Apologies for my role in detailing this thread, I should have known better.

Treeman, it seems that your son is working through his thoughts on the value of life. I believe that respect for the life of the animal should be central to all of us who hunt or eat meat. This is why I think the European (and other areas) custom of thanking the animal after the hunt is so important.

I’m firmly of the opinion that losing respect for the value of life leads to cruel and unethical behavior. We see it in our criminals, and in so-called ‘hunters’ who try to show off with shots beyond their ability, and wound game as a result.

I would encourage him to keep asking why, and speaking out if he thinks something didn’t need to die. Speaking out leads to discussion, and ongoing discussions based on mutual respect are key to the formation of healthy value sets.

In the case of the monkey it’s a learning opportunity about how we need to take responsibility for keeping populations in check since we wiped out the natural predators, which in itself is a learning opportunity about how fragile ecosystems can be and the perils of indiscriminate killing.