I was raised to believe that all life was sacred, and that included the lives of animals.

As I grew older, I realized that some animals were raised for human consumption, and although this did not sit well with me, I knew it was the way of the world and accepted it as normal practice. However, I have a problem with the killing of animals for sport, men and weapons and traps that take the lives of innocent creatures. I have several white-tailed deer roaming my yard, and while I often blame them for destroying my plants (and emptying my bird feeders!), I watch them as they tend their young. How could this beautiful creature and its young orphan be sacrificed just to satisfy the need for man to kill?

I work with my local humane society and am amazed at how many cats and dogs are treated cruelly. A cat had been shot in the mouth by a group of teenagers and had been lying in pain for several hours before he was found. He had to undergo a complete jaw reconstruction, at great cost to the owner, and suffered many hours of pain. Another case where a kitten had been placed in a microwave, just so the owner could see how it would react.

Very severe penalties should be imposed on these people who inflict such cruelty, unfortunately they can only be monetary, but at least that could discourage others from doing the same. We are too lenient at this time with those who make animals suffer without remorse.

I watched as some men were setting many geese decoys in a farmer’s field in hopes of encouraging a flock of geese that were migrating south ashore.

Then of course they would proceed to shoot as many as they could before the geese could fly, this is called “sport”. These geese mate for life, so if one is killed by a couple, the other is left crying and facing the rest of his life alone, just one animal, some would say, so what does it matter?

I believe that the punishment for such inhumane treatment should reflect the nature of the crime, and that prison time for severe cases should be a matter of routine and justice for those who cannot speak for themselves.