Athletes and animals have been having a hard time coexisting of late. Just ask Michael Vick, Pedro Martinez and Tripp Isenhour. Or, better yet, ask a pit bull, rooster or hawk about how much fun they've had with those three guys. And a Palm Beach, Florida animal rights group would like you to add the pigs and dogs that found their way onto Marlins pitcher Logan Kensing's Texas ranch as well. Kensing has run into some trouble for his offseason habit of hunting those animals from a helicopter. He took a reporter with him on a flight, video's available via the Palm Beach Post, and showed how he uses the chopper to hunt the interloping animals he says tear up his land. The Palm Beach Environmental Coalition took issue with that, compared him to Vick, and wrote a letter to Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria.
"They have 10 days from Monday to reprimand the player for behavior that isn't one of a role model. If they don't, we will be persistent. We'll infiltrate the fans and pull out signs. We'll picket. If we're willing to have 27 people arrested (in a demonstration), it's obvious we're committed."Frankly, the comparisons to Vick seem far-fetched.
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Kensing hasn't committed any crime nor is he any crueler toward those animals than any hunter in the United States. Using the helicopter seems unsporting but he isn't hunting for sport but to protect his ranch, which is something landowners have done since the dawn of time.
Cruelty to animals is a disgusting thing and worthy of reprimands from employers and leagues across sports. Unless you believe that all hunting and fishing represents cruelty to animals, though, Kensing doesn't seem to have crossed that line. He may be a bit overly enthusiastic about shooting the animals from a chopper, you can practically hear Ride of the Valkyries pumping through the whirlybird, but comparisons to the likes of Vick are inapt.
There is an upside for the Marlins, however. Someone in South Florida has finally noticed that they've got a baseball team, with uniforms and everything!
(H/T 100% Injury Rate)
