hoghunterfw
Thanks for bring this to the board. I can't see this as valuing them as people. Right now dogs are just property, Like a toaster, a hammer, etc. This suit tries to add more value to this class of property in terms of companionship, emotional attachment etc. If you shot a human, you would be at risk for the usual criminal charges and in civil court, loss of the companionship, emotional attachment , loss of "conubial" rights (sex) , loss of potenital future earned income for the rest the dead person's life, and more.
Some of us have dogs that supplement our income and if we went to sell them they would go for thousands. And these dogs are our hunting partners and friends as well. Some jerk shoots them out of spite, ignorance or jealousy ---- why not get fully compensated for the true value of a specially trained and experienced hog dog?
I do not see this as a win for fanatical animal rights. But potentiial progress towards deterring the slaughter of hunting dogs just doing their job.