patsylabrador Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 When I initially read the headline I thought it would be a funny article, but it absolutely was not. Did anyone else see it on online news. The poor creature was screaming with fear and got dragged along the beach. I hope the stupid people that did this are prosecuted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathybc Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 I too saw this on my way in to work, and was horrified. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 According to the BBC news the police there are investigating it. I hope those involved ARE prosecuted, it is a totally sick thing to do to an animal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 I heard a snippet o the radio this morning. Sounded absolutely devastatingly sickening so I didn't pursue what it was all about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 I saw that too on Yahoo News . Absolutely horrible . It was a publicity stunt by some Russian businessmen trying to attract people to their beach for parasailing - unbelievable . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 I have to admit to checking the date at the top of the page to see if it was April 1st. Stupid, cruel and a whole host of other, unrepeatable, things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyChickenLover- Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 I saw this on yahoo. Honestly, some people! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Sounded absolutely devastatingly sickening so I didn't pursue what it was all about There are videos on the internet but I don't want to watch any of them. I have just read the articles and seen a couple of photos. That's more than enough for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsylabrador Posted July 21, 2010 Author Share Posted July 21, 2010 Sounded absolutely devastatingly sickening so I didn't pursue what it was all about There are videos on the internet but I don't want to watch any of them. I have just read the articles and seen a couple of photos. That's more than enough for me. I agree. That's why I thought I wouldn't put a link as some of the people on the beach tried to sell the videos to make money out of it. Nasty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majorbloodnock Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Well, apparently if convicted the Russian businessmen responsible could be facing up to two years in prison. Personally, I'd say they deserve every day of it, so fingers crossed they're found irrevocably guilty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen_Pecked Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Well, apparently if convicted the Russian businessmen responsible could be facing up to two years in prison. Personally, I'd say they deserve every day of it, so fingers crossed they're found irrevocably guilty. They'll blame a henchman rather than take the rap themselves! Agree about the story btw, I thought it was going to be some sort of comedy stunt, but it looked awful and really cruel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Lets keep this in perspective, bull fighting in Spain and Mexico is still a popular spectator sport today and for those that aren't aware, it's basically a barbaric blood sport where a matador continually stabs and slashes at a trapped bull in a ring with a sword several times before it slowly and painfully bleeds to death from the wounds it receives. I don't think I could think of anything much crueller than an animal dieing in vain, in such a slow, cruel way, while hundreds of people are cheering on. Personally I wouldn't classify this as cruel as such, it's seems to have ended up being more of a badly thought out publicity stunt, but it's obviously worked - they say any publicity is good publicity and from what I understand the donkey wasn't beaten into submission or malnourished. OK it may have been in bad taste and not what we have come to expect in this day and age in our developed and politically correct culture, but far worse things are still legally going on around the world such as dog and cock fighting, as well as the example I gave above. Cruelty aspects aside, I'm sure that this was a once in a life time experience for that donkey and it's probably the first of it's species to have gone parasailing and I'm sure it will live on to tell his friends of the time he flew and saw the earth from above. It might have been out of it's comfort zone like most humans, but then it could well have enjoyed the experience once it was up there like most humans. I don't remember people complaining when we forced animals into space to test that it was safe for humans, or when bikers stick their dogs on the back of their bikes and hurtle along the motorways - I'm sure those dogs are just as afraid and yet this sort of thing goes on daily and is considered acceptable. Animals have always been performing for human pleasure since the day we tamed them from the wild. Zoo's animals, circus animals, farm animals and even household pets have all been taken out of their once natural habitat for the sole purpose of performing a task for a human being, so really we all contribute to a form of cruelty in one way or another, even though we all like to think we are doing good. If a human was bought and sold, caged up or trained into submission it would be considered a crime, so rightly or wrongly animals are still considered to be of less importance, even though we are now becoming more aware of what constitutes cruelty, it will never be abolished for as long as humans are around to control them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 An eloquent speech of devil's advocacy. I trust your third paragraph was delivered firmly tongue-in-cheek. Whatever happens to other creatures is no excuse for this man's behaviour towards this donkey. Otherwise you might as well perpetrate any horror with the excuses that worse things happen and humans have a history of such cruelty for entertainment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsylabrador Posted July 22, 2010 Author Share Posted July 22, 2010 I don't remember people complaining when we forced animals into space to test that it was safe for humans, or when bikers stick their dogs on the back of their bikes and hurtle along the motorways - I'm sure those dogs are just as afraid and yet this sort of thing goes on daily and is considered acceptable. You're absolutely right about the bull fighting etc., unbelievably cruel, but I'm sure people did/do complain about the above. I think people complain constantly about animal cruelty, and we should shouldn't we. We create a lot of misery for animals and so as we have a voice to complain, we should use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majorbloodnock Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 The donkey was scared witless and then half-drowned. That will inevitably have been intensely upsetting for it, but I have little doubt that in time it will recover and get on with its life. My concern is less with the donkey's wellbeing (now we know it's safe and sound again) than with that of both the perpetrators and those onlookers who found the spectacle entertaining. In short, they've shown an alarming lack of humanity, and I worry that this may be an indication of a more general lack of sensitivity towards human suffering as well. Let's get this clear; there was no need for this to have happened. I take a fairly pragmatic attitude to animals' lives, and have no problem with killing an animal so that people may live. After all, I am a meat eater. However, a life still is a life, and so is a valuable thing. A disregard for any living thing's life or comfort is as damaging for the person doing the disregarding as what's being disregarded. I agree that bull-fighting, whilst legal in Spain, is utterly barbaric and a sad indictment on all those who watch. However, in this sense, I can see little difference between the bull's death and the donkey's flight, except for the fact that the donkey survived. Do we really think the donkey was any the less upset than the bull in the ring, or would the donkey have had to drown completely before we could compare the situations? I don't think we should ever avoid condemning the unconscionable just because worse things happen. In my opinion, if something's wrong, it's wrong irrespective of other wrongs around it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyChickenLover- Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 The donkey was scared witless and then half-drowned. That will inevitably have been intensely upsetting for it, but I have little doubt that in time it will recover and get on with its life. My concern is less with the donkey's wellbeing (now we know it's safe and sound again) than with that of both the perpetrators and those onlookers who found the spectacle entertaining. In short, they've shown an alarming lack of humanity, and I worry that this may be an indication of a more general lack of sensitivity towards human suffering as well. Let's get this clear; there was no need for this to have happened. I take a fairly pragmatic attitude to animals' lives, and have no problem with killing an animal so that people may live. After all, I am a meat eater. However, a life still is a life, and so is a valuable thing. A disregard for any living thing's life or comfort is as damaging for the person doing the disregarding as what's being disregarded. I agree that bull-fighting, whilst legal in Spain, is utterly barbaric and a sad indictment on all those who watch. However, in this sense, I can see little difference between the bull's death and the donkey's flight, except for the fact that the donkey survived. Do we really think the donkey was any the less upset than the bull in the ring, or would the donkey have had to drown completely before we could compare the situations? I don't think we should ever avoid condemning the unconscionable just because worse things happen. In my opinion, if something's wrong, it's wrong irrespective of other wrongs around it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen_Pecked Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Lets keep this in perspective, bull fighting in Spain and Mexico is still a popular spectator sport today and for those that aren't aware, it's basically a barbaric blood sport where a matador continually stabs and slashes at a trapped bull in a ring with a sword several times before it slowly and painfully bleeds to death from the wounds it receives. I don't think I could think of anything much crueller than an animal dieing in vain, in such a slow, cruel way, while hundreds of people are cheering on.. Are you suggesting that Russia's traditional national pastime is making donkeys parasail? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majorbloodnock Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Just as an aside that I wanted to mention. When cluckingclucker posted his (?) comments, this thread was bound to become controversial. However, I'm glad everyone since has either agreed with or argued against his views, not him himself. So many times in the past, I've seen a hot topic become too personal and lose sight of the issue being debated, but I'm full of hope this one won't make that mistake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Are you suggesting that Russia's traditional national pastime is making donkeys parasail? No, I'm clearly not suggesting anything of the sort, please don't read anything into my post or put words into my mouth. I merely stated my own opinion on how I feel about the situation and I highlighted another possible angle, rather than immediately jumping on the bandwagon and slating another country and fellow animal owner without knowing all the facts. The whole point of the news is to exaggerate the facts and highlight controversial stories as unfortunately that is what sells. So without being there and seeing everything that led up to the event, we are all just trusting whatever snippets of information that is fed to us to be 100% accurate, which is probably not the case. People can feel free to agree or disagree with whatever I write in any of my posts, I will never take offence as everyone has a right to say what they think without being mocked, targeted or pushed under the virtual carpet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majorbloodnock Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 People can feel free to agree or disagree with whatever I write in any of my posts, I will never take offence as everyone has a right to say what they think without being mocked, targeted or pushed under the virtual carpet. At the risk of wandering off topic, I should point out that none of us has a right to say what we think here. We have the right to have our own opinions but unless we actually own the site, the ability to air those opinions is a privilege, not a right. We're all just fortunate that the moderators of this forum apply that privilege in a very fair and consistent manner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen_Pecked Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Are you suggesting that Russia's traditional national pastime is making donkeys parasail? No, I'm clearly not suggesting anything of the sort, please don't read anything into my post or put words into my mouth. I merely stated my own opinion on how I feel about the situation and I highlighted another possible angle, rather than immediately jumping on the bandwagon and slating another country and fellow animal owner without knowing all the facts. But you compared what was obviously a cruel and pointless publicity stunt with a centuries old tradition that many Spaniards are very proud of. I think it's more a case of the Russians didn't think before engaging donkey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 This thread has been derailed somewhat. Could we get back to the original topic folks please? Ta muchly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Actually, I think that as long as "Ooops, word censored!"ody is attacking anybody else a tangential view of the OP is quite good. Left alone I'm sure the thread will revert to the poor donkey but there are broader issues at stake surely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodcat Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Any cruelty to animals is wrong whether it's beating a dog, bear baiting, bull fighting or in this case torturing a donkey.We don't say that a person being assaulted here isn't appalling because elsewhere in the world something worse is happening. The same should be true of animal cruelty. We have to deplore every example of it and not accept one donkeys terror because elsewhere in the world something worse is happening. Personally I wouldn't classify this as cruel as such, it's seems to have ended up being more of a badly thought out publicity stunt, but it's obviously worked - they say any publicity is good publicity and from what I understand the donkey wasn't beaten into submission or malnourished. Multiple witnesses report the donkey as being "half dead" He may not have been beaten but using other methods to torture an animal is still intentional cruelty. If this was done to a human who didn't understand what was going on and was unwilling it would be torture. The media do exaggerate, however even if you take this all with a pinch of salt it is still an example of truly barbaric behavior. Also the definition of animal cruelty in the dictionary i pulled up is "It is an act which causes suffering, pain, harm, put an animal's life in danger and even cause death of animals." This donkey's life was certainly put in danger and he certainly suffered. I hope that they prosecute the people that did this. Both the business men who came up with the idea and the flunkies who actually did it. The whole thing makes me feel sick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I don't remember people complaining when we forced animals into space to test that it was safe for humans, or when bikers stick their dogs on the back of their bikes and hurtle along the motorways - I'm sure those dogs are just as afraid and yet this sort of thing goes on daily and is considered acceptable. cluckingclucker If I didn't know any better, looking at this post and others that you have made on the forum relating to other potentially controversial subjects, I would say that you are deliberately posting to create maximum controversy. You clearly are not here to contribute as a chicken owner I do hope that you are not using those of us that are genuine members contributing towards the forum as part of some sort of study or experiment Anyway, back to the poor old donkey. I haven't seen the footage, neither do I want to I am afraid. I can see nothing remotely amusing or entertaining about doing anything like this. I can only hope that the poor thing has recovered from what must have been deeply traumatic for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
