Dear PeTA...

It's me again. I know we've had our differences, but I think I've found some common ground. So please put your clothes back on, lay off trying to guilt me into being a vegan for now, and do everything in your power to see to it that this psychopath goes to prison:



This is a scene from a Colombian professional soccer league game last weekend, between Deportivo Pereira and Atlético Junior (the home team in Barranquilla). The owl, which lived on the roof of the stadium and was considered a mascot of Junior, had alighted on the field and was accidentally hit by a ball in play.

Angered at the interference, Pereira player Luis Moreno went back and kicked the bird — causing injuries that later proved fatal.

Moreno was immediately confronted by angry opposing players. He left the game under heavy guard and was handed a two-game suspension by the league, as well as a  $560 fine for animal abuse.

Of course, that was not the end of it. Both local fans and animal rights advocates from around the world have risen up against the act, uttering death threats against the player, and establishing numerous Facebook pages and groups demanding everything from his firing to his brutal murder.

Me, I just want to see civilized justice. NY Daily News says that under Colombia Law, Moreno could face up to 3 months in jail.

Why do I care? I eat meat, after all, and the animals I eat are dispatched with pretty much just as brutal efficiency (behind closed doors).

Well, this may sound odd, but it's not just about the animal for me. It's about what this says about people. Humans who treat other living things with such senseless cruelty show a lack of empathy and impulse control that is seen in individuals who are later diagnosed with psychopathy. By punishing the infraction against another animal, we may be able to prevent escalation to human-on-human violence.

So, PeTA... instead of using this incident to grandstand against sports mascots in general, why not recognize this incident as an opportunity to get mainstream support? Nobody likes what Moreno did, because it showed a complete disregard for life and social values. Go after the man himself, and mobilize your troops to demand justice from the Colombian legal system, and insist that he is banned from the league.

And keep it civilized, please. There are already enough death threats and racial epithets being thrown around. When anyone calls for cruelty as retribution for cruelty, we all lose a little something inside.