There is a deeply disturbing news article in The Huffington Post on the routine shooting of pets by police in the United States.

In a story entitled Cop Shoots Dog, reporters Radley Balko and JL Greene examine the apparently common but under-reported issue of companion animals killed by police.

Some of the instances are egregious, such as shooting chihuahuas and chained dogs. Others are premeditated, such as routinely killing all the dogs present during a drug raid, irrespective of whether they pose a threat or not.

From an ethics and public policy point of view, there are at least two problems to address here. First, animals (wild and domestic) are part of a larger mixed community (the term is Mary Midgleys) to whom we have moral responsibilities. When they can, our police should therefore be protecting animals at risk, and avoiding lethal force if at all possible. Dogs being abused by drug dealers and fighting rings are in need of help, and should not be further victimized.

Second, these killings represents a failure of public policy, with few jurisdictions mandating the appropriate training for officers. Note that this training is provided free by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

Let me also be clear, here, that I do not think this is about bad cops. I am a strong supporter of the police and other emergency providers. As individuals and as a whole, they routinely perform outstanding service and have been helpful to my community and myself at many points in time.

Neither the excessive use of force in political demonstrations, or the use of unnecessary lethal force against animals, is because of corrupt or sadistic police. There can be, however, a set of norms and training that overemphasizes the use of force. We have seen evidence of this in the reaction of some police forces to the Occupy Movement protests. It should not surprise us then that the excessive use of force may affect animals as well.

There will certainly be times where the use of violence in mixed communities of people and animals is justified. Training in how to respond to such situations is indispensable. So too is adopting relevant public policies at the local, state and national levels to address this issue. Doing so will go a long way towards meeting our ethical responsibilities to the animals that share our individual and collective lives.

Cheers

Image: Dogs Shot By Police Facebook page.