Thursday 12 May 2011

Journalistic Standards...


Is there such a charge as 'murder of an animal'?

I mean, I'd happily put a boltgun to all their foreheads, don't get me wrong, the psychos-in-training, but 'murder'...?

12 comments:

The Wasp said...

You could say the same about the "sexual assault" in the blurb under the headline.

I can only presume that the horse didn't consent to the advances and was murdered as a result? ;)

MTG said...

Murder is not limited to the common and legal meanings and the journalistic interpretation was valid, Julia.

There is an additional but rarely used sense, reserved to describe barbarous slaughter of an animal.

Anonymous said...

I was disappointed to see that they missed the word 'rape' while they were at it, and they did not refer to the alleged perpetrators as 'animals'.

Captain Haddock said...

According to the Legal Dictionary ..

"Murder" is, Legally speaking defined as being ..

"The unlawful killing of another human being without justification or excuse" ...

Therefore, it cannot be applied to a horse, or any other animal .. In just the same way that a horse cannot "murder" a human ..

Shinar's Basket Case said...

Murder is the second worst crime going (perjury being the first). Misusing the term to describe the horrific slaughter of a fucking animal diminishes it.

But that's Brits for you. A child gets murdered and the police have to beg for information from the The Great British Public but when an animal gets 'slashed' then Copper Central can't handle the volume of calls!

Captain Haddock said...

That explains why we have a "Royal" Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ..

But only a "National" Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children ..

In do-as-you-like Britain .. just don't frighten the horses ..

Shinar's Basket Case said...

I seem to remember reading that original Childrens Protection Society was actually an offshoot of the Cats League?

Captain Haddock said...

That wouldn't surprise me in the least ..

The RSPB only came about because of the over-killing of Great Crested Grebes for the use of their head feathers by the millinery trade ..

Shinar's Basket Case said...

from Wiki: "The first child cruelty case in Britain was brought by the RSPCA; the court charge list described the affected child as "a small animal", because at the time there were no laws in Britain to protect children from mistreatment. This case was successful.[3]"

Captain Haddock said...

I didn't know that .. fascinating stuff, you learn here .. lol

MTG said...

Whilst homicide is quite specific, 'murder' has additional meaning to its legal definition. IMHO, the journalist properly described the barbarous slaughter of an animal.

The other animal(s) responsible for this horrific tale are beneath contempt.

JuliaM said...

They certainly are..