Drowning a bird

[Hedgefrog]

Our cat is almost a year old, and she loves to kill birds! :(

So one time she had attacked one and it was nearly dead, there were feather all over our back garden and so the poor thing was lying have dead and so my dad got a bucket of water and put it in and held it down in the bucket until it died of drowning! :( I was really upset at my dad but I suppose he did it for the things sake because it was suffering, but I personally would have left it for nature to take its course and let the thing die in a more natural way.

What do you think?
What would you have done?

:confused:

[Tofu]

I couldn't have done that either. I would have left it to nature as painful as it is to see animals suffer. It's a tough one.

[1vegan]

I'd say it would be better for the animal to die instantly, but I couldn't do it myself.

[Hedgefrog]

I just wouldn't have been able to do it. I'd feel so guilty, and to watch it die..ahh no!

[Max Power]

I feel ya. Although it's a cat so can't we feel less-bad about it because it's natural instinct? Natural death or not, it's less pain for the bird, no?

Years and years ago some kids in the 'hood were pounding a garden snake with stones. It was still alive, but in a bad way. I got my mom's garden shovel and made the oldest of the kids lop its head off and throw it in the creek.

[spa_girl]

Drowning seems like a scary death to me... I am OK with putting the bird out of its misery, but there must have been a quicker, more humane way to do it. I wouldn't want to die that way (being held underwater).

[808veggie]

Buddha teaches us that even to "put an animal out of its' misery" is killing. It is wrong. This is the course of nature.

[borealis]

Drowning is a quicker death than lying around with your guts hanging out for minutes or hours.

My cat left a mouse half-dead. There was no hope of it recovering, so I put it in the snow to freeze to death. I felt this was the most painless end I could give it. I was not brave enough to just break its neck.

I think the bird-drowning man was trying to do what he thought best. Maybe it wasn't truly the best thing to do -- maybe there was a better way to do it -- but it sounds like his intention was to put it out of its misery. I can't find fault with that. It takes a certain kind of strength to do that.

[Tame]

Originally posted by 808veggie
Buddha teaches us that even to "put an animal out of its' misery" is killing. It is wrong. This is the course of nature.

Ending suffering is wrong? Eh, whatever. Guess that's why I never put any stock in what Buddha supposedly said.

[Max Power]

Originally posted by 808veggie
Buddha teaches us that even to "put an animal out of its' misery" is killing. It is wrong. This is the course of nature.
Like every religion that is based in pre-history (and many that aren't) the actual "original" teachings are marred by centuries of interpretation. What the Buddha teaches and what he taught cannot be assumed to be the same.

Based on my education in Buddhism, it would seem to me that the problem here is which is worse: Killing an animal qua murderous act, or allowing undue pain and suffering by showing depraved indifference in letting it die "naturally". I believe, if the animal is NOT in "natural pain" (i.e. is in pain at the hands of another human being) it would be acceptable to put it out of its suffering. I believe the Buddhist thing to do is to meditate briefly on the matter, and then act.

[spa_girl]

You go, Mr. Power!

[soilman]

According to veterinarians the most humane way to kill an animal, in the absence of special equipment, is stun and exsanguinate. Knock it over the head until it is unconscious, then cut open a main artery until it pumps all its blood out. There are main arteries in the neck. If you cut it's head off you should have to go thru a main artery first, in order to do so.

[*sprout*]

I really wud never wana die of drowning so i wud never drown it i think maybe the best thing is to leave it or unless its gona take foever to die and its really really suffering cut its head off
I know how ya feel tho my cats catch birds mice rats and moles alll the time
ITs nastyest when i find just the heads lying around and when my cats are playing with it !! ugh !

[Roy]

Microwave ovens work great for dispatching badly injured birds.

[thefragile77]

I remember when my parents had to 'put down' my mice. They had huge cancerous lumps and one day they just 'ran away'. *sniff* I believed them until a few years ago when my brother's mouse had the same problem and my dad drowned it (AND bawled his eyes out while he was doing it :( ). Mine were put in a paper bag and they just ran out of air.

I could do it although it would hurt - I'm a supporter of euthanasia though so...

[kirkjobsluder]

I always take our rats to the vet. Having been put under general anesthesia a couple of times it is pretty much painless.

[DirtDiva]

I don't even want to ask how you know this Roy ... sick sick sick

[epski]

So, how long before Roy is banned? Oh, wait. I should start a new poll thread for that.

Soilman's post is correct, which is why the slaughterhouses are supposed to operate the way they're supposed to operate: Stun and exsanguinate.

[Roy]

Why should I be banned?
Banned for telling the truth?
I know of a egg farm that uses a heavy-duty microwave to dispatch sick hens. And I'll show pics if you want.

[Rubberhead]

Don't fool yourselves. This cat is not part of nature and doesn't deserve the chance to kill wild, native birds. Your cat should be kept indoors all the time. Feral cats are estimated to kill one Billion (with a “B”) wild birds annually in the US. One source estimates 217 million wild birds in Wisconsin alone.

Feral cats are non-discriminatory killers too. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Kirklands warbler or a house sparrow.

The bird you drowned might have been part of an endangered species and certainly was an endangered individual.

[Max Power]

Originally posted by soilman
Knock it over the head until it is unconscious, then cut open a main artery until it pumps all its blood out. There are main arteries in the neck. If you cut it's head off you should have to go thru a main artery first, in order to do so.
Umm... Pummel and sever are the most humane ways?? Without special equipment?? I don't know about you guys, especially butcherman here, but I'm probably going to have a hard-enough time figuring out if I've pummelled enough, let-alone figuring out where to do the surgery...

[Sevenseas]

I have read that the "ordinary human's" ability to determine whether an injured animal is going to survive or not is not very good. So one should really think before killing, but if the animal is in horrible pains, the best option is of course putting an end to its misery. (I don't think it matters what Buddha is thought to have said on the subject, although I'd think letting a being suffer unnecessarily cannot be a good thing in the view of Buddhism.)

And yes, cats should be kept indoors and walked outside. If they have enough "entertainment", like people or other cats playing with them, they don't have to use their hunter instinct on birds or other animals. And a bell in the cat's neck is a good idea, it warns the potential "victims".