Here’s an interesting piece from Monday’s NYT which provides an overview of some recent debates about appropriate punishment for animal cruelty. Laws against animal cruelty vary widely, and perpetrators tend not to receive very serious sentences. (Michael Vick is a good example–he wasn’t charged with animal cruelty, but instead with running an illegal dog fighting operation. You can read more about the specific charges here.)
As I read this article, I was struck in particular by this image of the cat, looking straight at the viewer. This is a portrait of an individual, and therefore harder for us to see as a “stray cat,” or as Alice Walker might say as “just an animal.”
Sources for this post
Clifford, Stephanie. “He Kicked a Stray Cat and Activists Growled.” NYT. 9/20/14. Print
Nonhuman Rights Project. Website.
Walker, Alice. “Am I Blue?” Tom Regan and Andrew Linzey, eds. Other Nations: Animals in Modern Literature. Baylor UP, 2010.
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