I guess God doesn't high a value on animals as some do. Hey Zero,,,,,do you eat any meat? If so, you shouldn't call God a "murderer" for letting animals die.
After all, the REAL blame goes to man. Had Adam and Eve not sinned, there would be no death.
And why did God make that promise? I don't think God took any pleasure in making the flood happen. Remember, the ark took YEARS to build, and Noah spent every day telling people it was coming, to repent of their ways. They laughed at him and ignored his pleas.
Think of it like this.......remember the sinking of the Titanic? People were told to get into the lifeboats, that the great ship was going down. Many laughed, and i read where MANY made statements like "Why should we leave this great ship, to climb into a tiny, cold, lifeboat?" So was in the day of Noah. No one believed him, they laughed at him and the whole idea of a flood. People ridiculed the crew on the Titanic for telling them to get into the lifeboats, and many ended up dieing. Just like all those that Noah warned, time and time again, only to die because of their choosing to ignore him.
And I'm SURE Noah had GREAT vision. Not near perfect, but lots better then we have today. Even with that, stand and look out over lake Michigan. On a clear day, can you see Michigan from Green Bay? The curvature of the earth prevents you from seeing farther, right? So i think that fact would say why Noah didn't see land, and the WHOLE EARTH was flooded. And there was nothing out there to kill the bird. It was the only living thing flying around.
Oh....and not all seas creatures were spared, i'm sure. Under water volcanos i'm sure erupted at the time of the flood, and i bet there were creatures killed by the boiling water and lava.