Nicholas Coyle, 19, is facing charges of animal cruelty in Rhode Island after he allegedly killed a rabbit with a hockey stick and used the body as a puck. He is a student at Salve Regina University.
He could now face two years for the alleged abuse.
The school commended other students for coming forward with the information.
There remains a wide disparity in the country in how these cases are treated criminally. On the civil side, observers are generally barred under limitations on the intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress. Generally third parties are barred absent a physical injury or a close family status to the victim. The result is that the criminal code represents the great deterrent to such misconduct.
Source: Washington Post
“The only thing I see that makes folks think that this is a crime is that it is a cute bunny rabbit in their eyes.”
Well that and it’s prohibited by law where it happened. I’m done. I get it, “how things are done in TEXAS” is the only standard that matters to you. To the rest of us, Texas is just one state of fifty, and something can be illegal in one place an legal somewhere else.
I serioiusly doubt it is illegal in the place it happen too. I am amazed that without any facts of the case, you can make a judgement. My best guess is that the kid came out of his dorn with his hockey stick to practice, saw a rabbit, took one hit and killed the rabbit. Since when is that cruelty much less a felony?
In another case Prof Turley cited a jilted lover stabbed a pig well over five plus times with a knife. I don’t think any person or any place, even in Afghanistan would call that anything but animal cruelty.
Sorry but wolves are not being shot to protect ones livestock since they are shot no matter where they are. You still have yet to tell me where or what act is cruel. Is killing a rabbit cruel? Is killing one with a stick cruel? May one only kill a rabbit for good reason? As most folks who have gardens know, rabbits are fierce predators on those too. We kill feral pigs, rats, coyotes, and other such animals without immediate reason other than that they exist and are not too fussy about how it is done. If rabbits are to be protected, then I can see that killing one out of season would be a crime. Yet I see no such thing.
The only thing I see that makes folks think that this is a crime is that it is a cute bunny rabbit in their eyes. I seriously doubt that it took more than one or two hits to kill the thing. So it is hardly cruelty. Trapping coyotes is really cruel, but we do it. I guess that setting a rabbit trap would be cruel too?
“Glad to hear that Wyoming outlaws killing wolves according to your interpretation of this statute. Though last I heard they were killing and mutilating them without mercy or even need. So I hope to see more killers of wolves being charged with a felony.”
Beating a rabbit with a hockey stick is the same as defending your livestock from a predator? Good to know. I didn’t mention the predator exemption (which is explicate in another part of the law) because we weren’t talking about wolves, I also didn’t mention the exemption for Rodeo events. I quoted the WY statute because you keep framing this situation as “those darn city folk don’t know how to deal with animals,” and I wanted to provide an example of a state that’s most definitely rural with a statute that the kid could be charged under.
“Thus to say that he is guilty of a felony is absurd based soley on the type of animal. Rabbits are pests and in Texas there is NO season on killing them or even a need for a license. So simply killing a rabbit is NOT a crime, nor is beating one to death one. Then using it as a hockey puck is the second element of the alleged crime. I know of no law against that either. ”
See, there you go again. You go from claiming that “Then the fact is that place, time, and mores play more of a role than being any one univeral set of rules,” to implying that since it’s legal in Texas the felony punishment MUST be absurd. We get it, Texas has different laws. Those laws have absolutely nothing to do with the situation at hand, because it didn’t happen in Texas. If you want to be consistent you either get to argue that this is an absurd case because there’s a universal standard of what’s cruelty to animals and this is not it, or you get to argue that cruelty to animals depends on the situation and the laws where-ever the event took place.
Of course if you’re just interested in showing silly urbanites how it works in the REAL world, then you can certainly keep trying to have it both ways, and I’ll leave you to it.
Randy,
Cut the “stupid city folk” schtick. Here’s an animal cruelty law in Wyoming:
“6-3-203 Cruelty to animals; penalties; limitation on manner of destruction.
(a) A person commits cruelty to animals if he knowingly and with intent to cause death, injury or undue suffering:
(i) Overrides, drives when overloaded, tortures or torments an animal or deprives an animal of necessary sustenance; or
(ii) Unnecessarily or cruelly beats, injures, mutilates or kills an animal; or
(iii) Carries an animal in a manner that poses undue risk of injury or
death. ”
Colorado has almost verbatim language.
I’m pretty sure the good folk in both states can tell a coyote from a dog.
You can’t have it both ways, either we judge the criminality of the kids allegedly actions based on where it happened, so you can’t compare it to where you live where it’s not a crime, or there’s some universal definition of “Animal Cruelty” in which case, we do get to judge the kid based on his actions.
Glad to hear that Wyoming outlaws killing wolves according to your interpretation of this statute. Though last I heard they were killing and mutilating them without mercy or even need. So I hope to see more killers of wolves being charged with a felony.
Of course, this kid is charged killed a bunny rabbit. There are any number of ways people view such an animal. I view them as pests, food, dog food and hunting prey, and pets. I don’t know the exact circumstances of the case, but given how fast our rabbits are in the wild, it would be quite a feat for any person to catch and kill one with a hockey stick. My guess is that it was a tame rabbit that was a mascot for some of the students, so he probably hit it and killed it with one or two blows since it was not used to viewing people as a threat. They are not that hardy, so more than one or two blows with a stick that size would casue death rather quickly. I know that had it been a rat or other such vermin, we would not be talking about this at all and that had he killed a tame rat, and done the same, there would be no charges. Thus to say that he is guilty of a felony is absurd based soley on the type of animal. Rabbits are pests and in Texas there is NO season on killing them or even a need for a license. So simply killing a rabbit is NOT a crime, nor is beating one to death one. Then using it as a hockey puck is the second element of the alleged crime. I know of no law against that either.
Then we have the case of bullfighting, which many people here would think is animal cruelty, but which a good part of the world thinks of as a sport. I guess that such people who watch such sports are bloodthirsty killers of humans too according to many on this site.
I suppose that any person who saw me kill a coyote pup with a stick would think that I was killing a dog. Was that animal cruelty and a felony? Fortunately, in our community there are few who would say so. In a suburban environment, that would not be the case,unless some of the neighbors had lost some pets to them. My wife chases rats and mice with a stick to try and kill the unoffending critters. I suppose many folks who have such things as pets might think so.
Since rabbits are not a very hardy animal, I think that hitting a rabbit more than once or twice would kill it. So I fail to see torture in that. Had he strapped it down and done as our biologists used to do and cut it open while living and with no anesthetic and just for the “thrill” of it, THEN I would say there is something wrong there and indeed is torturing animals.
My point is that since we do not know the facts, and the sitiuation, nor the mind of the person, I think it is more than premature at the very least to pronounce him guilty and a felon to boot. Then the fact is that place, time, and mores play more of a role than being any one univeral set of rules.
It is absurd to say that therefore, such actions constitute a threat and a crime to the rest of society. I guess that all those who think it was a crime will have to hate Hemingway and all countries and people who enjoy bullfighting. If they are serious about that idea, then we must prohibit such people from such countries from coming here. Since they obviously enjoy torturing animals, they will progress to kiling human beings here.
Asssuming that the kid committed a crime, does the punishment fit the seriousness of it? Is it worth being a felony and the loss of the right to vote, own firearms, and banned from many professions? Then I am sure he will get to be a more humane, forgiving, and loving person by a stint in prison. Such places are known for their educational ability in getting people to change in that fashion.
“We’ve got a system set up that allows for the killing of animals in the ways that cause the least amount of pain. ”
It allows for it, but does not insist upon it, as posts in this blogs have demonstrated in regard to Jewish and Muslim slaughterhouse customs. A substantial percentage of U.S. meat comes from animals who suffered quite dramatically at time of slaughter.
I, too, wonder if there was an actual crime perpetrated by this boy, although I fear for his psychological state.
Unfortunately, there are some out there who “get off” on abusing animals, just like there are some that “get off” on abusing children. It is good that neither of them get much sympathy in the court of public opinion and the court of law.
What one might say is that should a social revolution ever come to this land there might be at least 50,000 congenital degenerates like A.R.E. that need to be put down as unredeemable incorrigible miscreants.
bron
feral hogs taste kinda gamey and are tougher and stringier than farm raised pork. cook it long enough and with a good sauce and you’d never know the difference.
but if someone can’t tell the difference between killing and butchering an animal for food and beating one to death and playing a game with the carcass then there’s not much i can say.
Arthur,
“Where is the crime? I killed lots of rabbits with a stick and dressed them out for food. There was a coyote pup, a copperhead, and assorted other pests that I killed with a stick. Is that animal cruelty?”
When you killed them with a stick did they suffer needlessly? If so, quite possibly. I know that rabbit harvesting often involves a blow to the back of the head with a stick, but that blow’s precisely placed to kill the rabbit instantly. Do you think that a kid with a hockey stick is going to be able to do that?
We’ve got a system set up that allows for the killing of animals in the ways that cause the least amount of pain.
Before you dismiss me as someone who thinks all meat starts off in steak form: 3/4 of the meat my family eats is killed and butchered by me.
ARE:
there you go.
Question? Did your wife heat the rabbit up for the dog or just give it to him cold?
Feral pigs are a huge problem. If you could wrangle them you could open a BBQ joint and have a very low food cost. How do they taste?
No she gave it to her cold. It was mostly the head and ears so we didn;t get any meat off of it. I think that what most people don’t know is that when you grab a rabbit, they sound like a baby crying. The rabbit dstress call is the dinner call of the animal kingdom. When I killed them, they made a cry when you grabbed them by the ears and hit them in the head.
I have not tasted feral pig but my backdoor neighbor has a pack of coon hounds he uses for hunting them. I will have to ask him if he has any extra pig next time he goes hunting.
Statistically he is a future murderer.
Where is the crime? I killed lots of rabbits with a stick and dressed them out for food. There was a coyote pup, a copperhead, and assorted other pests that I killed with a stick. Is that animal cruelty? We sure do NOT need more coyotes in Texas or feral pigs for that matter. I am damned tired of ubanites who think that food comes from the supermarket and that all animals are cuddly and worth saving. I am a big defender of wolves now because they are endangered, but when they get to be more numerous, then I will be in favor of hunting and killing them too.
How is it “cruel” to use a dead rabbit as a puck? Insensitive to some people and not a very good puck, but it is hardly criminal. My dogs love rabbits and they hunt them and even gave me one. Our dog was smart enough so that when she could not eat the whole thing she brought it in the house. My wife put the partially eaten rabbit in a baggie and put it in the fridge so the dog could have it later as a snack. Is that cruel?
I am curious as to how he got close enough to the rabbit to kill it? Did the rabbit have rabies and attacked ala Jimmy Carter or did the kid just get lucky [a matter of perspective]?
I would fine him for hunting out of season. Once the animal is dead, it isnt cruel to use it as a hockey puck, stupid yes.
At least he didnt bring it up to my porch still alive and kicking and start tearing the fur and skin from its body while it was screaming.
Cats, cant train em, cant shoot em, but I guess we love them anyway. Although I wonder why at times.
In the meantime, a certain former president remains unchanged for violating the Convention Against Torture and launching a war of aggression that resulted in the death of 100,000 human beings.
This kid is not going to have an easy time in the ‘big house.’ It may seem paradoxical, but many of the most hardened antisocial criminals are animal lovers. People who abuse animals are right up there with child molesters, in the eyes of the prison general population.
Spending a couple of years on the PC unit (protective custody) will not be fun.
to quote Don Rickles, “you’re really quite the hockey puck aren’t you?”
Was using the body as a puck the part that went too far? I assume that he could have wiggled out of killing the rabbit with a hockey stick.
Like Blackwater at Falluja.