To think it’s not ok to kill jellyfish and crabs…

[CockledEel]

So yesterday I was at the beach and a large group of children were bringing jellyfish up the beach and thinking it hilarious when the jellyfish broke up into bits and were flinging the bits around the beach. There were about 4 mums there with them, and didn’t try and stop them.
Today, a different group of kids were killing crabs/pulling the legs off. To which my mum (in her late 70’s) told them to stop. Another group of mums with the kids, had a go at my mum - saying it’s only a crab, and it’s dead already. However I’d heard her kids shouting “let’s kill it”.
Has the world gone mad?? This was the mindset of approx 20 kids in total over the two days, and 8 mums???

Disgusting. I feel the same horror at people who let their kids chase pigeons. Or throw stones at seagulls. I would go ballistic if my daughter treated a living thing with such disregard

Yes, I hate pigeon chasing, or throwing stones at birds. I’ve challenged that before. But why is it so common?? Who/where are all the Mumsnetters who let their kids do things like this??? I want to hear the argument for thinking this behaviour is ok??

You read my mind price of them if they done it to a stinging variety.
But in the first instance it's for the parents to regulate their kids behaviour.

Dreadful. It's seen everywhere. In cities it's the vile thugs that allow their future thugs to chase and scare pigeons. In countryside settings it's the twats that walk their dogs and shrieking kids through lambing ewe fields. I've little faith for humanity having seen the depravity and selfishness that many display toward the world around them.

I saw a father with his two young boys at the park today chasing and throwing rocks at pigeons and ducks, the father was a pos and just watched his kids doing this and said and did nothing. Vile. Scummy individuals.

Nasty and disrespectful. I would hate to see children behaving like that. Baby psychopaths.

Even if dead this is hideous behaviour and as a parent I would be appalled and knock that right on the head! So wrong.

• Crabs, octopus and lobsters to be recognised as sentient beings in government policy decision making
• Decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs will be recognised under the scope of the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill

That's so sad to hear, kids follow their parents' examples and they should not condone this, vile!

Not unreasonable at all and I often see kids being allowed to harass pigeons too and the parents practically encouraging it. I don't know it's a bit worrying. Shows a lack of humanity

Log it with 101

Scummy mummy's raise scummy kids that kill animals for fun

I live in Cornwall and see this all the time with kids 'crabbing', handling them and throwing them about. The little things just want to hide in the mud in peace.

The other thing I see a lot is grown men adults kicking/chucking stuff at seagulls

They just looked like typical school run type Mum’s though! It was all a planned day out with parasols, paddle boards etc.

I can’t understand the joy in killing a life, and pulling it apart.

I’m trying to compare to mosquitos or wasps : but they are pests??

These were just innocent creatures - set upon by screaming kids.

I will make a point of challenging any stone throwing/pigeon chasing. I wish I could go back in time and backed my Mum up a bit more. I’m proud that she challenged it.

Horrible. I even hate it when kids scare at kick at pigeons for fun. I always tell my two off if I catch them doing it but so many children do it and their parents don’t care.

Wow absolutely disgusting as well as disturbing. God job if one got stung or hurt.

My daughter used to hate it too, and started a ‘Pigeon Appreciation Society’ with badges and certificates that she’d made.

My Mum said she spoke to someone yesterday who knew one of the families. They are emigrating to Australia. I think if they try that with the wildlife there, it will definitely bite back!

We treat the dead with respect, we don't rip their corpses up and throw them about.

We might not throw them about but I’m less sure about respect. Plenty of people think it’s fine to film during/aftermath of a tragedy & share it on SM or search for similar footage. Some of the Nicola Bully threads on here were awful, posters desperate for a crazed murderer to be the culprit so they could play detective.

The trouble is that these sorts of children end up being posted about here with th parent saying they need to put their child in care, he is now 15 and violent to her and the other children, or getting into drugs and crime and putting everyone at risk.

And everyone sympathises with the mum and says its dreadful, and she shouldnt be putting up with that and its a DV situation. Well this is where it starts, this is what the consequence is of parenting like that.

I have eaten lobster & they aren’t exactly killed humanely.

I don’t kill spiders, wasps etc but would squat a mosquito or clothes moth.

I do shoo away a seagull if I’m trying to eat something at the beach.

I personally don’t think chasing a pigeon is the same as pulling apart a live crab. If it’s helpful I did chase the odd pigeon as a dc & have never been violent. I have also used mouse traps.

There's a difference between enjoying killing a living being (or callously disregarding it and killing it because you are uncomfortable, i.e., spiders in the house), and eating meat. My youngest still needs instruction and guidance on how to behave like a properly socialised human being, and will occasionally run at flocks of pigeons and the like, but killing and pulling apart a crab is frankly disturbing and should be immediately stopped by the parents.

Cruelty to animals is not on, no matter the child's age/understanding.

Despicable behaviour. If there was a dead crab around where I live the big scary seagulls wouldn’t let the kids get a look in .

There's a difference between enjoying killing a living being (or callously disregarding it and killing it because you are uncomfortable, i.e., spiders in the house)

Surely both are bad, we are just more comfortable killing what we consider to be pests?

Thinking killing a lobster - the aim is to eat. But no, it’s done in a horrible way - and I wouldn’t eat one now I know that crabs/lobsters are sentient. Fois Gras is horrible too - but there is the outcome of eating. And a lot of farming can be seen as cruel - but it’s food.
A pest (mosquito or wasp) is to prevent harm, or spread of disease?
Think the difference is the purpose of the death! It was not a pest, or being used for food. It was just innocent - and for the kids it was the pleasure they got out of killing something which was wrong. Pulling its legs off…chucking it about. The killing has no purpose other than amusement for them.