Animal Cruelty
Animal cruelty is the infiction by omission or by commision by humans of suffering or harm upon any non-human. Animal cruelty is a rapidly increasing problem all over the world, that has been happening for thousands of years. Innocent animals are abused, neglected and forced to fight. Over 56 billion animals die every year due to neglectful and heartless people. There are so many ways to help protect and save these beautiful creatures.
What is the leading types of abuse for animal cruelty?
In the chart above, it gives you an understanding of what is the most popular way that people have been abusing animals for all these years. However, this chart doesn’t come close to show what goes on. Neglect/abandonment is failing to care for something/someone correctly; it is one of the leading types of abuse when it comes to animal cruelty. For example, during hurricanes many people tend to leave their animals tied up to trees or drop them off on the side of the road, leaving them by themselves.
Hoarding animals are also the second most common types of animal abuse, hoarding animals are having an abnormal amount of domestic pets without having the ability actually to care for them. Approximately 250,000 animals are victims of animal hoarding each year.
In my opinion, animals used for laboratory testing is significant abuse in the animal world. The U.S laws allow animals to be burned, shocked, poisoned, starved, drowned, and even addicted to drugs. Animals in laboratories are like humans in prison, no control of your own life. They are infected with different diseases and chemicals. After the animals endure all this pain and suffering of the scientists “experiment,” they are usually just left to suffer and die. Not one animal is safe from laboratory experiments anywhere.
How does animal cruelty affect the society?
Some types of abuse could be considered illegal. In some countries, people can serve up to five years in prison for animal abuse. In America, individuals who commit intentional cruelty crimes against animals can receive, at most, one year in prison or $1,000 fine. Animal cruelty is more often than not a misdemeanor fine.
Meat industries are also causing harm to our societies. It pollutes our air, causes deforestation, and it is using our resources. Not only does it hurt our earth but it hurts the animals. The animals get crammed into these dirty, windowless, torturous machines. Some of them are even given antibiotics to make them grow faster and keep them alive in unsanitary conditions. When the farm animals have become large enough to where they are no longer needed for food, they are taken on a truck to the slaughterhouse and killed.
There have been several studies that have linked animal cruelty to violence towards other people. According to the website “humanesociety.org,” A 2001–2004 study by the Chicago Police Department revealed a startling propensity for offenders charged with crimes against animals to commit other violent offenses toward human victims.” Also, according to the website “humansociety.org,” of 36 convicted multiple murderers questioned in one study, 46% admitted committing acts of animal torture as adolescents. And of seven school shootings that took place across the country between 1997 and 2001, all involved boys who had previously committed acts of animal cruelty. People who have been charged with crimes with violent activities have also been animal abusers.
What can we do to stop animal cruelty?
We are these animals only voices in say what should and shouldn’t happen to them. Some things we can do to decrease animal cruelty/abuse is to make more people aware of what is going on. Also, when you notice animal cruelty happening you can call a near-by animal welfare agency. Bringing animals to no-kill shelters when you see them, so they will have a chance of getting adopted. Last but not least we can volunteer to help animals, whether it is at a shelter or even fostering them.
Animal cruelty/abuse is a severe problem all around. It is heartbreaking to see helpless animals not have a home or someone to care for them. If we can do those simple things, we can help save so many animals all over.