For a long while now people have been quick to blame music, film and video games for youth violence, but we're not sure how to explain the seeming increase in stories about kids brutalizing random animals.

In the latest upsetting tale, from Newfoundland, three kids chased down a baby moose and beat it with sticks so badly wildlife officials had to put it down. Witnesses said the three boys had been chasing the moose around on their bicycles and hitting it until the calf was barely able to stand up.

"I can't understand why there would be such barbaric acts committed," said RCMP Sgt. Jacques Morneau. "I mean, the poor thing was crying out for its mother. The officers were very discouraged about the whole thing when they returned."

The three kids are all under 15 and may be facing criminal charges. Read more stories that make us worried for boyhood today.

And they're not alone. We all remember the furor about a year ago with the kids who made the cat torture video that was posted on YouTube. An 18-year-old in Florida went one step further and has been charged with killing 19 cats, some of which he had to break into homes to find. Meanwhile, in the U.K., a man walking his dog witnessed another group of kids stomping a newborn deer to death in a park recently.

Back in the day it was a surefire sign you were raising a little Hannibal Lecter if he shut a cat in an abandoned fridge, but stories like these seem to be becoming commonplace. Maybe every young boy has that moment when he accidentally hits a bird with a BB gun and spends the rest of the afternoon crying because he realizes what he's done. But with all this recent craziness, maybe not anymore.

From the Web:
A Dog Milking a Goat. (Holy Taco)

Creatures Who Got the End of the Ugly Stick. (Uncoached)