Open letter to those who would torture, torment, or kill animals for their own entertainment...

To those inclined to pit one animal against another, just so you can watch the most savage act of nature acted out in the comfort of your garage - I have something to say to you:

Buy a ticket to somewhere wild. When you get there, don't stay at a nice hotel. Get off the plane and keep walking until you see no more beings that look like yourself, preferably in the jungle somewhere. You are now in the environment of that which you admire. Good. Now strip off your clothes and shoes. Don't worry about getting scratched up, or getting sores on your feet. Shoes, clothes - they are for wimps, certainly not for those who enjoy the rawness of nature.

Keep walking until you are thirsty. Drink from the nearest stream or body of water. Don't worry about microorganisms, or getting sick - nothing small can hurt *you*. You are in the wild. There is no time for this kind of worry in the wild, only the most primal instincts. That is what you admire, right? Keep on walking until you are deep in the wild and totally alone. This is the life, huh?

Walk a bit more, until you come across that which you most admire - a predator of some kind. Lions, bears, wolves - it doesn't matter, does it? That's what you came here for - to be with the strong and the powerful. Are you hungry yet? Good. So are they. It will be such a gallant struggle to see who comes out on top. Aren't you excited? They can smell that you are. But not to worry. It will be a fair fight. You will not be confined to a cage or a ring. Neither will they. Now is your chance to witness nature firsthand, to be a part of it in all it's glorious savagery. Only the strongest will survive...

Isn't this great? Aren't you liking this? Wait - why not? You're helpless and afraid, you say? You want your shoes and clothes back, a nice hot shower, and a comfortable bed, you say? Not *really* liking the savagery of nature now, are you?

Think about that, you sorry bastard, the next time you get the urge to entertain yourself with another being's helplessness. Remember what it felt like to be sore and tired, thirsty and hungry, helpless and afraid. You are not so different from them when it comes to those things. The only way that you *are* different is.. well, unspeakable and incomprehensible. You have lost something along the way. And I am miserably ashamed of you.