Regarding my last post about the killing of a troop of howler monkeys in Guanacaste: I should have mentioned that the rifles were actually air rifles that shot pellets, not bullets. And there was more than one female killed; however, only one female with a baby. A representative from the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA Costa Rica) said that it is likely that, if the monkeys were not killed instantly by the pellets, that they suffered greatly for several hours before dying. So if you think a lack of respect for living things is relegated to suburban brats in first world countries, think again.
This whole incident brought back a terrible memory from middle school. I had a beautiful black and white cat named Nicky, who was the sweetest thing in the neighborhood. One day, some of the older kids thought it would be fun to shoot Nicky with an air rifle in the head until he died. I've been an animal lover all my life, and when a neighbor friend found out I was frantic looking for Nicky when I couldn't find him one afternoon (he always was there to see me after school), he reluctantly told me what happened. I remember asking him, in tears, Why didn't you stop them? Why didn't you get an adult? Where is he? and my friend trying so hard to comfort me by saying, it was too late, he was already gone. It's truly an incident I never got over (some 20+ years later). I still remember that day as if it was yesterday. I still wonder if he suffered. I still ask myself why they did it. Nicky was nothing but love embodied in a cat. How could anyone do such a thing? What makes children kill for no reason, whether it be a cat or a group of monkeys? Perhaps that is a question others can answer. Right now, I'm just so sad, over both the monkeys and now over my sweet Nicky all over again.
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