Animal compassion. What should be done?

Here are some examples of the Hebrew legislation regarding the ethical treatment of animals:

1. It is prohibited to cause pain to animals - tzaar ba’alei chaim. (Exodus 23:5)
   
2. One is obligated to relieve an animal’s suffering (i.e. unburden it), even if it belongs to your enemy. (Exodus 23:5)
   
3. If an animal depends on you for sustenance, it is forbidden to eat anything until feeding the animal first. (Deut. 11:15)
   
4. We are commanded to grant our animals a day of rest on Shabbat. (Exodus 20:10)
   
5. It is forbidden to use two different species to pull the same plow, since this is unfair to the weaker animal. (Deut. 22:10)
   
6. It is a mitzvah to send away a mother bird before taking her young. (Deut. 22:7)
   
7. It is forbidden to kill a cow and her calf on the same day. (Leviticus 22:28)
   
8. It is prohibited to sever and eat a limb off a live animal. (Genesis 9:4; this is one of the “Noachide” laws that apply to Jews and non-Jews alike.)
   
9. Shechita (ritual slaughter) must be done with a minimum of pain to the animal. The blade must be meticulously examined to assure the most painless form of death possible. (“Chinuch” 451; “Pri Megadim” - Introduction to Shechita Laws).