Filming a cat's agony, 'for fun'.

[snook]

I read in this mornings Mirror another story of 'yobs' mistreating a cat. They threw it from a balcony, again and again, and filmed it, 'for fun'. What's making kids act like this? Who's to blame? What should be done about it? If you were in a position of authority how would you address the situation?

[WoWo]

Personally I don't think the kids of today are any different from when I was a kid. The difference is that when I was a kid I knew that if I did something wrong I was going to get in to trouble. These days nothing ever gets done and it spirals from there.

The problem is that for my generation it was little things like a smack on the legs in the early days that set me on the striaght and narrow. When I was older it wasn't that my parents could actually do anything but simply that I had been taught right from wrong early on, I knew the significance of my actions, i.e. hitting my sister got me a smack, therefore don't hit your sister.

I also think it's partly to do with easy access to media in that I'm sure kids were throwing cats of a balcony 20 years ago the difference now is they have video mobiles to capture it.

[Greggo']

I agree with WoWo,

Yobs have always been around doing mindless things, which I agree is sick. The difference is today they have technology to hand to record their actions.

Thankfully it still only remains a small population of youngsters carrying out the 'happy slapping' craze. The good thing about catching their actions on their own phones is that it's easier for the police to prove their guilt, should they find the footage, which they normally do.

[andy-hughes]

Looking for a rational reason for this behaviour is pointless - there isnm't one. If you asked one of the youths why they did this, he would say he didn;t kjnow, and he'd be telling the truth. People like this are sociopaths - they have no concept or right and wrong, behaviour in terms of consequences.

There is no easy answer - certainly not the government's 'respect' agenda, which like 'who wants to be a millionaire?' sounds fabulous, but there is rather more to it than an attractive buzz phrase.

We live in a society where the concept of actions impacting on othes is fast disappearing, and until this is addressed, behaviour like this will only get worse.

[noxlumos]

Quite agree with you andy. We are currently not concentrating on the right things with our very young children. We send out the message that having nice stuff is more important than anything, that people's feelings don't matter and that the fastest, biggest, most aggressive person always gets the prize.We place seven year old kids under extreme pressure to pass SATs tests when previously teachers would have been, quite rightly, concentrating their efforts on making their charges well adjusted, well rounded individuals with a decent perspective of the world. Our TV culture is nothig short of viscious, people are ridiculed, denegrated, hated for looking odd, being weak,standing out, so that we ensure that negative peer pressure is always present for our children to fear.Violence in all it's forms is a symptom of deep self loathing and unhappiness and if we wish to stop kids behaving in this terrible way we have to look at our society far more closely and do something about it.Kids need to clearly understand what is right and what is not. I suspect that most of the kids involved with that already do if they search their hearts, what they lack is the ability to stand up as an individual and say "this isn't right, we shouldn't do this" and we have taught them to be this weak.

[madein1978]

This sort of thing just makes me sick and really angry, being an animal lover, cats especially, I have 3 of them, I really only have one word for these, I won't call them people, Bast**ds! I'll tell you who is to blame, its films and the media, peoples sense of humour nowadays is cruel, evil and sick. They seem to take delight in another person or creatures misfortune and laugh at it. These scum see things on TV and in the films and emulate it, although no-one will take the responsibility for it or admit that films and the like have a profound effect on yobs, because it makes too much money. These scum have absolutely no respect for anything nowadays, a Cat has life as well and for them treat it so callously is in my book as bad as murder. If I were in a position to do something about it, I would make it my business to see they were prosecuted and sent to a young offenders institution or jail for extreme animal cruelty.

[Englishbird]

That just makes me feel ill when I read stories like that. It's very easy to point the finger, but there is something inherantly wrong in the lives of CHILDREN to cause them to harm animals or other people.

I have a couple of friends that have children like this, and whilst they are my friends, I would say overall they are far more interested in their own lives than ensuring that their children grow up 'properly'. They also have limited parenting skills due to their own family's and their own childhoods being troubled.

I'm afraid this is a never ending cycle and can never be stopped. Short of banning people with a low emotional IQ of having children.

[Whickerman]

I volunteer to throw the kids in question off th same balcony. Just the once should do it.

[Ward-Minter]

perhaps the little chavs are the social equivalent of middle class fox hunters?

[madein1978]

Whickerman- Goin' Yirsel! I'll help you!!

[keyvan]

There's nothing in my mind that would justify that sort of a behaviour. Poverty maybe one reason. But more importantly as Englishbird pointed out the way of upbringing and how these kids act in the society has something to do with it. Something that starts by killing cats may end up with murdering civillians tomorrow. I think they should be locked up but their parents also have something to answer for.

[smudge]

As abhorrent as it is - animal cruelty has always been around.

I remember at 14 years of age, playing rounders on the open school field & a teacher finding a cat that had been cut up, limbs beside it & left for all to see. All us pupils were so upset & the image has never left me!

I don't think it is to do with poverty. I'm from a family of 10 children, but not one of us would ever contemplate being cruel to animals or children. Neither would any of my other friends who were from large families & not a lot of money to throw around.

I think it's down to parents teaching children right from wrong & being caring & nurturing, etc., from day one!arly age.

[smudge]

*from day one!

[flip-flop]

Chavs - round every one in the country up, put them all on the Isle of Sheppey, build an impenetrable wall around it, bomb the bridge and forget about them: they can then breed to their disgusting hearts content and not work - Utopia for this scummy scuzzy breed .

[madein1978]

here-here flip flop, I would choose a different ending though, its not repeatable on here!

[madein1978]

I've often thought that would be a good idea, is to put all the scum on an island, cut off all means of getting out of the place and let them destroy each other! There is no reasoning with this type, once they knew their place, but all this new attitude of no limits, no barriers, you can do anything has given them a new bravado, its made their heads swell and a ned with a high opinion of itself is a dangerous thing!

[snook]

I agree, this type of behaviour�s nothing new, it�s just that modern technology adds a new angle to it. I can�t help thinking it�s getting worse though. Certainly there�s way too much mindless violence in films these days, and in video games, and that must play a part.

Thankfully, most young people are perfectly decent. From what you read in the papers it would be easy to assume the morons ones are in the majority (and I often forget that that�s not the case).

Yes, it�s partly the fault of the schools, so worried about reaching targets that they haven�t time to concentrate on the basics, which are more to do with helping a person grow up well adjusted than passing exams. And people are obsessed with �things� to a much greater extent nowadays, it�s true � simple values like being content with what you�ve got and showing respect to people (and animals) are being pushed to one side in the rush to grab more stuff. And the government, as usual, haven�t a clue how to deal with the situation.

As for what to do about it, I know people will say �well, where do you draw the line� (and it is a problem), but I really do think cruelty to animals should be treated on a par with cruelty to humans. I�m fed up reading about cases of really outrageous cruelty and neglect and the perpetrators getting silly sentences, instead of something that might actually act as both a punishment and a deterrent to others.

While we continue to raise animals solely for food, while we treat them as �products�, while we routinely slaughter them in their millions, is it really possible to raise children to respect them? We call one animal a pet, the other dinner � where�s the logic in that?

I�m not saying that�s an excuse for this type of animal abuse, or even a cause of it, but maybe it needs to be taken into consideration.

[SlimySySy]

Maybe they'd been watching the cat torture a poor live mouse or bird and decided to give it a taste of it's own medicine!