Environmentalism and concern for nature are growing priorities for modern individuals, and for good reason when we examine humanity’s historical treatment of animals. Throughout history, the treatment of animals has ranged from reverence to cruelty. An article published in The Centre Reporter on May 1, 1873, recounts a disturbing story of English sportsmen tormenting and killing an otter for sport. For Christians, this account should be horrifying. According to Genesis 1:25, God created animals of all kinds and “saw that it was good.” After the creation, Adam and Eve were given dominion over animals, but they were expected to exercise this sovereignty through righteous stewardship, not reckless cruelty.
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Prophet Joseph Smith emphasized the gravity of this responsibility in his inspired revision of Genesis: “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. … And surely, blood shall not be shed, only for meat, to save your lives; and the blood of every beast will I require at your hands” (Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 9:9–11). This teaching underscores that animals are not to be killed needlessly, and humans are accountable for their treatment of God’s creations.
The Law of Moses further reinforces this principle of kindness toward animals. Deuteronomy 25:4 instructs, “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn,” ensuring animals are not deprived while working. Deuteronomy 22:10 prohibits unequal yoking, stating, “Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together,” to prevent undue suffering. The Israelites were also commanded to assist animals, even those belonging to enemies (Exodus 23:4–5), and to allow their animals rest on the Sabbath, just as humans were to rest (Exodus 20:10). Proverbs 12:10 beautifully summarizes this ethic: “A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.”
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, members were taught through Joseph Smith in March 1831 that vegetarianism and veganism are not mandatory doctrines, but responsible stewardship of animals remains essential: “And whoso forbiddeth to abstain from meats, that man should not eat the same, is not ordained of God; For, behold, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which cometh of the earth, is ordained for the use of man for food and for raiment, and that he might have in abundance. And wo be unto man that sheddeth blood or that wasteth flesh and hath no need” (Doctrine and Covenants 49:18–19, 21).
A poignant example of this principle occurred during the Zion’s Camp expedition in the summer of 1834, when Joseph Smith taught his followers about humanity’s relationship with God’s creations: “In pitching my tent we found three massasaugas or prairie rattlesnakes, which the brethren were about to kill, but I said, ‘Let them alone—don’t hurt them! How will the serpent ever lose his venom, while the servants of God possess the same disposition, and continue to make war upon it? Men must become harmless, before the brute creation; and when men lose their vicious dispositions and cease to destroy the animal race, the lion and the lamb can dwell together, and the sucking child can play with the serpent in safety.’ The brethren took the serpents carefully on sticks and carried them across the creek. I exhorted the brethren not to kill a serpent, bird, or an animal of any kind during our journey unless it became necessary in order to preserve ourselves from hunger” (Documentary History of the Church, vol. 2, pp. 71–72).
Prophets, spiritual leaders, and righteous individuals throughout history have consistently reminded humanity of their sacred duty to care for animals. God’s words to Noah echo this responsibility: “And surely, blood shall not be shed, only for meat, to save your lives; and the blood of every beast will I require at your hands” (Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 9:11). As stewards of God’s creation, we must strive to treat the earth and its creatures with respect and compassion, in stark contrast to the cruelty displayed by the sportsmen in the 1873 Centre Reporter article. Their actions serve as a sobering reminder of the consequences of disregarding our divine responsibility to care for all of God’s creations.1
English Sports.
An English paper called the Sportsman, gives the following description of an otter hunt, where the horrid torments inflicted on a poor animal appear to have given unmingled delight to some hundreds of beings, bearing the human form:
Every minute increased his distress; he could no longer keep under water, but swam up and down gasping and gnashing his white fangs above the surface in the utmost fury of rage and despair. When overtaken or met by any of the hounds, he would, for a second, conceal himself beneath, but being unable to remain, he would again rise above, and bite and grapple with them with the deadly fierceness of a serpent. Twice in this manner he swam the length of the pool, followed by the whole pack baying at his tail, and hailed by the united thunder of some fifty gazers. At last, S——, thinking it time to close the scene, in order to spare his dogs, advised everybody but himself to fall back from the lower shallow. The poor wretch soon discovered the deserted quarter, and made towards it. But before he could escape he had to clamber over the top of the net, which extended across the river at the point, sunk to the bottom by heavy loads, and attached to each of the banks.
A moment afterwards, in making this endeavor, he was raised from the stream to writhe in death upon the barbed spear. There he hung wriggling and twisting, and his eyes flashing the red sparks of rage, until all the party had collected around him; he was then cast into the midst of the hounds, upon whom having wreaked his vengeance by the inflictions of some heavy gashes, and, in return, having every bone within him ground and smashed almost into pulp, he, otter-like, without a cry, without a groan, returning wound for wound, and torture for torture, at length yielding his life, but not, however, till his enemies had paid for it at a most costly price.
“English Sports,” The Centre Reporter, (Centre Hall, PA), May. 1 1873, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83032058/1873-05-01/ed-1/.