Cruelty on animals could be explained at two different levels, neglect or intentional harm. Neglect is when the animal is denied basic needs that are necessary for survival including food, water, sunlight, or medical services. Intentional animal abuse involves the deliberate subjecting of the animal to physical abuse by kicking the animal, stabbing it or feeding poison. We have become an audience to one of the world’s worst case of animal abuse today. 71% of pet-owning women entering the animal shelters report that animals that had been injured, maimed or killed and 32% reported the killing or the injuring of animals at the hands of their kids. Adults abuse animals to punish them for their misdeeds or to keep them quiet about the abuse, and children abuse them to relieve themselves of the frustration that roots from being mistreated by their parents; either way, poor helpless animals face the consequences to our frustrations and failures. Apparently if they are not good enough to serve our whims, they have no right to live. It is very essential that we stand up against the cruelty that is the animals are being mercilessly subjected to, and do something about it for a change.
Even a single individual can do plenty if one tries with true intention. So I believe that it’s about time we become active, not just angry in opposition to the injustice against animals. There are many steps that we can take. The first step is to acquire all relevant knowledge regarding the laws on animal abuse, so that if we become witnesses to the act, we are able to report to the right people and so that we can also educate the pet owners regarding the consequences that they might stand to face in the event of going against the law. Knowing the legal standings regarding the issue could also help us understand more clearly the cases and circumstances that qualify as animal abuse. It could be useful to also acquire knowledge regarding the appropriate authorities that could be sought help from in case of animal maltreatment. The second thing a person could do is to become aware of conditions that point towards the clues that an animal is being abused, regardless of whether it is in the form of animal neglect or direct violence. Animal neglect could become evident from circumstances like hoarding, untreated wounds or other evident medical conditions, inadequate shelter or chaining of animals. All of these conditions point towards inability of the owners to care responsibly for their pets.
Animal testing is a common tactic of animal abuse that many scientists support. The argument that is commonly made is that if the animals are not treated as the subjects to the experiments, different drugs and treatments would have to be tested on the humans, and there they are likely to do greater damage and even the smallest incident could cause uproar. So let’s get one thing straight. A drug or an experiment that an animal is subjected to can still not be guaranteed to be safe for a human, as some things that may cause harm to them might not do hurt to us, and vice versa. So how much is animal testing really helping us really, I would say not a great deal. Several prestigious journals have published studies claiming that experiments on animals are wasting countless lives and not just animal, but human ones too. So in other words, they are causing greater inconvenience than they are likely to help us in our quest at making medical breakthroughs.
Animals also have feelings and any injustice against them should also deserve severe punishment. Organizations dealing with animal rights should take steps to ensure that. In addition, the keeping of pets should be an organized process that should ensure the ability of the owner to care for his/her animals. Also, it is about time that we stop gaining profits and recreation at the expense of poor, innocent animals, and give up on activities that might bring them in harms way. For instance, animal races should be banned as they represent an unnecessary cruelty against them.
Works Cited
Association, American Humane. Facts About Animal Abuse & Domestic Violence. <http://www.americanhumane.org/interaction/support-the-bond/fact-sheets/animal-abuse-domestic-violence.html>.
Herrera, Kimberly. Animal Cruelty. 23 October 2013. <https://prezi.com/8fg3e8z4wtc2/animal-cruelty/>.
Society, Humane. Report Animal Cruelty. 4 November 2013. <http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/abuse_neglect/tips/cruelty_action.html>.
