Originally posted by myelo
All states in the US have laws against animal cruelty. In many states it's a felony with imprisonment up to 10 years.
Thanks for playing.
It's just not often enforced beyond fines, and very rarely enforced against kids under the age of 18. In most cases, the kids will receive court mandated treatment and therapy... but as that happened in the People Republic of Kalifornia, they might just wad them up in cotton and give them a hug and blame it all on the parents (that's it, jail the folks for this one!).
Best scenario would be the parents can't afford private and quality therapy and the kids are institutionalized in the state run system..... that ought to keep em good and traumatized, and well sedated, for a while.
Pets are often considered "property" in most states, and the owner does often have the right to put the animal down.... but in regards to the animal cruelty laws, how they do so is supposed to be humane, quick, and relatively painless. Dosing with flammables and torching them is not the legal way to euthanize a cat in any state, and not supposed to be a fun game.
And boo to Seagoon's weak hijack attempt of the thread. You need to practice up on that.