Chooks beheaded by human not fox: RSPCA

HenryBG said :

So if a fox rips off a chicken’s head, that’s not cruel, but if a human cuts it off, that is cruel? Is that the thinking?

It seems people might be confused over the meaning of the word “cruel”.

The difference is that a fox—an animal by all accounts—acts out of instinct and/or necessity whereas a human being has (or should have) the mental faculties to not only clearly think out and rationalise a problem, but also seek alternatives that do not involve killing defenseless creatures and leaving their decapitated corpses behind.
Foxes are also not as meticulous or careful in how they kill—i.e. they wouldn’t just bite off all the heads and leave no other marks on the corpses. Moreover, they’re unlikely to leave without a prize, especially after they’ve spent all that effort and energy to secure a meal.

Also, the word ‘cruelty’ is often involves premeditation and/or a willful desire to cause pain and suffering for pure enjoyment or malevolence. I can’t see a suburban fox trying to be evil for the hell of it.
And sure, some animal species will often engage in play-hunts and bloodsport, but their instinctual intent is to hone their skills or demonstrate their dominance to others, which is well accepted *animal* behaviour, but in this case and context not at all acceptable for humans.

wildturkeycanoe said :

Sandman said :

chewy14 said :

I’m not suggesting killing other people’s pets is the behaviour of a well adjusted individual, I’m simply saying that it’s more likely to be the result of a neighbourhood dispute than Dexter.

We’ve only been given a poultry amount of evidence here.

Well it is Canberrans nature to jump to conclusions of fowl play. No need for evidence.

It took me 3 years to convince my own family to get rid of our chickens due to the smell and the confinement of their pen. I can imagine that trying to discuss the issue with a know-it-all neighbour would be a futile excercise.
Of course, they could have taken the bodies with them. They do look very clean and fresh. Perhaps a staged occurrence to get some attention?

Some neighbors have regular disgusting smlls drifting over the fence that are not related to animals but rather, their dinner meals. Should one jump the fence and cut the power to their stove?

450m^2 Block?

Alexandra Craig said :

HenryBG said :

““After the veterinary examination, it was clear to see that this was an act of animal cruelty”

What? Their heads were cut off in a cruel way? Doesn’t sound like somebody is giving a rational report there.
The chickens were slaughtered, the owner has suffered a loss. Fair enough, that’s a criminal act.
But the implication that just cutting off a chicken’s head entails criminality sounds like the vegos are trying to persecute normal people.

No, no – a lot of people made the suggestion that this wasn’t done by a person but rather a fox. So the line you quoted is in response to the claims of a fox attack I’m pretty sure.

So if a fox rips off a chicken’s head, that’s not cruel, but if a human cuts it off, that is cruel? Is that the thinking?

It seems people might be confused over the meaning of the word “cruel”.

Sandman said :

chewy14 said :

I’m not suggesting killing other people’s pets is the behaviour of a well adjusted individual, I’m simply saying that it’s more likely to be the result of a neighbourhood dispute than Dexter.

We’ve only been given a poultry amount of evidence here.

Well it is Canberrans nature to jump to conclusions of fowl play. No need for evidence.

It took me 3 years to convince my own family to get rid of our chickens due to the smell and the confinement of their pen. I can imagine that trying to discuss the issue with a know-it-all neighbour would be a futile excercise.
Of course, they could have taken the bodies with them. They do look very clean and fresh. Perhaps a staged occurrence to get some attention?

Some neighbors have regular disgusting smlls drifting over the fence that are not related to animals but rather, their dinner meals. Should one jump the fence and cut the power to their stove?

chewy14 said :

I’m not suggesting killing other people’s pets is the behaviour of a well adjusted individual, I’m simply saying that it’s more likely to be the result of a neighbourhood dispute than Dexter.

We’ve only been given a poultry amount of evidence here.

Well it is Canberrans nature to jump to conclusions of fowl play. No need for evidence.

It took me 3 years to convince my own family to get rid of our chickens due to the smell and the confinement of their pen. I can imagine that trying to discuss the issue with a know-it-all neighbour would be a futile excercise.
Of course, they could have taken the bodies with them. They do look very clean and fresh. Perhaps a staged occurrence to get some attention?

Southmouth said :

Australia has a number of chicken farm/processing plants that churn through 150 000 or so 40 day old chickens per day. If they run 24 hrs a day, that is close to 2 per second. they are suspended by the feet on a high speed conveyor and their necks meet with a v shaped gullotine. Although now that they are mostly Halal certified, the process may have changed. 6 chickens that met with a hatchet is just the old way of achieving the same thing. No cruelty here.

Not all neighbours will fix their noisy animals when you ask nicely and not all people who ask nicely will accept no for an answer

Chickens are … noisy!! Roosters, yes, (dogs, yes) but chickens! A few clucks don’t do ‘noisy’ for me. If allowed to wander though, perhaps the chickens could dig up neighbours’ gardens; if any neighbouring gardens are well kept enough they could be damaged.

Australia has a number of chicken farm/processing plants that churn through 150 000 or so 40 day old chickens per day. If they run 24 hrs a day, that is close to 2 per second. they are suspended by the feet on a high speed conveyor and their necks meet with a v shaped gullotine. Although now that they are mostly Halal certified, the process may have changed. 6 chickens that met with a hatchet is just the old way of achieving the same thing. No cruelty here.

Not all neighbours will fix their noisy animals when you ask nicely and not all people who ask nicely will accept no for an answer

chewy14 said :

Alexandra Craig said :

This is so sad. What kind of psychopath beheads pet chickens for fun? I hate to sound all hysterical but if someone is capable of something like this, what else are they capable of? Scary. Hope the culprit/s is caught and punished accordingly. Feeling for the owners of the chickens 🙁

Surely it’s more likely to be someone who didn’t like the noise and/or smell of the chickens rather than a serial killer in training?

And as Henry says, was it actually cruelty or simply killing the chickens (possibly in a humane manner) like tens of thousands are daily for our food supply?

Yep, as Charlotte said – if you have a problem with someone’s pet you take it up with them or with the relevant local authority. You don’t go into their yard, murder them, and throw their heads into neighbouring yards. Besides being a horrible thing to do, it doesn’t even solve the problem long term. I bet this poor family will end up getting chickens again, possibly this time with a padlock on their run/hutch.

Charlotte Harper said :

Have to say I’m with Alex on this one. If you don’t like the noise or smell of your neighbours’ pet chickens, talk to them about it rather than climbing the fence and ripping their heads off. Killing people’s pets is not on.

I’m not suggesting killing other people’s pets is the behaviour of a well adjusted individual, I’m simply saying that it’s more likely to be the result of a neighbourhood dispute than Dexter.

We’ve only been given a poultry amount of evidence here.

Alexandra Craig said :

This is so sad. What kind of psychopath beheads pet chickens for fun? I hate to sound all hysterical but if someone is capable of something like this, what else are they capable of? Scary. Hope the culprit/s is caught and punished accordingly. Feeling for the owners of the chickens 🙁

Surely it’s more likely to be someone who didn’t like the noise and/or smell of the chickens rather than a serial killer in training?

And as Henry says, was it actually cruelty or simply killing the chickens (possibly in a humane manner) like tens of thousands are daily for our food supply?