CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 290, 19 September 1874, Page 3

CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.

(From the 'Dunklin Ptnr.')

There is- little doubt that many cruel things, are done.in slaughter-houses and. elsewhere in preparing arimals: for food,, so as to ensure a good, marketable appearance of the flesh ; but we are <juit& sure evey house-holder would gladly dispense with appearance, .could the poor creature whose lives are sacrificed to our needs be _put to death without. inflicting; torture. "Amongst the torments to which, doomed animals are put, appears to be that of palling feathers off living birds prior to giving - .them the coup de graceLast evening, while walking along George street, our attention was called to a crowd, of boys standing gazing into a cellar, by a;, gentleman/who had had the curiosity to see what was going on. In the cellar, the interior of which was well lighted with gasand which could be seen through a small glazed window, was a man holding in his hands an 'unfortunate fowl struggling to* get free,, while he was inflicting .upon it the pain and anguish of pulling every feather off it. We have heard that birds thus flayed alive present a cleaner appearance when trussed,, that when denuded of feathers after, death ; possibly too there might be a desire to obtain the leathersfree from the -stain of blood. But whatever the .object, we, cannot conceive any palliation for "so cruel aj-practice ; and wefeel certain we only speak the general sentiments 7 of the community when we it should be'put a stop to by law. There are enactments against cruelty to animals, and we know of no instance where thepenalties would be • more righteously inflicted. . We trust the .police' will be = instructed to lay .informations in all cases of this class that .come under, their notice and, moreover, they should not merely wait for an accidental instance, but seek I for them—for nothing is so likely to put an end to so disgraceful a system as the 1 knowledge that society will not tolerate it.