Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1913-05-03

steer he has bought, and is not leg
ally guilty OF cruelty since his act is
In the accomplishment of q lawful
purpose. But II he slaughters the
steer In a needlessly cruel manner
he becomes guilty Of cruelty to ami
mails. Thus a butcher who dismem-
bered hogs and plunged them into
boiling water before they We're dead,
in the process of slaughterim and
dressing them, was punished for cruel
ty to animals. Further, a needless
wanton killing, even though unaccom-
panied by any torture has been pun
ished as cruelty" and that though
was chicken
Cock-fighting Is quite generally
held to be cruelty to animals within
the terms OF the ordinary statute.
Releasing a captive fox and permit
ting 1t to be hunted by dogs. who
tear and mangle 1t, has been punish
ed az a criminal act Shooting cap
tive pigeons for sport or to improve
Workmanship, has been held to con-
stitute legal cruelty by some courts;
but others have held that where
the wounded birds were at once
killed and with those birds shot dead
used for food, the killing was justi-
fable. We need not remark that the
familiar case Of the old lady who
protested against the shooting OF
clay pigeons as being cruelty to ami
mails failed.
Overdriving or overlooking horses
and work-animals are familiar forms
OF cruelty and are frequently punish
ed. Driving animals whcih are unfit
to work is also CRUELTY. The cruelty
may consist of a passive act of ne
elect as we'll as an active abuse or
The man who left
his horse hitched to the buggy, stand
Ing In the woods for over twenty
four hours, without food or water,
was held guilty Of cruelty. Transpor-
tation of animals for like periods OF
time without food, water or exercise,
has also been held cruelty.
Some juries have ruled that dehoGn
ing cattle was cruelty, because un-
necessary and unreasonable; but gen
orally a different view Is taken, and
If the act 10 customary In the com
munity, skillfully performed and for
proper purposes no legal liability at
taches. Working a dog In q tread
mill Ia not in itself cruelty; but
harsh and unreasonable treatment
of a dog in treadmill was held
criminal.
Unnecessary and unreasonable beat
Ing Is a commonly punished form OF
cruelty to animals. Poisoning Is also
cruelty where there Is no justifica-
ton for the action. Hacking pig
with an axe and permitting 1t to lie
wounded and without attention, pour
ing turpentine on a chicken and set
ting fire to it, and keeping a horse
with badly diseased leg In pas
ture in which In order to support life
by grazing 1t was inevitably put to
great pain have caused criminal con-
victiO0s.
That .unjustifiable killing is cruel
ty has been stated. One man killed
chickens which had invaded his gar
den to eat his peas, and for so do
Ing was subject to prosecution for
cruelty to animals. The court stat
ed that his proper remedy to pro-
tect his garden was to impound the
chickens until their owner made good
the loss, or to sue for damages.
The owner Of an animal, IL cruel
to 1t, is as liable as others under
most of the statutes. One who adj
vises the doing OF cruel act may
be convicted as an alder and Rbet-
tor. A man who melted q dog to
attack and tear q COW was held gull.
ty.
Prosecutions for cruelty to animals,
being criminal, are generally insti-
tuted and conducted by the public
Any person, noticing AMI
act OF cruelty that should be re-
may bring the matter to the
attention of the prosecutor, who will
then act.