Kids in Winslow Township, New Jersey, are being
encouraged to slaughter squirrels by the hundreds in the first annual
Family Squirrel Classic. The hunting contest, sponsored by a local hunting organization, brands itself as a "family friendly" event.
Kids are encouraged to kill, kill and kill, with the person who bags the largest squirrel being named the winner. Contests that use animal lives as pawns, make light of the lives of the animals that are killed and teach impressionable children that these target animals are of no other worth than mere target practice. Cities, schools or hunting organizations should not be encouraging children to take life so lightly.
Instead, kids should be taught the value of life and why it is important to respect all living things no matter what. Neglecting to do so could result in dire consequences. There are plenty of studies that show an irrefutable link between violence against animals and violence against people.
Many of the world's most heinous violent criminals got their start torturing or killing animals. Promoting these "hunts" and contests instills a flippant disregard and lack of compassion for the lives of other living things. Please sign the petition.
It is time the Winslow Township government step in and ban these gory animal slaughters for kids. Tell Mayor Barry Wright the world is watching and ask them to end these terrible events.