A Call for Animal Welfare Laws
A witness decries the brutal methods used to put down an injured horse on Seattle's Third Street.
On Sunday morning I saw a horse butchered in the most heartless manner on South Third Street. It is the third one I have seen in this city. Now, when in the course of events it is necessary to take the life of one of the most noble and faithful servants of man, can it not be done in a more humane manner than to use a policeman's popgun or a hatchet in the hands of a fool? I believe at least 50 witnesses to the above will bear me out in the statement that this poor animal was suffering, after which he was standing trembling, then a man placed a sack over the horse's head and commenced striking him on the head with a hatchet, and had struck at least ten blows when I was compelled to leave the scene. Why does the honorable body of city lawmakers overlook such matters?
“Can it not be done in a more humane manner than to use a policeman's popgun or a hatchet in the hands of a fool?”
This letter highlights a historical gap in animal welfare regulations in 1893. While the public's relationship with urban animals has shifted from work-horses to companions, Seattle continues to grapple with the ethics of how we treat and protect vulnerable living beings in our city.
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