Almost everyone has a soft spot for our furry friends. To many of us the household pets become more than we could ever imagine. They become family. They become a companion, a sense of comfort. They work their way into our hearts and before we know it we’re in love. These amazing creatures don’t have hate in their hearts they don’t judge us like people, they accept us.

Yet, everyday there are cases where animals are beaten and mistreated. In many situations it ends in death. For example, the Cullman Times has an editorial stating the crime of four teenagers who took a six month old pet goat and tortured it to death. These teenagers bound, beat, roped and dropped the pet from a bridge repeatedly until the animal died.

How could someone repeat an act of torture over and over while hearing the cries of the pain they are inflicting echo in their ears? How can the killing of an innocent animal only result in a misdemeanor? In an abusive case the criminal is only punished with a misdemeanor. Had they stolen the goat it would have been a felony but because it was a family pet the crime wasn’t deemed serious enough for harsher punishment.

An editorial from Delco times list various examples of the many forms of torture people inflict on animals. In one of the cases a 33 year old man had poured rubbing alcohol on a five month old family puppy and set it on fire. The only reasoning the man gave for committing this horrendous act was that the puppy had nipped at him. Yet again, all this act warrants was a misdemeanor.

Not punishing these people who take satisfaction in harming defenseless animals needs to be rectified. A misdemeanor which is nothing more than a slap on the wrist doesn’t justify against what they have done.

These cruel acts against innocent, defenseless animals won’t end unless people and law enforcement become more involved. A simple misdemeanor is not an equivalent punishment for the taking of a life. The way these acts of cruelty are handled won’t change unless more people protest and demand a more justifiable way of handling it. The horrible human beings who can torture animals without batting an eyelid should face harsher punishment.