[Gemme]

Originally Posted by DapperButch

When I read this it angered me and made me feel sad for the family. Their pet was killed. But, then I thought...why does it count as animal cruelty if it is an animal that people kill and eat every day? Hundreds of thousands of turkeys (ok, more than that), are killed and being killed for the Holiday. Is it how a person defines the animal they own that determines the law? It wouldn't be animal cruelty if the Caponi's killed the turkey for their Thanksgiving Dinner.

The "theft of livestock" covers the whole, it wasn't their turkey that they killed, thing.

Just something to think about.

Perhaps it has to do with the manner that the turkey was killed. If the boys prolonged it or did something to cause additional pain and suffering to the bird than what it would take to shoot and kill it, then I can see that.