I have to agree about the fish....it sounds cruel, but how much can you torture an animal with a 3 second memory? And just like everything else involved with law, it comes down to the individual situations...the law is flexible for a reason, so the people can mold it to reflect the opinions and values of the time (IDEALLY). I DO think that there needs to be stricter punishments for abusing animals that have been domesticated for who knows how long (like dogs, obviously) just because I feel they've earned it; it's just downright disrespectful to treat an animal that only lives to please you, and has been for thousands of years, like a piece of property. And if these stricter punishments extend to other, less "domesticated" animals, so much the better. Anyway, sorry for the long post, like everyone here I have strong feelings on the subject =P