SCENARIOS in which cruelty to animals can be justified are hard to imagine, but here the Jimboomba region is with a magpie that appears to have been deliberately killed by being shot with an arrow.
While it is hard to believe the poor creature just happened to fly in front of a wayward arrow, of much concern is that someone moving through our community with a bow and arrow is willing to use it without permission on another person’s private property. Imagine if the shot had missed its intended target and hit a child. Is this the kind of community we want?
The Logan area does not have a great track record in the halls of animal cruelty.
As the Times reported earlier this year, this region scored a major fail in its number of horse neglect and cruelty incidents in 2016, with RSPCA Queensland reporting that 169 cases from within the Logan area were reported to them last year.
That equates to more than 14 incidents per month.
As a regional community, we strive to entice visitors to the area through special events – the Australian Supercross Championships and Eats and Beats, for example.
Events such as these draw thousands of people to the region. Surely the aim is to show the area as a great place to visit.
Yet right now in our community there is at least one magpie that was mercilessly shot with an arrow.
Perhaps there were others also shot, but which have not been found, or which are dying a slow, painful death from infection.
When incidents of animal cruelty are reported in the media, phone calls and letters regularly follow, with most people expressing horror, disgust and dismay.
With cases of animal cruelty continuing to be reported, the time is here to put some focused energy into better protecting our animals.
If you know who shot the magpie, speak up and report it to authorities.
