In my mind, this is extremely poor taste... the argument is that the possums are 'pests' and very destructive to crops and even general households - which is completely accurate. The same problem exists in parts of Australia, and just as with kangaroos and rabbits, the debate surrounding organized and systematic 'culling' has been continuing for decades.
But this should not equate to the celebration of complete disrespect for an animal corpse. In fact, I find this 'charity sport' both distressing and indeed quite sick.But the majority of Kiwis (60% of over 2,000 people) who were surveyed online by stuff.co.nz disagree with me, by saying that possum-throwing was "harmless fun for kids".
Although some locals had complained to the 'Society for Protection of Cruelty Against Animals', saying the practice taught kids to "disrespect dead animals", surprisingly enough there have actually been similar events that have been run to raise money for the SPCA.
Great - so it's not illegal and it's not in school hours... but is this the kind of morals that should be taught to young children? I think not!! What would the principal think if they had a 'tossing contest' of his departed relatives?
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1 comment:
has anyone asked the kids what they think ?
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