Cruelty to Animals

Dr. Couch, have you noticed that there seems to be more cruelty to animals these days reported in the news? ANSWER: Yes, indeed, I have! And most of it is coming from "foreign" cultures coming into this country who virtually torture their animals, especially those to be eaten, such as goats, chickens, etc. It absolutely makes me sick! These people do not come from either a Calvinistic-European or Judeo-Christian culture. They are cruel at heart and lock up their animals in small cages without water or food. And then they slaughter them in their bathtubs, throw out the skin and bones, and make their grounds and yards very unsanitary. While there has always been animal cruelty from pagan minded people, this seems to be growing worse in America because of the invasion of different societies. Thank the Lord that some cities have inspectors who can even lock up those who are the most cruel. Proverbs 12:10 says: "A righteous man regards the life of his animal; but (even) the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." The great Puritan and English writer Joseph Parker writes in his 1891 commentary on this passage: "A righteous man knows the feelings of animals. He gives them credit for feelings; he does not look upon them as merely so much animated matter, but as standing in some relation to himself, but the wicked man becomes so debased as to lose all sense of distinction. His senses into the most utter severity and cruelty of nature." The Mosaic Law says that one should not be so cruel as to keep the ox from eating the grain that he is grinding for his master. "You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing" (Deut. 25:4). That would be a form of torture and cruelty. And Christ added: "What man shall there be among you, who shall have one sheep and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?" (Matt. 12:11). Putting all these verses together we find a pattern of how to property treat one's animals. But there are those who do not know the Scriptures and have cruelty in their hearts. Thanks for asking. Dr. Mal Couch