Category: Animal Cruelty

Although animal cruelty is not limited to these areas, changes in farming, animal testing, and fishing achieved through implementing an additional legal basis and providing financial support are possible ways to reduce the global animal cruelty scale.

Animal cruelty is the deliberate infliction of pain that leads to the death or injury of an animal. Without a proper assessment, animal cruelty gradually leads to personality degradation, which subsequently contributes to antisocial behavior, violence, and murder. Ignoring cases of animal cruelty, society condemns not only defenseless animals to death but itself as well.

The humane treatment of farm animals is one of the most significant issues in ensuring animal welfare. More than 70 billion animals are bred for food needs annually, and 2/3 of them are raised in unacceptable conditions (Cornish, Raubenheimer, & McGreevy, 2016, p. 74). At the governmental level, farmers should be legally obliged to implement humane methods without keeping animals in cramped cages that cause pain and suffering. Also, changes should be made to the slaughter process, including pre-slaughter stunning, which prevents animals from feeling pain, and the use of non-slip floors and ramps with a low angle of inclination for fall and injury prevention.

Thousands of animals perish in painful experiments and drug testing annually (Doke, & Dhawale, 2015, p. 224). However, the difference between the processes occurring in the human and animal bodies negates the expediency of the use of animals. Instead, some kind of cells or computer models might be used. Reducing animal cruelty in this field is possible by financing specialists who develop alternatives to animal experiments and adopting appropriate restrictive laws.

It is also necessary to reduce the enormous suffering of marine animals caused by injury from lost/discarded fishing gear. When catching 125 tons of fish, about 1 ton of tackles is thrown away. As a result, about 136 thousand marine animals die annually (). Measures on reducing animal cruelty in this area should include uniting partners to stop the loss of fishing gear, supporting new ways to remove tackles from the seas, and assisting rescue teams in saving tangled marine animals.

The above-mentioned measures would be implemented in the long run only through strict legislation and the cooperation of governments and communities around the world. A unified international document restricting any manifestation of aggression towards animals should will Justifying criminal liability for these acts can create a proper cultural attitude towards animal cruelty in society.

To prevent animal cruelty, it is necessary to protect both wild and domestic animals from various negative influences and create appropriate living conditions which will beneficially affect the public consciousness as a whole.

“When it comes to having a central nervous system, and the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy” (Ingrid Newkirk).

The deplorable crime of subjecting docile animals to diabolical treatment delivered by man is completely unacceptable and should be abolished. Cruelty against animals is the embodiment of immoral behavior and the distasteful act is overlooked massively on a global scale. The reward for demonstrating compassion, loyalty, and vulnerability towards us is mutilation, manipulation, and absolute disregard for their existence. The five freedoms that contribute to ensuring animals are in a safe, secure, and protected environment include freedom from discomfort, freedom from thirst and hunger, freedom to express normal behavior, freedom from pain, injury and disease, and freedom from fear and distress. The physical and mental effects of recurrent neglect, the condemnation of acquitted animals, the marginalized link amid animal abuse and psychopaths, and the corrupt facilities that exploit beautiful creatures for human entertainment/performance and financial gain are several plausible reasons to cease the cruelty of animals. The time to decide between the eternally conflicted wolves is here. Whom do you feed?

The species’ physical and mental stability becomes fractured when these endured animals are violated and trapped in an inhumane context at the mercy of our wrath. Being in a constant state of confinement or captivity in atrocious conditions paired with barbaric treatment, evokes the expected response of emotions, such as frustration, agitation, and the most dangerous state – psychosis. Physical factors are also present in these circumstances like emaciation (from starvation), scars, wounds, and bacterial and viral diseases. The epitome of an animal acting according to this criterion was Tilikum, an exotic male orca that was resented for consuming a SeaWorld trainer. Before this unfortunate event, Tilikum led a life of solitude with the difficult upbringing of being stolen as a baby killer whale, starved by the trainers, and attacked by other established dolphins (rakes) from his genetically modified ‘family’. Tilikum’s frustrations and sheer boredom exploded with the catastrophic ending of a woman being killed. Wild marine mammals are recorded to have nil number of deaths compared to the 100s of injuries sustained to us by abused dolphins living a life of misery in captivity. This once free and friendly creature was brainwashed and dejectedly overpowered by negative emotions from a lifetime of neglect and ill–treatment that compelled him to make a choice. He decided to swim to the dark side of the ‘20ft by 30ft’ deep water box. The five principles that enable animals to have certain liberations to ensure safety for that species are clearly ignored, and the physical and mental capacity of an animal is severely affected by harsh treatment. This implores that animal cruelty should be diminished within all cultures, traditions, and facilities within society.

The punishment for animals compared to humans is tarnished with the brush of unfairness and inequality as animals receive euthanasia for attacking a person whereas humans are merely reprimanded with a ‘slap on the wrist’. Since cruelty against humans is worthy of the revocation of an animal’s life, then the same penalty should be sentenced to the assailant who violates an unaggressive, unprovoked animal. The imprisonment and assault upon an innocent animal is a relatively small charge, however, many court cases involving jail time are taken seriously and include a thorough investigation when dealing with human-based crimes. Animal cruelty is an extremely underrated law and is commonly capsized for other more ‘important’ cases. “A man was walking down the street, high as a kite on some alleviating drug, and sweetly lured his pray over with an offer of his hand. Once the dog was within reach, he tackled this defenseless animal to the ground and swung his fist into this dog’s face and neck rhythmically with a clear intention to kill or harm. The dog tried aimlessly to escape this attack and therefore tried to move his body into a different position. This barbaric man wrapped his menacing hands around the dog’s neck and threw him viciously to the ground. The dog saw an opening once he uprighted himself and ran, for his life depended on it”. This man didn’t have a white van and he didn’t have candy. Instead, he had a fake persona and was an affectionate creature desperate for attention. He may not have stolen a child, but he did install fear of man into the very essence of this dog’s heart. Weeks later you find out that the dog didn’t die from this altercation, you discover the dog was euthanized for wrapping his jaw around a kind man’s neck when he tried to offer consolation. This disfigured line of trust was shattered with fear so deeply embedded that capital punishment was his choice of recovery. “The man who initiated the ‘random’ attack wasn’t dealt with by the police who stated that they are allowing the RSPCA to handle this perfect representation of animal injustice”. Many of our simple principles and customs revolve around animal activism, and it’s as important as eating breakfast in the morning that the quality of an animal’s life is shown more respect than a needle that’s touch injects the kiss of death.

The defined link between a serial killer/sociopath begins with the horrific offense of animal slaughtering, as stated in the homicidal triad. The homicidal triad is a theory of childhood signs that can determine a future serial killer. These three aspects of this triangle are bed–wetting, fire setting, and animal cruelty. By examining a person’s behavior exerted towards defenseless creatures, the possibility includes witnessing a murderer in the making. The death of an older person or child can be determined by being associated with killing or abusing animals at a younger, lesser–developed age. Dr. Chris Hensley, an associate professor of criminal justice, explains that people who harm animals perceive them as weaker. In relation to the homicidal triad, this suggests that the more vulnerable and endearing animals are targeted by younger children and adolescents like birds, small forest animals, and domestic pets. This disturbing deed is overturned by inattentive parents who disbelief that their child could potentially harm another living creature. If children who were brought up in stable and appropriate environments with disturbed children/ adolescents were either isolated or consistently watched and received treatment for mental issues, it could copiously reduce the number of animal deaths per year. This heinous crime is committed within all ages, cultures, and races of the human spectrum, and it’s utterly unacceptable for this disgusting treatment toward animals to continue to remain able. We gain an incentive from attempting to decline the number of child and teenage animal murderers and abusers, which is to potential to save the life of a friend or father who could’ve been in the hostile situation of the Port Arthur massacre. Instead, this never existed, and Martin Bryant wasn’t a cold, blooded killer because he was medically diagnosed as a boy who had the ‘signs’ of a man worthy of an attack like fascination with fire–setting and cruelty to animals.

The inexcusable act of animals being utilized for financial gain and as a form of entertainment contradicts the mandatory freedoms concerning all animals and compromises their general welfare. To exercise the mind of an exotic, farm, or wild animal into giving up control of their body, free will, and natural instincts is a challenging task and should be restricted from happening in societal facilities like SeaWorld and circuses. An example of animals in horrible conditions are factory-farmed animals, and they practice inhumane procedures for financial gains, such as selective breeding, administering antibiotics, and mutilating sensitive areas of animals, such as bull testicles and chicken beaks, without anesthesia. It is also encouraged by other wild animals such as tigers as they are drugged so that people can be entertained by a close-up photo of an animal that is considered dangerous.

In summary, the existence of animals and the quality of their lives depend solely on us and our attitude. Cruelty to animals must be stopped.

Animal abuse is a chief social issue affecting animals, families, and communities. It includes physical, sexual, emotionalabuse, staging animal fights, cruelty and inhumanity towards animals. In India, cruelty to animals is a major concern which Indians are not taking any responsibility for. Over 24,000animal cruelty cases are reported in India in the last 3 years: Govt (Times of India, 2016). From 2011 to 2016, 19028 cases of animal abuse were reported in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay Society for prevention of cruelty to animals, 2017). 100 dogs killed, stealthily buried in a village in Chennai India (The Hindu, 2016).

It is occurring around India due to the lack of public awareness, poor public veterinary facilities, inadequate or stringent rules for the protection of animal rights and the minimum penalty for the violation of law. Moreover, there are numerous laws in India that were established to safeguard animals and stop cruelty towards them but very few are aware of what they are and how they work. India is facing certain barriers for implementing these laws such as high cost for higher welfare standard and dearth of resources.

Majority of animals including domestic as well as wild animals are affected with this issue, since ages. Cats and Dogs seem to be the most abused animals. Animal cruelty begin in India from the ancient times. Of course, animal fighting is only one of the many types of animal cruelty and each has different history and timeline. For instance, kambala, buffalo race in Karnataka which is a 300-year-old sport, cockfight, bear and monkey dance to name but a few.

Our leader and her community demonstrate High context and Formal forms of intercultural communication. She built trust among people by her valuable contribution to both women, child and animal welfare sectors via working with various groups. For example, she founded a group called People for Animals’, which works all over India with the unity of likeminded people. The Organization aims to build hospitals for animals and the prevention of cruelty towards animals.

She formulated and implemented strict rules and regulations while she was the Union minister and encourage people to follow such rules. , on her work for women and child welfare, she formulated a set of rules to ensure the safety of children staying in Hostels. Maneka Gandhi said ‘we decided to formulate a set of guidelines to ensure adequate safety, minimum standards of living conditions and periodic inspections at hostels’ (NDTV, 2018).

Maneka was born on august 26,1956 in New Delhi, India. She is a graduate from Lady Sri Ram college and later at Jawaharlal Nehru college, New Delhi. Her interest was in Politics and animal welfare activities. she is a well-known animal right activist. She started a political party called Rastriya Sanjay Manch (1983- 1988). She became minister for women and child development in 2014 in Narendra Modi government. She is the founder of an organization People for Animal which is the largest organization in India for animal welfare and animal rights. Maneka Gandhi has led the way for social and legislative reforms and has played a key role in bringing the issue of animal rights to the fore front. She won various accolades, like PraniMitra award (1996), International Women’s Association’s Women of the year (2001), Environmentalist and vegetarian of the year (1994), Life time Achievement award by Venu Menon Animal allies foundation(1999) .She was honored with Lord Erskine Award from the Royal Society for the prevention of cruelty against animals.

She demonstrated democratic style of leadership, her leadership style is evident from her active role in Indian democracy and politics as well as her efforts to safeguard animals through her animal welfare activities. She is a member of Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian Parliament and a member of Bhartiya Janata Party, a prominent democratic political party which follows a participate leadership style.

Strong democratic leaders inspire, trust and respect among followers. While she was the Minister for women and child development, Maneka Gandhi set up a four-member committee panel for handling complaints of sexual harassment which arises during the ‘Me Too campaign’. Gandhi said ‘I believe in the pain and trauma behind every single complaint. Cases of sexual harassment at work must be dealt with a policy of zero tolerance’ (India Today, 2018, para. 3). This activity increases Maneka Gandhi’s faith and respect among women and children.

In democratic leadership style all activities and decisions are based on their morals and values, for example Maneka Gandhi once said “Every single animal brings to us life, we don’t give it life. If you remove them, you will lose all your trees, you will lose all your flowers and you will lose your biodiversity” (The Economic Times, 2019, Para. 3). This single statement from her shows that she considers animals as equally important as humans and value them surely deserve to live their lives free from suffering and exploitation.

The four leadership practices that Maneka Gandhi demonstrates which relates to our problem are:

1. Model the Way

Leaders model the way by setting an example. They can motivate, inspire or teach the world by demonstrating their vision through words and actions. Maneka, not only known as Indian politician but also a known environmentalist got a blessed quality of understanding, acknowledging feelings and values of humanity along with affectionate to animals. Besides this, she is clear about the guiding principles as well as she has her own voice in bringing the issue of animal cruelty to the forefront. Therefore, Maneka encourages others to follow her guiding spirit by setting an example. She caught the attention of people recently by saving an injured Monkey, and act immediately after seeing a news on twitter. Maneka Gandhi quickly responded after she found that she was tagged by someone asking help for an injured monkey. She responded with in an hour.’Thank you for tagging me, I am sending a car right now to have him send to Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Center for treatment. The car will be there in few minutes ‘she posted (Times of India, 2019, para.3).

Moreover, Maneka also stood up for children’s rights, Domestic violation act and several activities for gender equality. These heartening thoughts and behavior made her as a good model.

2. Encourage the Heart

Leadership has no purpose if there is no relationship between leaders and the people, in the simplest sense of heart. Leaders are passionate about what they are doing and contribute individually for the success of the project. Maneka Gandhi said once that ‘treating animals is more important than having something on the wall” .Maneka Gandhi is selling her rare mica art collection for her true love – Animal welfare to raise money for the animal hospitals under her organization -people for animals (Hindustan Times, 2018,Para.1 ).Through this activity she endorsed the heart of many people and proved the ways to treat animals with respect and care. Rather than emphasizing on fame and profit, she focused on animal welfare.

She received Shining World Compassion Award including an amount of US$20,000 as a proof of her love for humanity, animal friends and thus planet shines because of her actions. Following the ceremony of award receiving , on behalf of Ms. Gandhi, one of her trustees wrote a thanks giving letter stating this.’Accordingly , Ms Maneka Gandhi has transferred the entire amount of US$20,000 to the non- profitable charitable trust that she heads, People For Animals to be solely used for the benefit of animals and the environment. We should be most grateful to receive your blessings for this work’ (Shukla A, 2010).

3. Enable Others to Act

Enable others to act is by fostering teamwork, collaboration, trust and strengthening others to achieve the goal. Maneka has the quality to encourage other people in order to act against social evil. She as an animal right activist, legalized to end cow slaughter as well as banning zoos across the country during the time of her ministry. Maneka pleaded for a nation-wide protest to stop slaughtering of cows. Furthermore, she alleged that zoos need to be closed and are not for entertainment and seem to have an anti-social element. She described zoo as a hell on earth and suggested people to watch discovery television channels rather than going to zoos. Because of her collective activity a law passed by The Ministry of Environment and Forests to ban cattle sale and purchase for slaughter in the year 2017.She enacted strict rules for supervising the slaughter houses to make sure that no animals are bought for slaughter, but they can be derived from farms so that health safety can be guaranteed. Via her actions large number of illegal slaughterhouses were closed and people ought to follow her rules for running slaughterhouses, thus reduced zoonotic diseases like anthrax. Her perspective is that humans ought to provide fairness to animals and people equally.

Union minister Maneka Gandhi today said the new rules banning sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter would ensure that the bovines are not ill- treat (The Economic Times, 2017, para. 1).

4. Challenge the Process

Leaders lead others to greatness, seek and accept challenges. Leaders always find a different and creative ways in doing things in order to grow and improve and challenge the status quo and question the existing norms. Maneka Gandhi said “Customs that are retrograde and cost unnecessary cruelty to animals and humans must be avoided”. There is no justification for so many poor people and animals getting injured and dying every year during events such as Jallikattu” (The Week, 2017, para. 3). Maneka is dynamic to convey her views in facing issues and she questions any form of sport which cause harm to animals even if it’s a part of culture.

Jallikattu, a traditional and popular bull-chasing sport which is organized during the harvest festival Pongal. It was challenged by Maneka for the ethical treatment of animals. She advocated and led ‘People for animals’ for the opposition of jallikattu. Even though there was heavy disagreement from local people against her views since it is a part of their culture to celebrate Pongal, she collaborated with other animal welfare organizations to support the prohibition of this ancient sport. They alleged that behind a game, bulls are being hurt in many ways such as twisting their tails and consuming alcohol to provoke them in order to win the competition. Eventually due to the collective objection from animal lovers Supreme court banned jallikattu in 2014 embracing that this sport is really a brutality to bulls, also declared this as an offense under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. However, the government issued an order lifting the ban by enforcing stringent rules and regulations to avoid harm to these bulls during the sport in 2017.

The main allegations she faced during the journey of animal welfare is regarding the stray dogs. As per Indian law, stray dogs are supposed to be sterilized and injected with Anti- rabies vaccine and to be set free where they live. Since Maneka loves animals she was against this law which results in the rise of death due to rabies infection. Many incidents emerged, for example, small children were attacked by the stray dogs and it led people to run campaign against her and her movement, to protect stray dogs. “Maneka Gandhi’s Human rights more animal centric’’(Varma, 2015). Maneka Gandhi failed to succeed in her stand against the sterilization of stray dogs due to objection from people. An appropriate suggestion to overcome this issue would be the domestication of stray dogs, birth control measures and implementation of regular vaccine.

Maneka Gandhi urged people to follow vegetarian diet in order to save animal lives, this was against certain religious practices and diets. During religious festivals in India, where they practice slaughtering animals for meat. ‘Everything about every part and organ of human body is vegetarian. When we put and alien substance like meat into the human body, we become prone to diseases'(Gandhi, 2017). Major festivals are associated with their regional/traditional belief and practices, which they were observing it from long time back. As a result of her efforts, many slaughter houses were shut down in various parts of India, ending a majority of illegal slaughtering.

‘I don’t understand their lust to kill animals said by Maneka Gandhi” (Ganesan, 2016). Maneka has criticized the environment ministry’s recent decision to declare some animals as vermin. In certain states of India like Himachal Pradesh, Goa, and West Bengal, state governments gave permission to kill certain animals such as monkeys, peacock and elephants that destroy crops and possess harm to human life. So, there was an intense pressure against Maneka Gandhi to support the state government policies of declaring animals as vermin. Meneka suggested that government must think twice before approving the projects which damage forests and they must work with farmers in developing some solutions such as fencing the farmland, noise makers, planting chili plants to repel them.

Even though, India, a developing nation with strong political, hierarchical bias and male chauvinism, she came forward from a politically famous ‘Gandhi’ family she has been successful in designing a unique identity because of her outstanding effort towards her goal.

Maneka was successful to a great extend in saving animal life throughout India. She led an unbeaten life in which she made others to rethink their cultures, traditions, lifestyle, behaviors and attitudes related towards animals. Remodeling an entire system or the judiciary matters in a nation is not easy, but minor changes in the legislations will gradually promotes to a positive outcome. As a result of her animal welfare works and campaigns, people became more aware of animal rights, regulations, hence cruelty to animals in India subsided. Menaka Gandhi drove an anti-animal sacrifice campaign that ends the tradition of sacrificing animals at Bhukal Kalinka Temple in India. The victory encouraged Maneka Gandhi to continue the campaign, and a dozen of other temples in the country stopped animal sacrifice.

Menaka Gandhi encouraged developments in animal welfare sector by influencing and working with various groups. She brought strong restrictions for transportation of livestock. She made movements to stop illegal transportation of animals and introduced special trucks with welding cages inside them to prevent overloading. Moreover, her activities resulted in the reduction of illegal export and smuggling of animals. Minister of animal care in India ordered a ban on all animal experiments at Pune – based National Institute of virology as a result of effort by Menaka Gandhi.

‘I am grateful to Union minister Harsh Vardhan,for formulating and publishing the pet shop rules 2018,which will act as a major deterrent to animal cruelty in trading of pets Maneka Gandhi tweeted ( Press Trust Of India, 2018, Para.4). As a result of work by Maneka Gandhi’s peoples for animals, a stringent rule (Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) came in to act emphasizing banning the sale and purchase of cattle from animal market for slaughter. Considering a social and judicial impact, Menaka Gandhi was successful in reducing the suffering of animals by urging Indians to ditch dairy and the pharmaceutical industry to replace gelatin capsules with plant-based versions. She successfully led the legislative initiate to require stringent punishment for transporting chickens in battery cages throughout India (Cappiello , 2017).

Maneka succeeded not only in animal welfare activities but also in creating a new division for women safety, bringing attention to their problems, gender equality. Overall, she won to catch the heart of others and motivated all the Indians to consider animals as a living creature, with humanity. She is continuing her service to promote women empowerment and animal safety and welfare in India.

References

1. Chatterjee, B. (2017, June 03).19,028 animal cruelty cases in Mumbai over 5 years; not a single arrest. Hindustan Times. Retrieved from https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/19-028-animal-cruelty-cases-in-mumbai-over-5-years-not-a-single-arrest/story-71BzHW03ONSXiKhu8FN0HL.html
2. Wildlife & City: PfA has rescued 61 slender loris in Bengaluru, says Maneka Gandhi. (2019, September 29) The Economic Times. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/wildlife-city-pfa-has-rescued-61-slender-loris-in-bengaluru-says-maneka-gandhi/articleshow/71358804.cms?from=mdr
3. WCD Ministry to Formulate Guidelines for Children’s Hostels. (2018, December 05) NDTV.com. Retrieved from https://www.ndtv.com/education/wcd-ministry-to-formulate-guidelines-for-childrens-hostels-1958413
4. Jallikattu: India court says Tamil Nadu bullfighting ban remains. (2016, January 12) BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-india-35290272
5. Karindalam, A. (2017, January 17). No justification for Jallikattu, says Maneka Gandhi. The Week. Retrieved from https://www.theweek.in/content/archival/news/india/no-justification-jallikattu-says-maneka-gandhi.html
6. Over 24,000 animal cruelty cases reported in last 3 yrs: Govt . (2016, May 03) India Today. Retrieved from https://www.indiatoday.in/pti-feed/story/over-24000-animal-cruelty-cases-reported-in-last-3-yrs-govt-601049-2016-05-03
7. Collins, J (2018, January 25). MANEKA GANDHI – UNSTOPPABLE SOCIAL REFORMER. Infinite Fire. Retrieved from http://infinitefire.org/info/maneka-gandhi-unstoppable-social-
8. Pet shops rules will act as major deterrent to animal cruelty: Maneka Gandhi. ( 2018, September 18) Business Standard. Retrieved from https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/pet-shops-rules-will-act-as-major-deterrent-to-animal-cruelty-maneka-gandhi-118091201016_1.html
9. New rules would ensure cattle is not ill-treated: Maneka Gandhi. ( 2017, May 27) The Economic Times. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/new-rules-would-ensure-cattle-is-not-ill-treated-maneka-gandhi/articleshow/58870009.cms?from=mdr
10. Cappiello, J. ( 2017, September 23).Maneka Gandhi Opens Centre for Animal Rights. ChooseVeg.in. Retrieved from https://chooseveg.in/maneka-gandhi-opens-centre-for-animal-
11. ‘lust for killing animals’ irks Maneka. (2016, June10) The Pioneer. Retrieved from https://www.dailypioneer.com/2016/page1/lust-for-killing-animals-irks-maneka.html
12. Gupta, S. (2012,August 07). Pharma industry loses out as Maneka Gandhi lays strict rules on experiments on animals. India Today. Retrieved from https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/controversy/story/20020603-pharma-industry-loses-out-as-maneka-gandhi-lays-strict-rules-on-experiments-on-animals-795016-2002-06-03
13. Monkey Declared Vermin in Himachal Pradesh. (2019, February 25) Insights. Retrieved from https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/02/25/monkey-declared-vermin-in-himachal-pradesh/

Each year, a countless number of animals are used in animals research. Animal research can also be called Animal testing which is an experiment using non-human animals. We talked about the research method in chapter 2, and Animal testing can also be considered as a research method. The scientists use animals to test the new drugs and many more cruel experiments instead of using the actual human, and most of the animals are dead after the experiment. People can understand the behaviours and the brain functions in both human and nonhuman animals through the experiments. As we are studying the behaviours of the animals, we also can draw conclusions about our own behaviours.

Why Am I Interested in This Topic?

I am interested in Animal research because I am also an animal lover. Many animals have different kinds of body and brain structures than human, I wonder how we can use animals to study human diseases or behaviours. There are many protesters in all around the world to protest against the Animal testing each year, but the protesters still can not stop scientist using animals to experiment. Many experiments may treat animals humanely, but most of the experiments are making these animals suffering. Humans, as the most intelligent animal on earth, we are treating other species unequally.

The Literature on the Topic

Animal experiments are not as same as people taking their pets to the vets.

Most of the Animals in laboratories are usually killed at the end of the experiment and only a few of them are being cured. The scholarly article by Tipu, John, and Ranga (2011) revealed, in the pharmaceutical industry, some new drugs are developed because they are expected to provide a financial pay-off, even though effective drugs for the condition in question already exist. Most people may think that scientists are working hard for the benefits of humans, but they are using Animal testing as a way to benefit themselves. Although Animal testing has helped scientists to study the behaviours, it can not be an effective way to test a new drug. According to Charu (2018), Similarly, for chemical risk assessment, the legacy animal-based methods do not reliably predict adverse outcomes on human health and the environment. Many animals have different body structures than the humans, and the drugs or a new medicine may act differently on different hosts. We should think from the perspective of animals, abandon selfish and beneficial reasons, and save these animals instead of killing them. Not only human, animals also have emotions. Many people are saying that dogs are the best friends of the human. They lick your face while you are sad and try to cheer you up when you are frustrated. When the scientists force our best friends to inhale the smokes into their lungs in order to study lung cancers. It is very cruel and sad to watch about human is torturing these dogs. The concept of costs to individual animals can be further examined through the growing body of research on animal emotion and cognition. Studies published in the last few decades have dramatically increased our understanding of animal sentience, suggesting that animals’ potential for experiencing harm is greater than has been appreciated and that current protections need to be reconsidered (Ferdowsian & Beck, 2011). There are an increasing number of animals died each year, and I think most people do not want that human is the last species on earth.

With the development of science and technology, there are other ways to replace animal experiments. People are using animals to test cosmetics and therapeutic drugs, but there is an alternative way. Sugibayashi, Todo, Oshizaka, and Owada (2010) revealed, Ingredient concentration in skin can be precisely predicted using diffusion equations and partition coefficients through permeation experiments using a silicone membrane. The calculated in-skin concentration is useful for formulation studies of cosmetics and topical pharmaceuticals. Based on my personal opinion, I think this method is more accurate than testing on animals’ skins. Human skins are structured differently than the animal’s skins, so I think the technologies can predict more accurately. There is also a way for people to test medical drug instead of using animals. The alternative way is known as vitro method, Vitro method tests using human cells and tissues, computer modeling, and human volunteers. According to Rodger Curren, president of the Institute for In Vitro Sciences, the benefits of nonanimal testing are not lost on the pharmaceutical industry, whose clients include many large drug manufacturers. “There’s a significant drive to reduce animals,” which helps in the court of public opinion, he says. “But there’s equally a strong drive to get better information and to get it in an economically feasible fashion (Cited by Dolgin, 2010). Animal testing and computer modeling are not the only way for scientists to discover or invent new medications. As time goes by, people may find new easy and beneficial ways for both human and animals.

Relation to the Real Word

Animal Research is basically an experiment for people using non-human animals to study the effects on the human biological system or the physical behaviours. The death of the animals has saved numerous lives of the humans. This is a selfish act, but all animals on earth need to obey the laws of nature, the strong species will weed out the weak species. Human, as the strongest species on earth, we have killed many other species in order to decrease the death of our own kind. Many protesters want to forbidden Animal testing, but there is still an increasing number of animals died from animal testing each year.

At first, I thought Animal testing is only for medicinal purposes. The scientists use white mice to test new drugs or cure new diseases. After did researches on this topic, I found there are a lot more than that. People use various kinds of animals and uses them in different kinds of experiments. The ethical issues in animal research are very complex, but I hope we can reduce the amount of animals used in the experiments.

References

1. Allison, F., & Jonathon, C. (2012). Animal Cognition. “Play It Again”: A New Method for Testing Metacognition in Animals,15(2), 187-199. doi:doi: 10.1007/s10071-011-0445-y
2. Charu, C. (2018). Animals and Us: Research, Policy, and Practice. Keynote: Beyond Animal Testing: Working Towards a Paradigm Shift. Retrieved from https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/animalsandus/schedule/Friday/12/.
3. Elie, D. (dec 2010). Nature Medicine. Animal Testing Alternatives Come Alive in US,16(12). doi:10.1038/nm1210-1348
4. Hope, F., R, & Maccallum, B. N. (2011). PLoS ONE. Ethical and Scientific Considerations Regarding Animal Testing and Research (Revisiting the Ethics and Science of Animal Use,6(9). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024059
5. Tipu, A., John, S., & Ranga, Y. (24 february 2011). Nature. Animal Testing: TV or Not TV?,470(7335). doi:10.1038/470457a

Our planet Earth is a very beautiful place. Here, all the living organisms are dependent on each other and live together. We, humans, are considered as the most intelligent species on Earth. But, we sometimes become very insensitive to the creatures who cannot express themselves, especially the animals. We harm them just to fulfill our needs. We have an essay here on cruelty towards animals which will cover the questions like – write an article on cruelty towards animals, cruelty towards animals paragraph, paragraph on stop cruelty towards animals, article on cruelty towards animals class 9 and so on.

Animals, just like human beings, deserve a peaceful life. Animals are an important part of our ecosystem and are very useful to us. But, we sometimes forget that they are also living creatures. We keep on harassing them and these poor creatures can’t even express their feelings and grief. Cruelty towards animals have become an international matter of concern. This needs to be addressed as soon as possible and should be eliminated for ever.

We become cruel towards animals for two reasons – one to fulfill our needs and other for fun. We use animals for their fur, their skin, their meat, their teeth and horns too. Sometimes, we apply colours on them which harm their skin, we also burn crackers without thinking about them. Sometimes , the tea-shop keeper pours the hot water on the street dogs, which is a great example of cruel behaviour towards the animals.

The animal skins are used in textile industries. Their skin and body hairs are used to make exotic fabrics for us to use. Animal’s teeth, horns, skin and fur are used to make home decor items which we beautifully use to decorate our homes without thinking how much pain animals go through for giving us these luxuries.

Another industry that contributes in cruelty to animals is the cosmetic industry. Whenever we buy any cosmetic products, we always make sure that the product is safe on our skin. But, we hardly realise that these products are tested on animals before it reaches us. The chemicals are often injected in animal’s bodies or applied on their skin. Sometimes, these are tested on their eyes too. And if the test fails, it sometimes leads to the animal’s death also. These tests cause itching and burning too. But,we the human beings, keep on torturing the animals for our own purposes.

Our progressing medical science also has a big role in harassing the animals and showing our cruelty towards them. For the trials of medicines, animals are selected. They are then injected with the trial medicines without thinking about their pain. They are often kept in freezing temperatures for the experiments. We also ill treat the animals at zoos and circuses. The place where they are kept is not cleaned often. Also, the feeding methods are not too hygienic. These result in various diseases and often to their death.

Many animals and birds, in the name of pets, are being sold everyday. These animals are kept in cages or are kept tied with a chain. Most often, they are beaten up. The street dogs are often beaten up by the shopkeepers if they are found roaming around. Many cows are found roaming around the garbage heaps finding food. Many times many animals are hit by the fast moving traffic. These all are the examples of cruelty towards animals.

But now it’s enough! We, the human beings, who are considered as the most intelligent creatures on Earth have to stop playing with these poor creatures’ lives. We have to raise our voice and stop being cruel to the animals. We have to bring new strong laws to protect the animals. Every school should teach students how to respect and protect our fellow creatures – animals. Parents themselves should treat the animals with respect and love and should teach their wards the same.

We should always keep one thing in mind that we cannot survive without animals. Everything on Earth has its own purpose. The animals help in balancing our ecosystem. We have to take a call and save our environment, our mother Earth and our animals.

Cruelty means a behaviour that harms others physically or mentally. But it’s a matter of shame that we only consider human beings when it comes to cruelty. We forget that animals are also living creatures and we should not be cruel to them. Just because these creatures can not express themselves as we do, we forget that what we are doing to them if someone does to us, we will die.

Human industries that contribute to this cruelty are – Textile, Cosmetics, Home Decor and many more. Animal skins and furs are used in textile industries, animal skin, fur, horns and teeths are used to make home decor items. Many animals are killed for their meat also. Animals are ill-treated in laboratories where they are used for testing and experiments. They are often kept in freezing conditions or in boiling conditions.

It is high time now that we stop abusing these poor animals. They are also living beings and are very very important to us as without them the whole ecosystem will disbalance. We should raise awareness and stop these cruelties against animals.

Cruelty to animals has become a nationwide problem nowadays. The government has already imposed a few laws and a few more are needed. Along with that, social awareness is also required. Students should learn how to treat animals in schools. Parents should also treat their pets well and teach their children. Our planet Earth is a very beautiful place. Here, all the living organisms are dependent on each other and live together. We, humans, are considered the most intelligent species on Earth. But, we sometimes become very insensitive to the creatures who cannot express themselves, especially the animals. We harm them just to fulfil our needs.

We have an essay here on cruelty towards animals which will cover the questions like – write an article on cruelty towards animals, cruelty towards animals paragraph, paragraph on stop cruelty towards animals, article on cruelty towards animals class 9 and so on.

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119, the number of racehorses that died on Australian tracks between 2017 and 2018. That is an average of one horse dying every three days. Racehorses are the victims of a multibillion-dollar industry that is overflowing with drug abuse, animal cruelty, barbaric training tactics, injuries, and race fixing, and many horses’ careers end at the slaughterhouse. These horses are being treated with cruelty and violence and something needs to be done to stop this before it’s too late.

First of all, horse racing should be banned because the animals are exposed to cruelty and violence during training. Over 31’000 horses are currently in training in Australia, and despite rules and regulations on the horse’s treatment, the rules are blatantly disregarded in order to win. Champion horse trainer Darren Weir faces a four-year ban from racing due to his facing charges of using illegal ‘jiggers’ to mentally condition his horses. When Weir’s Ballarat and Warrnambool stables were raided by police, 4 of these devices were found. Despite the jockey needing to be complicit in order for the jigger training to work, no jockeys who worked with Weir were under investigation or charged. Jigger is an electronic shocking device that is usually used on a horse’s neck. To condition a horse using jiggers, they must learn to fear the pain which comes from the shock. This training technique is illegal and frowned upon due to it causing the horses physical and psychological damage, despite this many trainers still train horses in this barbaric way. Horses suffer from additional psychological and social issues due to trainers individually stabling them, this is seen as a ‘practical’ way of housing the horses because it reduces transport costs. However, this housing technique doesn’t provide the horses with proper social and environmental stimulation and can lead to adverse consequences. These can include the development of stereotypical behaviors such as biting on fences and other fixed objects and even self-mutilation. Their behaviors indicate strong animal welfare issues.

While some people believe that if it’s ok to kill animals for our dietary, fashion, and automotive desires, why is it so bad to exploit horses in the racing industry? They believe that the one-and-only purpose of these horses is to run as fast as possible around a track, However, I cannot understand why they cannot see the blatant disregard for the lives and health of these poor defenseless animals. These horses don’t get to choose to be racers, they are forced into the industry before they even stop growing.

Furthermore, the horses are forced to endure harsh and inhumane treatment during the races from their jockeys. Outside the races, animal cruelty is seen as cruel and illegal, and those who are guilty of acts of neglect or violence against animals are faced with harsh punishments, up to and including a maximum of $261,100 or 3 years in prison under the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001. Yet, during the races they allow the horse’s skin, which is so sensitive they can feel a fly landing on them, to be beaten brutally with harsh whips to the point where it can tear the skin and cause cuts. All in order to get the horse to run at neck-breaking speeds down the track. There is a limit on the number of times jockeys can use the whip throughout the race, however, in the last hundred meters, the jockeys have free rein on how many times they want to use the whips. These horses are been flogged into an early grave, yet race organizers refuse to do anything. The RSPCA has been working on trying to ban the use of whips through protests and petitions. Independent research commissioned by the RSPCA confirms around 3 in every 4 Australians (74%) think horses should NOT be hit with a whip. Animal advocates also criticize the use of whips, saying a study in 2011 indicated whipping makes no difference in a horse’s performance. Despite this, their attempts have been unsuccessful so far.

Furthermore, horse racing should be banned due to the health risks for the horses. Horses often begin training before they have reached the age of two. This is too young. Their bones are still growing and their bodies are still developing. Their bodies are not ready to handle the pressure of running full speed down a track with a jockey on their back whipping them, so they will go faster. Young horses are more susceptible to injuries than older horses. Strained tendons or hairline fractures are common occurrences in racehorses. Instead of letting the horse rest and recover from any injuries they may have obtained from a previous race or training, their vet or trainer often gives them drugs to dull the pain of the injury so they can race, but the injury itself is not fixed. The injuries often get even worse until the animals are unable to walk at all.

A ban on racing should be put into place because racehorses are being led into an early grave. Once the horses cannot race anymore or they stop winning their races, they are not free to roam the fresh green paddocks to live out the rest of their lives peacefully. They are often shipped off to foreign countries such as Mexico or Japan to be slaughtered for meat to be turned into dog food or glue. These horses can still often be at a young age and are killed at just 5 or 6 years old, despite them having a life expectancy of approximately 30 years. Additionally, many horses die immediately after races due to massive bleeds and cardiac failure caused by the extreme strain racing put on the horse’s bodies.

The animals on our earth seriously need our help. For animal rights activists, recent years have shown an outpour of emotion and pledge for help as millions of animals face the suffering of animal cruelty and testing every day. Many campaigns and organizations have been put together on social media and online to reinforce the importance of putting a stop to the suffering of animals. One animal rights activist named Seb, uses his Instagram platform to spread awareness of the situations. @seb.alex’s bio reads “The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all injustice”.

Seb’s posts reach sixty-two thousand people across the world and spark a variety of reactions. For many of his followers his words are touching and emotional. For others however, his words and posts mean nothing. But Seb is determined to make a difference. And so should you.

The question on whether or not animals have rights is very complex and has been circling the Internet for some time. In the majority of countries there are no laws which protect animals and their lives, leading to masses amount of abuse and murder of innocent animals. It has been 12 years since the sickening event held in China, named the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival, began. It has faced a clamoring of rage and frustration on social media. Dogs and cats are tortured before being killed for meat after spending days in cages desperate for food and water. No human would ever be made to go through that by another human, not without serious punishment. So why should animals? What makes them of any less value than us? Campaigners like Seb have been calling for the ending of this event, which lead to the event being shortened down to two days. But despite this, this year the festival is due to take place for nine days. Video footage realized on social media has sent Instagram users fervent. Re-post after re-post has spread the news of the event all across the world, causing a spiral of reactions. But more can and should be done. The animals on our earth seriously need our help.

Humane Society International, a human rights activist group, works around the world to promote the human-animal bond and confront cruelty towards animals. Recently they have set up the Yulin Rescue Project, in which they are accepting donations in order to support immediate care for the dogs being abused and murdered during the Dog Meat Festival. So far, they have raised £3,925.78 and their target is £7,200.88. As well as this, the group is very passionate about the care and love for other animals, not just dogs, and putting a stop to cruelty and testing. A recent video has circled the Internet named ‘Save Ralph’, which was posted by thousands of Instagram and Facebook uses, including the Humane Society International. This short film pulled on the heart strings of thousands of people, resulting in people changing the way in which they love and the products that they use. HIS’s president, Jeffery Flocken, said in a press release, “‘Save Ralph’ is a wakeup call that animals are still suffering from cosmetics, and now is the time for us to come together to ban it globally”.

Although there are no laws in many countries around animal rights, there is the idea that animals inherit value, which is independent to their value to humans. Animals are increasingly being noticed and understood for suffering emotional and physical pain. The world needs to pull together and put a ban to the suffering of animals around the world. Animals deserve the ability to live as they wish, without being subjected to the desires of human beings. Poor animals cannot keep themselves safe anymore. Even being part of family home can be abusive and unfair in some cases. The animals in our world seriously need our help. Recent years of work have delivered precious victories. But they are not enough. You can help and you can make a difference.

Please, support suffering animals and help them to be treated better and as they should. Join an animal rights activists group, make donations to groups which help poor animals, speak up on your social media platforms. Small things can make a huge difference to innocent animals and make their lives happy again.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is one of the largest humane societies in the world that has rescued over “47,000 animals, 4,756 adoptions, $12 million grants given to animal welfare organizations and 89,768 neuter surgeries performed.” (ASPCA.org.) The organization caters to helping animals and showing that animals should be respectively treated by humans. “The ASPCA’s mission, as stated by founder Henry Bergh in 1866, is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States.” (ASPCA.org). The ASPCA is known worldwide and many individuals including celebrities and organizations team up with ASPCA to spread awareness and get the word out.

Events

Since animal cruelty is a worldwide issue, it’s a no-brainer that ASPCA would throw extravagant events to honor those who have taken the time to fight the problem. An innovative way that ASPCA executed a tactic to show awareness is by throwing its Annual Humane Awards Luncheon. The luncheon is dedicated to acknowledging animals and humans who have “demonstrated extraordinary efforts” for animal welfare. While attending, recipients will be awarded in various categories like “ASPCA Dog of the Year, ASPCA Cat of the Year, ASPCA Tommy P. Monahan Kid of the Year Award, ASPCA Public Service Award, ASPCA Henry Bergh Award, ASPCA Equine Welfare Award, ASPCA Citizen Hero Award, and the ASPCA Presidential Service Award.” (ASPCA.org). Throwing this prestigious award ceremony excites individuals because everyone wants to win an award and be honored. So this event increases the action of donating and also getting involved and fighting animal cruelty.

Another event that boosted donations and involvement is the annual ASPCA Bergh Ball. ASPCA is known for its Bergh Ball because it attracts over 350 community leaders, animal enthusiasts, celebrities, and generous donors who donate money to stop the critical conditions of animals internationally. The prestigious “black-tie event is hosted in New York, New York, and is directed by fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi and honored editor and columnist David Patrick Columbia with the ASPCA Voice for Animals Award. (ASPCA.org.)

Additionally, they also share awareness articles on the organization’s website by posting weekly. The articles include tips on how to stop animal cruelty, facts on how you can adopt, and news videos including celebrating the fifth-year partnership with NYPD. The video showed various shots of different animals coming into the facility bruised and abused but in the end being adopted by their new owners. “This unique partnership has made strong and measurable progress for New York City’s abused and neglected animals, with the NYPD making nearly 700 arrests in the last five years and the ASPCA treating more than 3,300 victims of alleged animal cruelty.” (PRNewswire.com). The two-minute heart-warming video also included an NYPD police officer Michael Pascale, who spotted a cold, wet, shivering black pit bull tied to a fence. He brought the dog to ASPCA and after months of thinking about him, he eventually adopted him and named him Joe.

Partnerships

Since ASPCA is known worldwide, it’s obvious that celebrities/public figures would play a huge role in increasing adoptions, awareness, and donations by throwing events. The ASPCA partnered with New York City tattoo artist and reality star Megan Massacre for their fifth “Tats ‘N’ Tails” art and adoption event. Megan Massacre is best known for appearing on “NY Ink,” “TLC America’s Worst Tattoos,” and “Fuse’s Bondi Ink.” Massacre also has over 1.5 million followers on Instagram and 250,000 followers on Twitter. The event provided guests with some animals who were adoptable from the ASPCA, a photo booth, prize giveaways and the opportunity to get tattooed by the famed tattoo artist. Megan offered a plethora of custom animal-themed tattoos available for $100 or more and” as a token of her appreciation, she will generously donate all of the profits to the ASPCA. Those who adopted were given a t-shirt and entered into a raffle to win a $1,000 tattoo session with Megan. Massacre said in an interview “Mobile adoption events like Tats ‘N’ Tails make adoption more accessible to the general public, helping more shelter animals find safe and loving homes.” (ASPCA.org).

ASPCA also successfully partnered with Bethenny Frankel, who recently partnered with the Scruff-a-Luvs Real Rescue and the ASPCA for October, which is officially “Adopt a Shelter Dog Day” to influence people to adopt dogs during the month. Scruff-a-Luvs and ASPCA have teamed up together to teach children to be empathetic to their pets. “A Scruff- a Luvs is a packaged pet that arrives as a matted ball of fur with only its eyes showing. To reveal the mystery character, kids must wash, towel dry, blow dry, then brush and style the animal’s fur. Each Scruff‐a‐Luv comes with a collar, a name tag, an adoption certificate, a brush, and hair clips.” (Thetoyinsider.com). “Additionally, Scruff-a-Luvs is covering adoption fees today and every Monday throughout October for those who adopt a dog or a cat from the ASPCA Adoption Center on New York City’s Upper East Side. Scruff-a-Luvs is a proud supporter of the ASPCA and, through consumer purchases, has donated $250,000 to the nonprofit organization over the past two years.” Frankel also revealed that adopting has provided both her and her daughter, Bryn, 9, with a constant source of humor, love, and companionship. Not only that, but her adopted dogs have also helped Frankel impart important lessons to her only child.” She stated in an interview, ‘3.3 million dogs enter shelters every year, which is a real major number. Millions of dogs have amazing personalities, you get a unique breed that isn’t something you can pinpoint and it’s not a designer dog. I do judge when someone says they got their dog at a breeder or a pet store.’ (Aol.com).

ASPCA and AmazonSmile have partnered together in October for Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. “This means that 5% of the purchases made on AmazonSmile from October 29 through November 2 will be donated to the charity of your choice.” (ASPCA.org.) The collaboration also gives future adoption owners discounts on supplies for their animals. They also have an ASPCA Complete Adopt-a Puppy Set. Also located on the Amazon page are lists of shelter dog stories.” Also, ASPCA is partnered with AmazonSmile which has generated over $1.4 million in donations.” (ASPCA.org).

ASPCA has partnered with another international company, Subaru. Subaru is expanding its devotion to animal cruelty by establishing “National Make A Dog’s Day” on Oct. 22 in partnership to increase donations and adoptions. “Since 2008, the automaker has donated nearly $25 million to the ASPCA. Working closely with the ASPCA, the automaker will champion special needs dogs, specifically senior dogs, amputees, visually and hearing-impaired dogs, and dogs with birth defects. To support the initiative, Subaru is launching a campaign from Carmichael Lynch, with dog-focused commercials airing throughout October across broadcast and digital platforms.” (PRweek.com). “Throughout October, selected Subaru retailers across the country collected unused pet supplies and donated 5,500 shelter supply kits and 4,800 new pet parent kits to local shelters. More than 100 participating Subaru retailers will work in conjunction with animal shelters in their communities to host pet adoption events.” (PRweek.com).

Campaigns

Campaign Orange is a campaign used to bring together all the animal agencies and organizations in several cities that ensure the highest possible level of collaboration. By giving and making the campaign orange, the goal was to “give the effort a greater resonance so that ultimately we hope it will be identified in the average person’s mind that orange is for animals.” Also, the organization conducted extensive internal communications and sent out information on the new campaign to the ASPCA’s approximately 450,000 newsletter subscribers. Though the group says it’s still too early to calculate the objectives in the target cities, the campaign was widely spread with great coverage from outlets including “NY1-TV, CBS’ The Early Show during weather segments, The New York Times, The Tampa Tribune, Austin-American Statesman, and other local TV, radio, and print outlets.”(PRweek.com). Also, surveys conducted showed that the ASPCA found a ‘significant increase in awareness of the ASPCA in general with the chosen cities.

The “Find Your Fido” campaign is running throughout October for exposure to dog adoption, animal shelters, and animal organizations. “After becoming a Find Your Fido ambassador, animal shelters are asked to promote their “Fidos” by using the #FindYourFido hashtag on every social media post, involving their local influencers and community, hosting Fido-themed adoption events, and coming up with creative ideas to promote shelter adoptions.” (Americanveterinarian.com). Even though, a rescue dog is the face of the campaign, Fido is any dog according to the ASPCA, “Fido represents any dog in any shelter, in any city or town. Fido could be big or small, fluffy or sleek, lazy or playful but most importantly, every Fido needs a home.”(Americanveterinarian.com). “Although great progress has been made to increase animal adoption across the country, there are still millions of dogs waiting each year for safe and loving homes,” said Matt Bershadker, president and CEO of the ASPCA. “Fido represents them all, and we hope his presence will inspire people to adopt and foster pets, spread awareness, and celebrate how much adoptions benefit both pets and their owners.” (Americanveterinarian.com).

Grants

Also, ASPCA allows people to receive grants through various forms. This tactic reinforces the need to make a change and fight animal cruelty. “The ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Grants Program, which is used to support non-profit organizations. Emergency and Disaster Grants, funds organizations and government agencies whose communities suffer the impact of natural and other disasters. ASPCA Spay/Neuter Alliance- Veterinary Student Travel Grants, this grant is used to provide travel expense grants of $2,000 each to veterinary students with financial need from Washington State University, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, to travel to the ASPCA Spay Neuter Alliance* Clinic in Asheville, NC.” (ASPCA.org).

April marked the ASPCA’s 150th anniversary and in honor of this incredible milestone. For 150 days between April and September, community leaders from across the country nominated their favorite shelter or rescue group for the opportunity to win a $150,000 grant. After receiving thousands of nominations from across the country, the winner was Jefferson Parish Animal Shelter in Harahan, Louisiana which received $150,000. The other receptions were given $15,000. ASPCA started a “150 Days of Rescue” campaign video which featured celebrity voices with talking dogs. The video included Ke$ha, George Lopez, and Lakeith Stanford. 

Saving a life is easier than some people may have been led to believe. All it takes is making one choice; a life defining choice, that is. When looking to add a new addition to a family in the form of a pet, it becomes very important that a person makes the most well-informed decision. Adopting and buying a dog will both leave drastically different footsteps behind and it is important that people make themselves aware of this. Pets are being left without homes quicker than shelters are able to take them in and every animal that is adopted, as opposed to purchased, makes a difference. Purchased pets are believed to have more appeal to them,but that idea is purely superficial and giving into this idea will only increase the number of dogs that are euthanized. To adopt a dog from a shelter is to give a loving pet a second chance at life that it deserves. Spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a dog seems absurd when perfectly fine dogs are in shelters waiting to be adopted for a fraction of the price. Adopting a dog is more beneficial than purchasing one despite the stigma surrounding adoption because the process of adoption is cheaper and provides the same, if not better, results.

To adopt a dog is to save a life. Dogs that are not adopted within a certain time period, which varies per shelter, end up being euthanized. Shelters don’t have the resources to keep every dog that is brought to them. As much as a shelter may wish to keep a dog alive it is simply unrealistic to care for the growing number of pets. According to The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), “approximately 670,000 dogs are euthanized each year in the U.S. alone.” That number is incredibly high and could be lowered if people began to realize how beneficial it is to adopt a pet into their family. Dogs that have been rescued or been left by previous owners deserve a second chance at happiness. These dogs spend their days in cages with not much affection and they have no clue why they are there in the first place. The happiness that would come to not only the dog but to the person who chooses to adopt them would be immeasurable and pure. To purchase a dog would be to leave another dog in a shelter where the reality of being adopted into a loving home would fade and the dog will instead be met with euthanization. Save a dog from euthanization and adopt.

The progress of adoption would create a chain effect and leave less dogs out on the streets each year. Street dogs live their lives day by day never knowing where their next meal will come from or if it will even come at all. Dogs who are left out on the streets risk a higher chance of dying painfully, whether it be through starvation or car accidents. If more dogs were adopted they would be taken out of shelters which would then open up room, allowing shelters to bring in dogs off the streets and care for them. The dogs could then be nursed to health and be put up for adoption, creating a cycle and lessening the number of dogs which are left out in the cold completely alone. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), “in 2011 the number of euthanized shelter animals declined from 2.6 million to 1.5 million (670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats.” The data goes to show that adoption matters and makes a difference to these animals. An increase in adoption would also spike a decrease in mass breeding facilities. Puppy mills, whose sole purpose is to breed a dog into producing liters upon liters of puppies to be sold in pet stores, would experience a decrease in profits which could in turn get rid of the desire to continue this cruel practice. Adoption reduces the percentage of animals that are euthanized and helps keep dogs off the streets all while spiking down breeding facilities’ profits and giving dogs the opportunities to be brought into loving homes.

Adoption is cheaper than purchasing, plain and simple. When it comes down to the numbers there really is no logical explanation for spending upwards of thousands of dollars on a pet that will bring your family the same happiness that an adopted dog is fully capable of providing. According to costhelper.com, a website that helps educate future pet owners on adoption and buying costs, “adopting a puppy can cost anywhere from $70-$300, where buying a quality breed puppy can cost anywhere from $300-$1500 or more!” The difference in prices is absurd and although some may make the argument that one is paying for the quality of a dog it can be easily debunked by understanding that shelter dogs are not inherently damaged. Many dogs are left at shelters for reasons completely unrelated to their character. Many pet owners wish that they could keep their companions but life circumstances, such as having to move out into a home that does not allow for pets, make it impossible to care for them. As a result, these perfectly good pets end up placed in shelters, alone and afraid, hoping that they will once again find a loving home. If anything, adopted pets may prove to be even better characters than purchased pets as they tend to show more affection and gratitude.

Adopting a pet, as opposed to purchasing one, would create a change. Dogs would be avoided the faith of euthanization, the number of dogs on the streets would decrease, and much less money would be spent in acquiring a new member of the family. Shelters do not have the resources to keep every pet that wanders in and in return it ends in euthanization. Save a life and adopt.

Works Cited

1. “How Much Does Buying a Dog Cost?- CostHelper.com “Costhelper, CostHelper, inc., 2019, pets.costhelper.com/buy-dog.html
2. “Pet Statistics.” ASPCA, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 2019, www.aspca.org/animal-homelessness/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics.

Recently I saw a piece of very sad news on social media that is become very major in the world. The news that I saw was about animal abuse. A dog was hanged and shot with a BB gun at Sacramento, California. The dog was shot from head to toe and the veterinarians described that they had never seen this kind of case before and it is sad and horrific to hear about them. These kinds of cases are not rare in the United States, and there is much news out there for many years that show animal cruelty. My question for animal cruelty is that why is there violence towards animals and are these cases increasing in society? Also, what are some of the consequences if they get caught doing them. Many website articles explained these questions.

To begin with, why is there animal cruelty? Having to apply harm towards animals are not the usual thing. Of course, we are not educated that all animals are a very dangerous species too. People are having dogs, cats, and many other animals as pets and treating them with love. Then what is causing some of these people to become violent? A website, Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation (WRR), introduced an article that explained some of the reasons and types of people who cause animal abuse. The article described that “animal cruelty is often broken down into two main categories: active and passive” (WRR). Active Cruelty is when people cause direct violence towards the animal such as injuries and death and Passive Cruelty is when people cause less action towards the animals but having the connection of death such as starvation and dehydration (WRR). These two types could be born from a person’s past childhood history. If the parent of the suspect was abusive to their children or their pet, there is a chance that the person might become domestically violent and cause animal abuse in the future (WRR). Some of the possibilities why there is violence towards animals is probably from the suspect’s parents and how they were raised in the past.

Statistics have shown many results on who causes animal abuse and how many cases there are that involve animal cruelty. An article by Hayden Howler introduced statistics about animal cruelty. As said before, domestically violent people could cause harm to both people and pets. The article explains that “71 percent of domestic violence victims reported that their abuser also targeted pets” (Howler). Domestically violent suspects are having a higher chance of causing abuse towards animals. Also, The Humane Society of Utah Cruelty Investigation Department introduced statistics about animal cruelty. Even though it is only an investigation in Utah, the statistics showed a big result about animal cruelty. In the data, there was “285 investigations in 2008 involved 804 animals; 240 investigations in 2009 involved 807 animals; … 189 investigations in 2016 involved 461 animals, and 177 investigations in 2017 involved 725 animals” (The Humane Society of Utah). In Utah, it does not show an increase nor a decrease in animal abuse, but there are ups and downs in them. However, just to clarify, this is only for Utah. There are 50 states in the United States, and if each state had the same data in 2017, that would be 36,250 animals involved in the cruelty investigations, which is a lot.

For these suspects being caught having to do animal abuse in the United States, each state has its punishment towards the people. For Utah, the different types of abuse will cause different fines towards the suspect. “Cruelty will fine up to $1000, imprisonment up to 6 months and Aggravated Cruelty will fine up to $2500, imprisonment up to 1 year” (Stray Pet Advocacy). As one of the largest fines in the states, California will have a fine up to $20,000, imprisonment up to 1 year, and be categorized as Felony Provision. Even though each state has its measurement towards animal cruelty, they do have a fine and penalty towards the suspect.

In conclusion, animal cruelty has two categories, active and passive, and the person could become suspect because of their past childhood from being treated violently. Some statistics show animal cruelty in Utah, and even though it is not increasing data, there are still many animals being threatened each year. As a punishment for being caught, every state has its punishment and fines, and this will include imprisonment also.