad reasons. Killing an animal to eat or to protect yourself from harm is not bad.

I agree with Ready. You weren’t really killing for the sake of killing. You were understandably afraid, and all you did was close the snake hole. Animals really don’t have rights as such, but we should try to avoid hurting them unnecessarily. If you had been torturing a cat, that would have been cruel. But what you did was perfectly fine.

 

[catholicboy2]

I just wanted to point out that after I re-opened the hole I realized that the snake track had alternative openings since the track was very long and it was a high possibility that the snake’s been dead for a very long time possibly even years, but I don’t know for sure. But no matter what I still took the dirt away so the snake can leave from there too.
Some of you may thing I’m a little weird about this kind of stuff but I just feel bad about animals that way.

 

[North_of_Nod]

I just wanted to point out that after I re-opened the hole I realized that the snake track had alternative openings since the track was very long and it was a high possibility that the snake’s been dead for a very long time possibly even years, but I don’t know for sure. But no matter what I still took the dirt away so the snake can leave from there too.
Some of you may thing I’m a little weird about this kind of stuff but I just feel bad about animals that way.

No worries. You’re obviously a deeply compassionate person, which is a good thing. God bless.

 

[ready]

No worries. You’re obviously a deeply compassionate person, which is a good thing. God bless.

I agree!

 

[rfpapcun]

Yes, animals have no rights.

The only reason why it is immoral to be cruel to animals is not because of the animals, but because of us – it is degrading to our humanity and what that ought to entail.

 

[BlyssfulDreamer]

Despite what society will tell you animals have no rights. Rights are God given and are proper only to man who is made in the image and likeness of God. Animals were put here for our use and the act of killing them, for whatever reason, is not sinful. It can become sinful when the motivations are rebellious in nature to God or arises from some other sin ,as in the case of expressing hatred or disgust for life, but the taking of animal life in itself is not sinful.

In your case there was nothing wrong at all and my philosophy is: the only good snake is a dead snake

I disagree. I don’t think animals were put on this earth by our Lord to take any enjoyment from killing them. While they may not have any rights…* per se*…the act of killing them for anything but food and in self-defense is just plain wrong. Many murderers were animals abusers and killers as children.

I also believe that those animals who are here to provide food for us should be treated humanely while they are alive and when they die. It is abhorrent to me to hear about the way these animals are treated. They are living breathing creatures after all.

As Gandhi said…“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress is judged by how its animals are treated.” I couldn’t agree more.

 

[Bluegoat]

I would say what you did wasn’t a sin, since you thought better of it and changed what you had done. People often do the wrong thing when first confronting a new and unexpected situation; if it is a sin, I think it is of the smallest kind.

As for animals, the Church makes it clear that humans may use animals for legitimate purposes like eating or doing work, or may kill animals that are proving dangerous.

And we know that cruel treatment of animals reflects badly on people, or using them thoughtlessly. But why? After all, no one complains of cruelty if you beat a stone.

Each created thing has its own nature given to it by God, and its purpose in creation as a whole. How we as humans behave toward any part of creation must reflect these things. All ethical questions really come down to this - are you using that thing in the right way at the right time?

With animals, there is some information that is revealed by scripture and through what the Church tells us. But we can also look at the creatures themselves to see how we are meant to relate to them. Many animals feel pain and fear. What does this tell us about their purpose and how God wants us to treat them. Many also are beautiful, or amazing, or reveal fascinating things about nature to us. What does that tell us? And many have a role to play beyond how they relate to us. Snakes, for example, are excellent predators of small animals and insects, which also can plague humans. We also need to remember that sometimes, or even often, the role of a particular creature is not obvious to us.

 

[Wesley7]

For food no, for sport maybe.

 

[thiscatholickid]

Today when I was out on our hill pulling weeds, I noticed a large amount of what looked like snake holes (I don’t know if they were made by one snake or many). When I was picking up the debris from the weeds I was chopping, I realized it was right next to a snake hole. I at first was frightened and scared and without really thinking about it, I used the masheti I was using to chop weeds with to close the hole with dirt. Either immediately or very soon I realized I shouldn’t have done that (since I find that even killing animals for food or any other reasons makes me feel bad and sorry for them) and moved the dirt away so the hole was open again. Now I realize that killing animals for the mere pleasure of killing them is bad, and when I closed the snake hole I can’t really remember what exactly how I felt about it since I kind of did it without really thinking it through, but most likely for fear a snake might come out and bite me. So now my questions are: Would my case be bad? Even though I can’t really figure out what made me do it (I’m pretty sure that I didn’t do it because I wanted to enjoy it dying), and I reopened it right after that.
Are there any other reasons why killing animals is bad besides just wanting to enjoy it dying?

I think its a matter of conscience. If you feel bad about killing animals, don’t do it. And if it happens, well, have a moment of silent meditation or whatever it takes to reconcile yourself.

Killing something to enjoy it dying is indeed a very terrible thing. The spiritual focus however isn’t on the animal, but rather the malicious thoughts and obviously disturbed state of the person killing it. As we are taught, simply hating someone is like murder.

When I was a child I killed ants for the fun of it. But looking back I don’t see it as a sin because there was no real malicious intent or hate.

I also come from a family that does spend time hunting, and doesn’t necessarily always hunt for food.

Hunting for sport isn’t for everyone, but I don’t find it a sin since I’d say most of the times there is no deep malicious intent.

So its really up to your personal conscience.

 

[thiscatholickid]

I disagree. I don’t think animals were put on this earth by our Lord to take any enjoyment from killing them. While they may not have any rights…* per se*…the act of killing them for anything but food and in self-defense is just plain wrong. Many murderers were animals abusers and killers as children.

I also believe that those animals who are here to provide food for us should be treated humanely while they are alive and when they die. It is abhorrent to me to hear about the way these animals are treated. They are living breathing creatures after all.

As Gandhi said…“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress is judged by how its animals are treated.” I couldn’t agree more.

Men posses souls, as they are made in the image of God. Animals do not.

Because they do not have souls, they are purely material things. Just as important in the story of eternity as a rock or a tree. Now that may sound harsh, but its just a fact. I have a dog and a cat whom I love dearly and often times ‘connect’ with. But that is just value my consciousness has assigned them based on how we interact.

The simple act of killing an animal is in itself not sinful or even ethically wrong. We kill living organisms when we wash our hands with soap. We dont feel any guilt over it because our minds havent assigned any ‘value’ to those bacteria and critters. The same way we don’t assign value to ground beef, because our only ‘interaction’ with ground beef is strictly self serving.

Similarly, hunting for sport assigns a different value to animals than pets. That value is unemotional and instead of being based on our relationmship with the animal, our value is placed to either the animals hide, meat, or the ‘sport’ of capturing it.

The only time killing an animal or creature becomes sinful is if the ‘value’ assigned to it is malicious. If it is done out of hate, or out of a sadistic love of causing pain. Such emotions are evil, and can cause the action to become sinful.

It is way too extreme to say that killing animals for anything other than self defense or food is a sin.

 

[Bluegoat]

Men posses souls, as they are made in the image of God. Animals do not.

Because they do not have souls, they are purely material things. Just as important in the story of eternity as a rock or a tree. Now that may sound harsh, but its just a fact. I have a dog and a cat whom I love dearly and often times ‘connect’ with. But that is just value my consciousness has assigned them based on how we interact.

The simple act of killing an animal is in itself not sinful or even ethically wrong. We kill living organisms when we wash our hands with soap. We dont feel any guilt over it because our minds havent assigned any ‘value’ to those bacteria and critters. The same way we don’t assign value to ground beef, because our only ‘interaction’ with ground beef is strictly self serving.

Similarly, hunting for sport assigns a different value to animals than pets. That value is unemotional and instead of being based on our relationmship with the animal, our value is placed to either the animals hide, meat, or the ‘sport’ of capturing it.

The only time killing an animal or creature becomes sinful is if the ‘value’ assigned to it is malicious. If it is done out of hate, or out of a sadistic love of causing pain. Such emotions are evil, and can cause the action to become sinful.

It is way too extreme to say that killing animals for anything other than self defense or food is a sin.

According to the Church, animals, and plants too, do have souls - not, however, immortal ones. Thomas talks about this.

 

[ready]

Similarly, hunting for sport assigns a different value to animals than pets. That value is unemotional and instead of being based on our relationmship with the animal, our value is placed to either the animals hide, meat, or the ‘sport’ of capturing it.

The only time killing an animal or creature becomes sinful is if the ‘value’ assigned to it is malicious. If it is done out of hate, or out of a sadistic love of causing pain. Such emotions are evil, and can cause the action to become sinful.

It is way too extreme to say that killing animals for anything other than self defense or food is a sin.

I agree and I believe that is what the Church teaches.

 

[Eddie_Mac]

Sorry, my cats are my kids. Even the Pope loves them.

You should not give animals human characteristics.

We have owned animals we loved very much, but when it was time to put them down we did so. I would not euthanize one of my children.

I would never favor one of my animals over a human.

Eddie Mac

 

[occupant]

the fact that animals are here is just more glory to God.
i don’t eat animals, try to stay away from their by-products but i do so out of penance. i think it’s fine to eat them, although i believe eating them is a waste of resources which could go to those without food, bad for your body, etc…
going out to kill animals for “sport” seems savage to me.
doing it to defend yourself/family/others, okay.

 

[BlyssfulDreamer]

Because they do not have souls, they are purely material things. Just as important in the story of eternity as a rock or a tree. Now that may sound harsh, but its just a fact. I have a dog and a cat whom I love dearly and often times ‘connect’ with. But that is just value my consciousness has assigned them based on how we interact.

The simple act of killing an animal is in itself not sinful or even ethically wrong. We kill living organisms when we wash our hands with soap. We dont feel any guilt over it because our minds havent assigned any ‘value’ to those bacteria and critters. The same way we don’t assign value to ground beef, because our only ‘interaction’ with ground beef is strictly self serving.

Similarly, hunting for sport assigns a different value to animals than pets. That value is unemotional and instead of being based on our relationmship with the animal, our value is placed to either the animals hide, meat, or the ‘sport’ of capturing it.

The only time killing an animal or creature becomes sinful is if the ‘value’ assigned to it is malicious. If it is done out of hate, or out of a sadistic love of causing pain. Such emotions are evil, and can cause the action to become sinful.

It is way too extreme to say that killing animals for anything other than self defense or food is a sin.

I disagree. A tree or stone cannot feel pain, animals can. To put animals in the same category is just ludicrous and no doubt makes it easier for those who do enjoy killing them to do it without a tinge of conscience.

I will not even going into hunting, as I know many like it and deem it a “sport.”

 

[thiscatholickid]

I disagree. A tree or stone cannot feel pain, animals can. To put animals in the same category is just ludicrous and no doubt makes it easier for those who do enjoy killing them to do it without a tinge of conscience.

I will not even going into hunting, as I know many like it and deem it a “sport.”

The whole point of my post wasn’t to lower our friendly neighborhood cat to the level of a rock. I was just saying that animals are finite in the absolute sense of the word.

Their lives and deaths are of no consequence to the eternal scheme of things.

However, killing them out of hate or sadistic pleasure is sinful, unethical, and morally bankrupt. Just as hate or the will to cause pain is sinful in any situation.

But the mental disposition of the person is what makes it sinful, not the fact that an animal is dying.

Our minds assign values to everything in our lives. Usually based on emotional connection. Its why our dog of 10 years is valued higher than a goldfish, or why a special painting in our home is valued more than a different one serving as bathroom art.

But in a purely logical sense, life is life. The thousands of living organisms we kill when we wash our hands with soap have absolutely no value to us, while a pet can be extremely dear. Even though in both cases the creatures are alive.

Its all in our heads.
If we kill a deer for sport, the value we put on the animal is “game”.
If we kill it for food, the value is “meat”
If we kill it for some strange sadistic love for causing harm, the value is the animal’s “pain”

And in that third case, it is inherently sinful.

The catholic church shares this same position with just about any sin that can be debated as either ‘mortal’ or ‘venial’.