Killing the compassion within

My family is synonymous with 'animal lovers'. Even mom's converted, and has been bunking her walks to take our dog out to play instead! So when a cousin dropped by and told us of the cruelly shocking way in which five dogs of her society, near Pleasant Park, Wanowrie, were murdered, we were naturally aghast.
The dogs were poisoned. They were tempted with food, a feast that led them to their death. I read in the newspaper some weeks ago that PETA will award Rs 10,000 to anyone who comes out with information about the killings. Thank God for animal rights activists, and thank god for money, I say. If not for the love of creation, then at least for the love of money, we might have someone offering information.
What did the dogs do that brought death upon them? They were vaccinated and spayed, and had no diseases. Their only fault was that they were dogs. They weren't 'stray' as they were being looked after by different residents of the society. They had never attacked or harmed anyone. They were friendly with kids as well. So what then must have irked someone to resort to the lowly act of murder? That they bark at odd hours of the night perhaps?
I have a family with little kids in my society; and when they were babies, they wailed at every other hour. Now I'm not particularly fond of kids, but I didn't sneak up on them and poison them! It would've been a horrid crime, wouldn't it? So how then can socially 'normal' people residing in a good area poison innocent dogs just because their 'barking' could be a nuisance at times?
Just because the dog clan can't voice its opinion, or take out a morcha to fight for dog/animal rights, doesn't mean we humans can exploit and play with their lives.
When will we learn that we are only a 'part' of creation? That we're meant to live in harmony with other forms of nature and not kill them for pleasure or selfish purposes?
I'm not saying I'm a saint. But I'd never do something so cowardly and so disgusting; something that reflects upon my race and tarnishes the intelligence and compassion we've been gifted with.
The anti-stray or anti-animal folks may say my view is absolutely biased. I will not dispute them. Biased or not, it's a view that condemns the act of taking away something that you do not have the power to create, and in this case, it's life.