Owl kicking incident

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A barn owl, the unofficial mascot of Wikipedia:Atlético Junior, a Colombian soccer team, flew, already injured according to sources, onto the pitch during a football match between Atlético Junior and Deportivo Pereira. It was hit by the ball, and subsequently kicked by Panamanian defender Wikipedia:Luis Moreno. It was treated by a veterinarian, but later died of shock on Tuesday March 1st 2011, at 2.57am. Moreno was allegedly upset and worried, and did not mean to kill the owl. As it was about to be kicked, apparently the owl turned its head to look at Moreno. Soccer officials described the unfortunate owl as "practically a symbol for the Barranquillera fan", and suspended Moreno for two games, fining him $560. A correspondent for the Telegraph noted the similarity of another recent incident in England, and suggested that kicking this owl could be the start of a slippery slope leading to children being injured.

Someone paid to be obtuse got paid for saying things like, "The cause of death was shock, possibly brought on by excessive handling as medical staff fussed over it after Moreno's kick." and, "Violence against opponents is typical in most sports. Fans accept that....But cruelty to animals incites them to rage." and reciting a macabre list of other such incidents:

"Late in a tight hockey game, for whatever reason, Carlton the Bear wanders out onto the ice and is chinned with a slapshot. While the Leafs mascot lies there, stunned, an opponent skates up and begins viciously beating him with his stick. Within a few days, Carlton expires from his injuries. Again, in the Toronto context, this sparks a huge local debate about how many compensatory draft picks we are owed for one dead bear."

"Other notorious incidents include Mississippi State football coach Jackie Sherrill having a bull castrated in front of his team as a motivational exercise; and golfer Tripp Isenhour chasing around an annoying hawk, and eventually killing it with a drive. Sherill got no punishment. (His team beat overwhelming favourite Texas the next week.) Isenhour was fined and sentenced to community service.

"Torontonians will remember then-Yankee Dave Winfield killing a seagull with a thrown ball at the old Exhibition Stadium. The resulting scandal trailed Winfield on all his visits to Toronto — right up until he joined the Jays and helped drive them to their first World Series."

Further reading

People who take direct action in the area of animal rights are not only on one side of the debate. Other anti-animal rights activity:

• "It's only a cat"

The cat dumper denies the story as reported by the Sun. Both the CCTV owners and a Telegraph correspondent were surprised to find the perpetrator was not "a furtive teenager wearing a hoodie"