Murder for Convenience?
In today’s society many people do not look at animals as beings that can experience pain and suffering. Most of the time, animals are treated like commodities used for food, clothing, sports, entertainment and medical research. Even when they provide companionship for humans, there are many cases where they were ill-treated.
The fact remains that animals can feel pain and suffering. However, due to the form they take in this life, they are unable to express themselves in words. What humans do to animals today is appalling to say the least. Many atrocities are inflicted on animals by humans to fulfill their selfish needs.
I came across a news article, “Deer shot by police after being struck by a car near High Park” in thestar.com. In that article, a deer was shot although it could have had a chance to live if it was given medical treatment at that crucial moment. However, medical treatment did not come to its aid and the people responsible took its fate into their own hands by ending its life. Do take a read and share your thoughts.
Much care and prayers,
Tsem Rinpoche
Deer shot by police after being struck by car near High Park
A deer that was shot and killed by police after it had been hit by a car near High Park on Sunday “had a chance to live,” according to a woman who tended to the injured creature for nearly four hours.
The deer was hit at around 7:38 a.m. on Coe Hill Dr., west of High Park. The driver was not injured, according to police.
“I’m sorry, I’m so upset that no one could come for it. It had a chance to live,” said a visibly emotional Trinity Hollis, minutes after police shot the deer.
The doe had a fawn, a baby with telltale white spots, said Hollis. Hollis said the fawn had escaped into a neighbour’s backyard, though police said they hadn’t been able to locate it.
Police, emergency medical services and animal services staff responded to the scene. Police closed off Coe Hill Dr. as they tried to secure medical help for the deer. They called the Toronto Zoo but their veterinarians were in surgery and unavailable.
Hollis and Liz Dumas-Walker tended to the deer, gently pressing cool compresses on its bloodied eyes and stroking it. A small crowd of concerned neighbours amassed on the street and tried to do their part, whether it was fetching coffee for one another or calling anyone and everyone they thought might be able to help.
Bystanders said they tried to reach veterinarians, local wildlife experts and animal refuge groups but no one was available to help. Hollis said a wildlife expert in Windsor advised her how to care for the deer in the meantime.
At around 11:15 a.m., a collective gasp issued from the bystanders as the doe clumsily lurched back then slowly rose to its feet. It stood in the middle of the road, head down, seemingly in shock. Police asked the crowd to back away then got on their cellphones and made some calls.
Minutes later, one officer slipped the hoop of a snare pole around the doe’s neck while three others threw a blanket over it. It is not clear whether the deer could not or would not walk, but it ended up on its side with police dragging it several metres down the pavement and behind a neighbour’s bushes. The crowd stared, stunned.
A shot rang out then, seconds later, another.
Police said they were advised to “dispatch” the deer after describing its condition to veterinarians.
The doe was shot twice in the chest, out of the public’s view, police said.
“We made several calls to several different facilities in order to assist the animal. Based on the responses that we got from these facilities, people that we spoke to, this was the best alternative for the animal to stop it from suffering,” said Sgt. Blain Young.
Dumas-Walker disagreed. “Just the easy way out,” she said.
Toronto Animal Services was on scene, but did not in any way handle the deer until police had shot it. According to the TAS website, Animal Services “provides 24-hour emergency response to calls for animals requiring immediate medical assistance or are jeopardizing the safety of the public.”
No one at Toronto Animal Services was available for comment.
Animal services removed the doe’s body.
According to the city’s website, there are deer, foxes and even coyotes in High Park.
Source: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1039365
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Sad…..to. see the injured deer in the picture .The poor deer was hit by a car and just because it was a sunday the bystander could not reach veterinarians, local wildlife experts and animal refuge groups to help .
Based on the responses the police said that the best alternative for the animal to stop it from suffering,The doe was shot twice in the chest sad,sad.Well do hope Animal Services “provides 24-hour emergency response unit can do more to help animals requiring immediate medical assistance or are jeopardizing the safety of the public..Animals can feel pain and suffering.Please love and care for them.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this post
Dear Rinpoche, I don’t care if he is a police or not. He still don’t have the rights to drag and shoot the deer. Of course the deer will suffer more if it was alive but at least is not dead. Now thanks to the policeman, the deer maybe have taken a reincarnation int he lower realms again.
Dear Rinpoche, the police should never have shot the deer. We can see in the picture that the deer was already very badly injured, we can actually see the car tire shapes on the deer’s body and with 2 shots on its body, I don’t think it will survive for long. But it might live if it gets professional treatment.
This story is really appalling. Human beings hit the car and human beings despatched the deer. Deer are considered a nuisance to human beings because of the damage to our cars??? damage to our gardens??? Who is encroaching into whose land? I believe the deer were there first before we built our communities there. It is so sad that nobody even provided any medical treatment for the deer – who was a mother with a fawn. This is a real-life bambi story and very sad. Makes me embarrassed to be part of the human race. I guess we really need to spread more awareness of all animals as sentient beings so that people stop treating animals like inconveniences.
That’s a good point – who is really the nuisance? It was the human who hit the deer in the first place, but we turn it around to saying that taking it for medical help would have been a nuisance or an inconvenience. Have our lives and “development” really become about that – that we’re so busy rushing around trying to do this and that, accomplish this and that, that we forget the important things, like a being’s life! What could be more important than life itself?! It’s sad that in the face of development and that thing we call “progress”, we are denying life itself, the very reason we are even still here!
this is totally horrid and cruel, the deer still had a chance to live but nooooo they pull the plug immediately. it make me sick, i am glad i am a vegetarian and a animal lover, i will never kill an animal.
This is really upsetting for me, i wished helped would have came in time and that the dear stayed alive. But i can agree that ending the dears life to end its suffering was indeed a good thing. If the police officer had not done this, the dear would have died a very painful death. And im a glad that there is such kindness in the world.
When you are driving in the future, please be aware that there are animals out there. And the last thing you should want, is to kill them. Please be kind to animals.
It’s very sad that people do not take lives as a serious matter nowadays. No matter what are the reasons, killing a living being is bad. Humans do not have the rights to take away someone’s life. It’s very disappointing that the Animal Service did not do anything to help the poor deer..
Thank You for sharing Rinpoche.
Love, beatrix.
If people just viewed animals to be sentient beings, deserve compassion and much more effort then many animals would be saved.
There’s always a dilemma in such situations…what is right and what is wrong to do?
Whatever the case, KILLING IS DEFINITELY OUT OF THE QUESTION! Who are we to decide the fate of another being when we ourselves can’t even handle our own life.
Can anybody imagine!! “Toronto Animal Service was on the scence, but did not in anyway handle the deer until police had shot it.” According to TAS website, Toronto Animal services provide a 24- hour ermengency response to calls for animals requiring immediate medical assistance or are jeopardising the safety of public. What TAS did was gallantly remove the doe’s body after the police has killed it, and no one at Tas was even available for comment! What efficiency and fast services Tas provided in clearing up the Killing but not the Healing! The doe was shot twice in the chest out of public’s view, police said. Was that necessary unless to hide something not to be seen. It is really a topsy turvy world, and the doe’s life has to be sacrificed to provide the humour. What a pity and a joke this has turned to be!!!
Animals don’s speak but they got FEELING! Find solutions to help and not just give excuse to do convenience job for ourselves to harm animals.
It is very sad after finished the article. I think this is only very very small part of those animals be killed out of convenience by people. In many countries, anywhere, anytime and any second may be this kind of similar case happen again and again. Most of us, conveniently forget animals got feeling and they will feel pain while injured. That why so many animals suffering.
One of the solution is let’s us create more and more awareness to the public to reduce those animal suffer because out of convenience by us.
Do it, now!!!
People just want the easy way out… I wonder if they’d do the same if it is their pet.
There’s a lot of thing people do out of convenience and selfishness, looking for an easy way out. In this case, they justify their action to kill by saying this is the best way to help ‘ending’ the sufferings of another being. It is similar to euthanasia, is this an action of compassion assisting people or animal to die or pure selfishness? For me, I do not agree with this action.
what a beautiful thing, that lady did
oh my, deer are my favourite animals
I am troubled by this story. The injured deer should have been treated humanely. More should have been done to determine if it was fatally injured before it was put down. The whole situation should have been handled with more sensitivity and compassion. Unfortunately, deer are considered a nuisance in suburban North America because of :
1) the damage they do to landscaped gardens
2) the Lyme disease spread by deer ticks
3) serious damage to cars and bodily injury to people in deer collisions on roads and highways.
As a result deer are not given the consideration that they deserve. I am not condoning what was done and am appalled.
Tayatha Om Benkandze Benkandze Maha Benkandze Benkandze Randza Samugate Soha!
i could not believe the Animal Service did nothing to help or stop what the police is doing to the deer. the deer really could be save and nurtured back to health. this is so sad to read this story, they treat the animal as disposable when they are injured, without even tending to them. but at least Ms. Trinity Hollis try and tend to the injured deer, and some other neighbours there to help. alas, human are losing their compassion towards other sentient being.
And here I thought these animal welfare organisations from the west are pretty efficient in doing their thing. Too much wildlife channels for me I guess, media can be so deceiving =(