AIBU to be bothered by this? I can't quite explain why it would bother me but it definitely does!

[JMSA]

At a holiday park with my teenage daughters. The lodge is right by the beach and we were having a pre-dinner walk along it. We came across a dead and rotting seal on the sand ... unfortunately I didn't notice it in time to stop the dog from rolling on it, but that's another story!
Anyway, on the way back, we saw some children throwing stones at it. I was really saddened by this but couldn't explain why. It's dead, it's not like it can feel anything.
And then I remember feeling this way as a kid myself, when I saw kids throwing stones at (well, kind of 'into') dead jellyfish on the beach.
I can't articulate why it bothers me so much, I just know it does.
I should add that, as a child especially, I much preferred animals to humans

That would bother me too. It's disrespectful.

That would bother me too. I’d be more concerned if someone wasn’t bothered by it. A dead animal
is not entertainment.

Yeah, that must be it. Even my self absorbed daughters didn't like it.

Not much difference in throwing stones at a poor dead seal than a live one..its just cruel. No parent should allow it. It would be worrying if you weren't shocked.

That's horrible I would hate to see that...it's very cruel indeed, should be treated with respect dead or alive.

Thanks for understanding. I'm glad it's not just me.
And you're all completely right; it IS disrespectful and cruel.

The idea that your dog rolled in it is so disgusting it made me want to retch. That people happily choose to live with that filth makes me sad.

What are you talking about?

Isn't eating dead animals more disrespectful? Or torturing living ones?
Yet all except the vegans among us do that every day.

I think it's just the difference between seeing it vs. the real cruelty being hidden from our view.

There are kids throwing rocks at dead seagulls. Then there are kids holding tiny funerals for dead seagulls. The ones throwing the rocks rarely get told off, but the ones with little dirge are being yelled at. It’s not fair.

@Screamingabdabz ever heard of pet shampoo? Amazing stuff.

Good luck in getting the smell of dead seal off your dog.

Grim memories of washing up liquid and taking him to the sea to wash it off.

Tomato ketchup can get rid of the smell apparently.

And I agree. A bit of respect goes a long way.

Babies and small children will happily scrunch their hands into their own shit and smear it everywhere for entertainment. And my brother’s best friend once brought home a dead crab from a school trip in his suitcase, which by the time he got home had liquefied to a slimy foul-smelling rot inside its shell and leaked over everything. Does it make you sad that people choose to live with children as well?

I also find that kind of thing upsetting, or perhaps depressing would be more accurate. Obviously a dead animal isn’t feeling any pain so on a practical level it’s doing no harm, but to me, lobbing stones at a dead animal just seems like a destructive, mindless thing to do. A dead animal is a part of the natural world and wanting to throw stones at it rather than leaving it alone just seems like a lack of respect for, and a lack of interest in, nature. I’d find a dead seal (although sad) really interesting to look at, even if it was at the gross stage, and I just don’t understand the impulse to trash or destroy that sort of thing - and like you, I’ve felt that way since I was a little girl.

I remember my cousin finding a (empty and abandoned!) wasps’ nest once in the woods, a massive one that had fallen from a tree, and I got really angry and upset because he kicked it to bits instead of leaving it alone. I was about six at the time!

I can understand that reaction. My heart would sink a bit too.

I wonder is there any excuse or reason to it though. For example, if there's a fear or disgust reaction to something dead - the desire to pelt it with rocks - that means they are less likely to touch it and pick up diseases.

I'll admit it's a stretch but there might be some evolutionary purpose to this type of reaction

I thought it was a rite of passage to poke a dead animal with a stick with curiosity, as a child.

I'd guess this is the same sort of thing.

Not nice, but probably borne of curiosity

Erm… there’s one difference, and it’s pretty significant.

Disturbing that they do that rather than look or feel sad. disrespectful too. But could be group mentality and need to be a bit naughty or crazy for a while which kids will have. Doesn't necessarily reflect what they will grow up like imo!

Pretty f*ed up. I dread to think what those kids parents are like.

YANBU. It is disrespectful.

That’s not the flex you think it is. You’re doing it wrong if you kids are smearing shit everywhere.

That's sad but I think I'd be too busy freaking out about the dog rolling in something dead to pay much attention to anything else. I couldn't deal with that, at all, you have my sympathies!

I mean it's the same attitude that would cause someone to do it.

I don’t have kids. But many, many parents will tell you about the time their toddler innocently did this!

This. ^ Of course it's not the same to chuck stones at a dead seal, as it is to chuck them at a live one. 😬

Still horribly disrespectful to do it to a dead one though. YANBU @JMSA