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PeteZaHut
Guest
Is it ever justifiable to kill a person in defense of an animal/pet?
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The_Otaku
Guest
Man, that’s a good question. The first, immediate reaction is “NO!” as a human life is never below that of an animal.
But, when you start to entertain hypothetical issues like this and the mind starts to wander you think things like “what if the guy just so happens to be a rapist or something, and he also kills puppies to get his jollies, and he’s after MY dog, and I shoot him, and in so doing, save my dog AND do the world a favor!”
Seriously, though, no. It’s not right or justifiable. It’s understandable, but not justifiable. Even if the situation is dire, you can’t weigh the cost of a human life below that of an animal. Now, if he was killing humans, and it was in self-defense, then that would be another matter.
It’s a tricky question you have really. I think what it requires us to realize is that in shooting/killing the human to save the animal, you are lowering the value of his life to that OF the animals’, and that’s not right.
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MakeUpArtist
Guest
If someone is being brutal to an animal I would think it would be ok to use physical force to defend the innocent creature rather than just sit by at let it happen. The goal shouldn’t be to kill the guy, just protect the animal.
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buffalo
Guest
No.
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MakeUpArtist
Guest
The more I think about this the angrier I get. I could never just sit by and let some sicko brutalize an animal. I honestly at that moment I would value an innocent creature more. People who torture animals are vile.
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buffalo
Guest
Maybe so, but they have a chance until the very last moment of their life. God wants to give them the opportunity so should you.
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The_Otaku
Guest
I feel the same way, and God forgive me, but sometimes animal suffering hurts me more than human suffering. I know it shouldn’t, but it does.
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pnewton
Guest
No, but one could intervene on behalf of the animal, if illegal action was taking place. I can see the situation where such an event could escalate to self-defense. But if this is deemed likely, then intervention would not be wise.
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SwizzleStick
Guest
No. One could defend an animal against cruelty or brutality, but one could not justify actually killing someone in so doing. An animal and a human life are just not comparable, even if the animal happens to be a beloved pet. God gave us dominion over animals and so set us above them. So, while I do not think people should ever mistreat animals, we certainly could not justify killing another person because he/she does so.
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notsmart
Guest
I thought christians did not believe an animal has a immortal soul.
Why would one take the life of an immortal soul, for one who has simply a soul at best, or maybe not at all.
I dont know, I am asking because I just found out what an immortal soul is, and its supposed to live forever no matter its ultimate destiny.
Why would one take the life of an immortal soul, for one who has simply a soul at best, or maybe not at all.
I dont know, I am asking because I just found out what an immortal soul is, and its supposed to live forever no matter its ultimate destiny.
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buffalo
Guest
That is correct. Man has an immortal soul, an animal a mortal soul. Animals are here for the benefit of man. It is a sin to abuse them. God will judge this, but we cannot kill a man for an animal. We should be careful not to fall into “animal worship”.
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notsmart
Guest
Thanks, I only scanned a brief snippet of the library (and accidentally got the immortal soul explaination instead of what I was looking for) so, at least I got that somewhat clearer now.
I dont like the thought of killing, period, although I am sure there are reasons for it. This would be murder though, not killing or did I get that one wrong too?
It makes me think of the book Genesis, where somewhere I remember reading that Abels blood cried out to God. I dont know if any animals blood cried out to God, but I dont know enough about it.
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buffalo
Guest
Killing is different than murder. There are reasons for killing that fall under legitimate defense. You can search the Catechism link I provided for a more thorough explanation.
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MakeUpArtist
Guest
I don’t think anyone is advocating directly killing a person if they are trying to inhumanely kill an animal(I’m not talking about hunting.). I just think we would have a moral duty to not just stand by and let them commit evil even though doing so might risk a confrontation that could lead to the need to use force to protect oneself. The goal is not to kill the person. The goal is to protect the innocent animal.
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Starwynd
Guest
What if the guy is trying to kill the animal in order to commit a crime, such as say kidnapping a child, or trying to kill another human being, or robbing a house?
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MakeUpArtist
Guest
I personally believe the goal would still be to not just stand by, but try to prevent the evil from being done. The goal is never to kill, just use whatever force necessary to stop the evil. There is little way to predict if that could end in death and it rarely does.
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Salonika
Guest
I just hope that if I ever came across someone torturing an animal or killing animals for fun that I had some way of stopping them that did not emulate what they were doing.
Remember that those who abuse animals often move on to abusing/also abuse people, so they need to be stopped.
Remember that those who abuse animals often move on to abusing/also abuse people, so they need to be stopped.
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chevalier
Guest
Yeah.
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bilop
Guest
If you were capable of defending yourself against the attacker, what you could do is physically interpose yourself between the attacker and the animal.
If the attacker then assaulted you, you would be justified in using force, potentially deadly force, against him.
God Bless
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buffalo
Guest
And if you were maimed in the process would it have been worth it?
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