I'm not agreeing with nathan from satan up above in his implication of it being fine, but it was normal in undeveloped nations (read: before cell phones or even the 'car phones'). My friend would repeat the story his father's generation did in scandinavia: kittens that you didn't want born were gathered up in a sack, which was tied, and said sack was tossed in a pond or stream. It was relatively simple, didn't require you to 'waste' a bullet, and if you walked away for a while you didn't have to deal with (in other words, see/hear/comprehend) the horror of what you just did.