What's the point (putting down a bull)

[KNiVES]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-11751079

Basically, two walkers decided it was a good idea to walk in a field with a bull as the sun's going down. One gets killed, the other gets seriously injured. The bull is now due to be put down as a token gesture.

Now this begs the question, what's the point? It's tragic that somebody died, but putting the animal down is over the top. Bulls are highly territorial and aggressive animals, and you are considered incredibly lucky if you can enter a field with one and not expect any overt gestures of aggression.

It's completely different to putting down, say dogs for example, because they have to be maintained and cared for by people around the clock, who could be exposed to further vicious attacks. Bulls on the other hand are left to their own devices in fields all day long with minimal human interaction, and are dealt with in a professional and coordinated way that has plenty of contingencies in place to deal with aggressive livestock.

Why not just place the bull back where it was and just leave it in the agricultural process it was involved in? It was completely unnecessary to put it down in my opinion.

 

[KNiVES]

It's meat, why keep meat that's proven itself to be dangerous - plenty more meat out there.

Bulls are extremely expensive, and the meat will sell for much less because it's not being put down in optimal conditions. All livestock are potentially dangerous, so that is a moot point, especially as farmers and people who work with livestock know how to handle them, as I pointed out earlier.

Farmers absolutely hate this kind of occurrence. I used to drink and chat with the farmers in the village where I lived all the time down at the local, and they tended to agree that events like this are a complete nightmare for them. They have dozens of livestock, but even seeing just one go at the wrong time is a big setback. It's not just the early slaughter, it's the paperwork, the legislative response, the reworked financial planning, etc etc etc. All completely unnecessary, and actually serves to drive up the price of British beef.

 

[KNiVES]

its been put down because frankly, people far more qualified than you - have decided that it is the best thing to do as it is dangerous. it also probably gives the family some piece of mind..

The whole 'people more qualified than you' slant doesn't work. You only have to look at the last 100 years.