Originally posted by Chainsaw Kitten
And personally, I'd rather kill kittens at newborn age when they have no real personality traits yet than give them to a shelter when they're weened and they have developed or are developing this personality. That's even more cruel. They are very likely to be killed then.
It is difficult to work in a shelter environment and have to see perfectly friendly adult animals euthanized. It's heartbreaking when you get attached to an animal with a strong personality, only to have it euthanized. (Before getting my degree, I worked at the Michigan Humane Society, and we had to euthanize several animals per day - even seemingly healthy, friendly animals. Needless to say, I only worked there for about 6 months before I couldn't take it anymore - but I did take a 10 week old kitten with me when I left )

But I wouldn't say that it's any less sad having to euthanize a little baby for the same reasons. A life is a life - whether it's old or young. And the animal can still feel pain the same - whether it's old or young. It's a possibility that young animals may not have the learned fear behind the pain sensation, but that has nothing to do with the intensity of the pain. Animals flip out more because of the fear response than the pain response - and I don't think anyone can argue with me on this point since I draw blood on cats every day and experience this every single day. Fear and pain are two different things.