Introduction
There is a saying by Mahatma Gandhi that "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the ways its animals are treated". Animal abuse is a problem not only linked with animals. Animal abuse brings out the problems of a society which ill-treats creature that cannot fight for itself. It is a problem that points towards the depravity of human beings capable of committing heinous crimes against hapless creatures and the problem of animal abuse does not end with animals, it also shows how people capable of beating, neglecting and injuring animals can perpetrate the same act on people too. American Humane Association made a quote once that "Animal cruelty problems are people problems. When animals are abused, people are at risk" (Petition2Congress 2013). Researchers of psychology and criminology hold the belief that people committing crimes against animals can shift their focus to human beings for torture. There are several studies which show that the most violent and aggressive criminals are always found to have abused animals when they were children. A survey made on psychiatric patients show that people who subject cats and dogs to untold brutality can show the same level of aggression towards fellow human beings (PETA). Since the abuse of animals is a problem that has far more grievous consequences, it should not be taken lightly; rather laws should be made stricter to protect animals and prevent such crimes from taking place.
What is Animal Abuse?
Animal cruelty as defined by the California Penal Code is a malicious act of inflicting harm in the form of mutilation, maiming, wounding and torturing a living animal. Any person culpable of tormenting, beating and killing an animal is guilty of a felony. If a person pets animals and trains them with the purpose of putting them in exhibition fighting, and if a person willingly participates in that kind of exhibition as a spectator then both the spectator and the main culprit will be charged with the offense of felony (SHS). Animal abuse has been categorized into two types; active and passive abuse. Active abuse is the one where the perpetrator intentionally inflicts physical harm on an animal to exert his strength. Passive abuse may not apparently seem harmful but it is an abuse that could lead to serious consequences. Passive abuse involves starvation, deprivation of water and shelter, neglect and untreated infestation of parasites (Leigh 2013). Passive abuse is sometimes a result of the owner's ignorance and therefore, before petting an animal, an owner should learn how to take proper care of the needs of an animal.
Animal Abuse and Its Consequences
In United States, every day animals are abused by being neglected, beaten mercilessly and left on their own to survive. Recently, a woman in order to impress her Facebook friends made a stunt of putting a puppy Chihuahua in a zip lock bag and captured pictures of the same in her camera. The puppy could have got killed if it was left longer in the bag with its face and nose pressed against the bag (Huffington 2013). There are children and teenagers who sometimes subject animals to untold miseries. In 1992 a 10 year old boy in Raleigh inserted a pencil into the rectum of a puppy, killing it (Adams 1992). Recently a couple has been sentenced to 6 months of imprisonment for ill-treating their dog by keeping it tied in a trash bag for days. Cases like these are galore and rampant in USA. Though some animals are rescued in a timely manner by the animal abuse controllers but many are not so lucky to survive the ordeal.
- Animal Abuse Leads to Violent Crime or Serial Crime
Some people don't consider animal abuse as a serious problem, a malice that could threaten the well-being of a society. They are ignorant of the fact that animal cruelty is not only a heinous crime committed against defenseless animals. It is also an act that destroys the social and moral fabric of a society. It questions the conscience of people who commit the crimes and also of those who remain silent after witnessing it. Animal abuse is also linked with sociopathic criminal behavior such as murder, violence, drugs and gang activity. There are several such exemplary cases of murder where the perpetrators of the crime committed their first crime upon animals. Albert DeSalvo who had been named 'the Boston Strangler' for killing 13 women had a history of animal abuse in which he used to trap dogs and cats and used to shoot arrows at them in his youth. Jeffrey Dahmer who killed 17 men used to impale dogs, cats and frogs' heads on sticks. Columbine high school killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold who killed 12 classmates before committing suicide were reported to have begun their criminal activity by mutilating animals. Other high school killers like Luke Woodham from Mississippi and Kip Kinkel from Oregon all killed and tortured animals before turning on humans for the pleasure of violence (PETA).
- Animals are Same as Us
Animals are same as. Like us they also feel pain and suffering just like we do. Parents take utmost care of their children while dealing with them so that they don’t feel mental, physical or psychological pain. Even all of us while dealing with other people normally do it in such a way that no physical pain is inflicted on the other party. Animals are no different. A dog feels pain the same way like a child when it is beaten with a stick. An animal feels hunger in exact same way as all of us do when they are deprived of food (Arluke 2002). There are people who behave with animals in a cruel way. They do not consider them as living creatures as we are. Animals are abused by many people across the world for no reason. The primary reason most of those people put forth is that human beings are a superior animal and dogs and cats and other animals are inferior species. They think that being superior species gives a human the right to treat the inferior species anyway he wants to. In fact many argue that animals which come to our use should be treated properly and the ones who could harm human beings should be eliminated from the planet. However, it has to be taken into account that animals attack on human beings not on purpose. They do so when they feel threatened by human beings. In fact if they get good treatment from us then it is extremely unlikely that they will attack us or show cruelty towards us (Reiman). So we should not be cruel towards animals because they are like us and also better treatment will create an environment where both animals and human beings can co-exist harmoniously.
- Keeping the Balance in the Ecosystem
Many argue that there are two types of animals in this planet. One kind of animals are beneficial for us and the other kind is non beneficial towards us. Therefore humans should only show sympathy towards the animals which do not hurt us. For example, it is not ethical to kill a dog as it is a friend to many lonely people and also guards home from thieves. On the other hand, killing a snake is not unethical as snakes are not directly benefitting us. However, if we continue to behave with the animals in this way then the whole ecosystem will be disrupted (Arluke 2002). We should not behave cruelly towards any animal species unnecessarily. If we abuse horses, oxen and donkeys then they will not be able to help us raise crops. If we show cruelty towards the livestock then we will not get food or milk. If we show excessive cruelty towards snakes then the venom of the snake which is used for making many lifesaving medicines will not be available. If tigers are killed then the forest ecosystem will be destroyed making a bigger ecological impact on the food cycle. It is in our best interest to be kind towards all types of animals.
- Cultural Conditioning
Many societies across the world have different ways of dealing with animals. Hinduism and Buddhism are professed in such a way that it teaches the followers that killing an animal for no reason is a sin. On the other hand in Islam, during a festival called “Bakri Id”, animals like goat, lamb or camels are fed in front of the house for days with very good food. On the final day of the festival the head of the family in front of all the family members including children kills that animal. They the whole family enjoys the meat. It is a commonplace psychology that a person accustomed to seeing such cruelty towards animals from childhood has more chances to grow up as a rough and cruel person (Reiman). It is difficult to generalize though but in many cases, it is also seen that houses where pets are treated kindly, children growing up in those houses are kinder to not only animals but also towards fellow human beings (Arluke 2002). Growing up with animals especially dogs are found to be good for children where they learn to share things, love and show kindness to a fellow creature.
Animal Abuse and Laws
All the above facts point towards the issue that animal abuse is not an affair ending with the killing and ill-treatment of animals. It has far more deadly consequences that could pose a threat to the society. Therefore, in order to curb animal abuse, it is important to have some stricter laws in place. Many states in United States have animal cruelty laws already in place. There are states like California, Alabama, and New York which are pioneers in this matter. The Animal Cruelty is defined in Alabama as, “Overloads, overdrives, deprives of necessary sustenance or shelter, unnecessarily or cruelly beats, injures, mutilates or causes the same to be done; intentionally tortures any dog or cat or skins a domestic dog or cat or offers for sale or exchange or offers to buy to exchange the fur, hide, or pelt of a domestic dog or cat. Exceptions are made for research, protection of life or property, training, or shooting a dog or cat for urinating or defecating on property. Animals can also be seized by animal control officers” (Alabama State Legislature 1977). Anyone violating the codes\ may get up to 6 months to 10 years in jail. Similar laws are also in place on other states as well. There are many countries across the world where animals are not treated well and there are no laws. As the world becomes more and more global, countries with better laws and regulations for animal protection against cruelty should try to convince other countries to follow suit.
Conclusion
Animal cruelty is not an uncommon thing in many parts of the globe. There are many instances of extreme cruelty against animals. In most of the cases people who do it get away with the crime. Animal cruelty is not at all a desirable thing. It is seen that many serial killers have started their killing spree by first killing animals. If a child grows up in an environment seeing animals are treated kindly then there is a huge chance that the child will learn to deal with animals and fellow human beings kindly. Animal laws are extremely important for society. This way less and less incidents of cruelty towards animal will happen. This will improve the overall ecology of the society and hopefully will help increase the number of better human beings.
Work Cited
Stricter Animal Cruelty Laws Needed. Petition2Congress. 2013. Web. 26 Nov 2013 <http://www.petition2congress.com/11054/stricter-animal-cruelty-laws-needed/>
Animal Abuse and Human Abuse: Partners in Crime. PETA. Web. 26 Nov 2013 <http://www.peta.org/issues/companion-animal-issues/companion-animals-factsheets/animal-abuse-human-abuse-partners-crime/>
Mary Snell Put A Puppy In A Bag, Posted The Pic To Facebook: Police. Huffington Post. 22 Nov 2013. Web. 2013. 26 Nov 2013 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/22/puppy-in-a-bag-mary-snell_n_4323672.html>
What is Animal Abuse?. Sequia Humane Society (SHS). Web. 26 Nov 2013 <http://sequoiahumane.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56&Itemid=74>
Leigh, Jenny. Animal Cruelty Must Stop. 2013. Web. 26 Nov 2013 <http://www.teenink.com/hot_topics/environment/article/90968/Animal-Cruelty-Must-Stop/>
Adams, Cindy A. America’s Animal Abuse Problem. Petfinder. 1992. Web. 26 Nov 2013 <http://www.petfinder.com/helping-pets/animal-cruelty/americas-animal-abuse-problem/>
ALA Code Section 13A-11-14. Alabama State Legislature. 1977. Web. 26 Nov 2013 <http://www.legislature.state.al.us/codeofalabama/1975/13A-11-14.htm>
Arluke, Arnold. Animal Abuse as Dirty Play. Northeastern University. 2002. Web. 26 Nov 2013 < http://sobek.colorado.edu/~irvinel/Arluke%20Animal%20Abuse.pdf>
Reiman, Steve. Therapy Dogs in the Long Term Health Care Environment. Therapy Dog of Vermont. Web. 26 Nov 2013 <http://www.therapydogs.org/documents/Therapy%20Dogs%20in%20the%20Long.pdf>
