Where Are the Calls for "Civility" to the Nation's Animals After a Bloody Week in which a Fox Shot a Man & a Rat Bit a Dude Right on the Tallywacker?!

It was a bad week for humans. The small land mammals of the world are apparently fed up with us pushing our weight around so much, and they ain't takin' it any longer! First up is the curious case of the fox who reportedly used his "paw" (do foxes have paws or hoofs?) to pull the trigger on a rifle, injuring the man who had been hunting the fox.

The first linked story says the fox had been wounded by the hunter but "shot its would be killer" by "pulling the trigger on the hunter's gun as the pair scuffled after the man tried to finish the animal off with the butt of the rifle."

Frankly, I'm not sure what the odder sight would be here: The fox operating a firearm or the fox putting up his dukes (errrr, paws) in order to engage in a "scuffle" with the hunter? Regardless, "the animal fiercely resisted and in the struggle" ended up reportedly "pulling the trigger with its paw," sending the hunter to the ER with a leg wound. The fox escaped, and there's no word whether it's facing any charges or whether it remains armed and dangerous.

Next up: I've heard of a "jailhouse rat," but this ridiculous (second link)! Some rat (both figuratively and literally) in New York allegedly took a bite out of a male inmate's penis at a county hoosegow, "drawing blood" in the process.

The inmate – 54-year-old Peter Solomon – says the furry critter's presence was due to the deliberate "indifference" of his jailers, who allegedly "knew the ward in which they placed him was infested with rodents." Solomon also claims his jailers "mistreated him because he is black," and that he's been the butt of jokes ("rabies jabs") around the joint ever since the rat mistook his junk for a Kraft cheese stick.

Since I doubt the rat has two plug nickels to scrape together, Solomon is instead going after the deeper pockets of the county in a new lawsuit. Similar to the gun-toting fox, there's no indication yet whether this rat is still on the loose or whether cops are looking to finger it for its alleged little role in this whole sordid event.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_belarus_fox;_ylt=Anaio1QYos_5VVn.0OJI1nJzfNdF
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12187409