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Jose Jimenez

Melissa Sue Whitney

WRC 1013.087

9 December 2010

Cruelty towards Animals and Their Rights

If killing animals was entertaining to the people by abusing them and possibly causing them to fight, would you join the cruel humans that are doing this just to have fun watching animals fight and be abused? Animal cruelty comes in different ways from animal abuse, fighting the animals, and even mistreating them. Cruelty to animals is growing all over the United States even out of the US, especially dog fighting and cock fighting has grown dramatically. Animals used for other purposes are being abused more. The poor animals feel pain and suffer every time they are killed or mistreated. Even though my own father commits animal cruelty, still does not change the way I feel towards animal cruelty. My father thinks it is not bad to fight roosters, but I always tell him that fighting them is very cruel to the rooster. Two main animals used for fighting are roosters and dogs. They are trained and forced to fight each other to death, which cock fighters find interesting and gamble their money. Animal Rights and Human Obligations Second Edition, Ed. by Tom Regan and Peter singer, specifies the rights of animals, treatment of animals, killing and value of life of animals, etc. It has various authors on each specific topic that makes it more interesting. I argue that animals should be given their rights and not be tortured by humans for no apparent reason, and those committing the crime should face the maximum fine and fine them with a huge amount of money and even be imprisoned for more time. With time and research, a solution will can be found to prevent the deaths of innocent animals and giving them their rights.

Some animals are also used for their skin, deer racks, and many crazy more things. The animal is used for those purposes and then the rest of the body is thrown to waste and not used in any other way. In some other cases, animals are also being killed in slaughter houses for food. This is a need in our life to survive but at the same time animals are slaughtered. Something must be done to prevent animal cruelty and punish the persons committing the crime by being sent to prison and paying a fine. Many animals can be protected if humans could face a huge type of punishment.

Gamecocks are roosters that cock fighters raise and mix their breeds to see which of all the breeds’ abilities for fighting are better. Animal Rights: A Reference Handbook Second Edition by Clifford J. Sherry, states that “cockfighting is an ancient blood sport said to have been introduced by Julius Caesar” (Sherry 58). Cockfighting is a cruel sport that humans use for entertainment and gambling money. Sherry also states that “a cockfight typically occurs in a ring when two gamecocks are released into the ring. They fight until one bird dies; sometimes both birds die” (59). Each rooster is fitted a knife kind of really sharp and curved but causes the rooster to do damage to its opponent. They are called either the gaffs or the short knife. In some states, even having the knives is illegal. Before they are fought, the roosters go through some training to gain condition to last longer in fight and know how to fight a little more advanced than its opponent. Some roosters are trained by being spared without blades to learn how to fight. Also they have to eat a special type of food that helps them gain condition and not get tired really quick. The food contains laying pellets, cracked corn, wheat, barley, dry blue ribbon dog food, calf manna, and oat groats. The cages they are put in also vary. When in training the roosters are put in flying pens that makes the rooster have to fly up to eat and to sleep. This helps the rooster create muscle in its legs, keeps movement throughout their wings, and moving around to condition.

Cockfighting has been around for many years, and has become popular in many states. Now it has become illegal to fight them in every state. Along the passage it is stated that “currently, cock fighting is a felony in 33 states and the District of Columbia and is a misdemeanor in the remaining states” (Sherry 59). If caught committing animal cruelty, the person will face either a felony or a misdemeanor. Animal Cruelty: Pathway to Violence against people by Linda Perez-Merz, and Kathleen M. Heide states the penalty for first degree felony and third degree felony. The first degree felony isn’t that much of a punishment to a person committing the crime. “The maximum penalty for such an offense is one year in jail or a $ 5,000 fine, or both” (Perez-Merez, Heide 12). That is the punishment for a first degree felony which I consider a slap on the hand. Many people who abuse animals might even laugh at such a minor punishment because nothing compared to what is being done to the animal. The Third degree felony is the maximum punishment if charged that I personally think should be charged to anyone caught cockfighting or even committing animal cruelty. The third degree felony is much more punishment than a first, “a third-degree felony carries a maximum penalty of a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years or a fine of not more than $ 10,000, or both” (Perez-Merez, Heide 12). The punishments for those who are caught committing the crime seem to get away with not really much to worry about. If the third degree punishment could be raised to more time in prison and paying a larger fine, the law should be changed immediately. The punishment from my point of view should be double or at least triple the amount of what it is right now for those who are committing such a crime. Especially for cockfighting, the poor animals are equipped with knifes to kill each other, I mean that must be very painful for the rooster to feel. Then when the fight gets long, the rooster sits there suffering even more torture from its opponent. After the fight, the rooster is all beaten with cuts, massive bleedings, even internal, and has to suffer until it heals. Money cannot buy the life of an animal, especially those gamecocks that are being used for entertainment and for cock fighters to be gambling their money away.

The rooster on the right side has defeated its opponent, but is still massively wounded. As for the rooster on the left side, it is dead and the fight is not over until its owner decides it has taken enough beating. The poor innocent rooster standing has to suffer from its inside wounds and other massive injuries until the fight is over. Even when it is over, the rooster will be left on its own to heal with now medical treatment. Bernard Rollin author of Animal Pain, states that “animals can’t anticipate and remember pain and that therefore their pain is insignificant” (60). The animal won’t remember the pain because when it was during the fight, its mind was just determined on beating up on its opponent, and not on the pain it receives until after.

Attending cockfights can be very sad because even I have attended some cockfights and people take their young children to see the roosters fight. As soon as the roosters enter the pit, everyone starts yelling picking bets on one side gambling that they think the rooster they choose will defeat its opponent. Everyone starts yelling and shouting during the fight which eventually at a point gets annoying. I did not enjoy it and hopefully the children did not either, so the crime of cock fighting will not be passed on to them and they continue to fight roosters because if not the problem on cock fighting will only get bigger and not smaller. Once children start seeing that many cock fighters are being caught and fined with animal cruelty it will make them think twice about fighting roosters.

Another main blood sport including animals is dog fighting. Dog fighting is much compared to cock fighting by being fought to death, and are even fought inside a circular pit or in random ground like a backyard and even public grounds. Not only do regular human beings fight dogs, NFL player Michael Vick, old quarterback from the Atlanta Falcons was caught in a dog fighting arena and was sent to prison for criminal conspiracy. Sherry states that “dog fighting is a ‘contest’, typically between two dogs that are placed in a pit (a small arena) where the dogs fight, often to the death” (57). These pits are all over the place, and do not have a certain area where they fight always. Just like cock fighting, there is not a specific location where the fights occur therefore, “since these events are illegal, they do not usually have a permanent location but must move from place to place” (Sherry 58). The gamecock is a bird and is two legged, and is fought with knifes on their spur. Dogs on the other hand are just trained and mainly given steroids to increase their muscle and become stronger because in their type of fighting, the dogs are just made angry and bite each other with their teeth ripping off skin and causing major bleeding. Time limit is not a factor in the fights so, “these fights can last several hours and end when one of the dogs either cannot or will not continue to fight” (Sherry 57). All types of breeds are used for fighting either just for fun or gambling. When it comes to gambling big amounts of money, the abusers want their dog to win the fight, so they usually use the breed of pit bulls. “While any large dog can be used, the American pit bull terrier(also known as the American Staffordshire terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier, or bull terrier) is the most common ‘combatant’,”(Sherry 57). Stated also about pit bulls are that they have been bred for generations to be aggressive toward other animals and even to humans. By crossing their breeds makes the pit bulls become larger and even more vicious fighters. Sherry mentions how the dogs are made more vicious, the abusers mistreat and beat the dogs, and even deprive the dogs from their food and water.

These dogs are also trained before they are fought to be made stronger than its opponent. Sherry states how the dogs are exercised that, “they are exercised on treadmills and cat mills(where the dog is chained to a pole attached to a central beam and a small dog or a cat is chained to another pole; the pit bull chases the other animal never catching it)”(57). This makes the dog gain condition to last long in the fight, and have breath to fight until the end. Also it helps it gain muscles on its legs by running trying to catch the other dog or cat. I think this is a waste of the dog’s time because the abuser is just causing the animal to get tired and chase something it will never be able to get. The dog is also trained to help gain muscle on its jaw. Also “the trainer may also use a jump-pole, which has bait attached to it; the dog is trained to jump and hang onto the bait” (Sherry 57). This is stated in the story to help strengthen the jaws and the pit bulls tendency to clamp on to an opponent and not release the other dog once it has taken a hold of it. They are also trained to fight and kill by using small dogs and other small animals. I feel bad for the little animals being killed by dogs just for them to be trained and also the abuses using the little ones as toys. This also takes the rights of the animals used to be trained away. Also another method of training for dogs that angers me is that the poor pit bull is trained by being put on weights to gain muscle. “The dogs typically have chains wrapped around their necks, often with added weights, to strengthen their neck and upper-body musculature” (Sherry 58). This is for the dog to gain muscles and be able to have a stronger neck than its opponent, and not let its opponent drag it down by its neck. After the dog is fought, it sometimes does not die and has to live and suffer all its cuts and serious injuries it has. The owner more than likely is not going to take the poor beat up dog to a veterinary for care or anything. The poor animal has to heal from its wounds and injuries without any type of medicine or antibiotics. The dog has to survive all the suffering from the fight and if it heals sometimes it is brought back to the pit by the owner to be fought once again.

The dog fights like the cock fights are attended by many people even dozens, including children. They only go to gamble their money away and enjoy the two poor dogs beat up each other for no apparent reason. “These people often wager hundreds or thousands of dollars on the outcome of the fight” (Sherry 58). This means that the people and owners gamble their money and some win while the others lose money. The poor dogs are turned on each other and fight to death. “Street fighters can buy a fighting dog for a few hundred dollars” (Sherry 58). The fighters buy a dog that is a good breed, mainly pit bull and from there is trained to fight and kill.

. All types of animal cruelty need to come to an end and animals should be given their rights. Cock fighting can easily come to an end if the knives used in the fight between the two birds are held from being made and sold. In dog fighting, the dogs that are bred by the owners, especially pit bulls, the breed famous for being fought should be registered and the owner would have to take the dog every month or so to the veterinarian to be checked for any wounds for fighting. Now scientists have stepped up to stop animal cruelty by being able to track down the owners of dogs who have been fought and abused. It is stated in the article that “they have created the country’s first dog-fighting DNA database, which they say will help criminal investigators piece together an abused animal’s history by establishing ties among breeders, owners, pit operators and the animals themselves” (Gay). This solution can lead to stop the abuse to innocent dogs, and the abusers can be sent to prison and face the maximum fine. So far this database has been a success, Malcolm Gay states, “ The database, a joint effort by the A.S.P.C.A., the Louisiana S.P.C.A., the Humane Society of Missouri and researchers at the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the University of California, Davis, was developed during an investigation last July that resulted in 26 arrests and the seizure of more than 400 dogs”. The scientists have been able to track down some people committing animal cruelty and have gotten them arrested. Also, Kenneth Weldon Smith author of “End Dog Fighting”, stated that “ the Texas SPCA is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those involved in illegal dog fighting”. Any information available will truly help track down illegal dog fighting. These are the types of solutions needed to stop animal cruelty.

Animal cruelty has been committed everywhere and by everyone, many of us try to prevent it but we need the help of others. The heart of these abusers need to open and feel the pain the animals feel when their abused and mistreated. Some solutions have begun to stop dog fighting and the use of skin of animals, but cock fighting still needs to be brought to an end. Hopefully no more humans join those who commit animal cruelty and try to prevent it so animals can have their rights and freedom.

Works Cited

Sherry, Clifford J. Animal Rights: A Reference Handbook Second Edition. California: ABC- CLIO, 2009. Print.

Perez-Merz, Linda, and Kathleen M. Heide. Animal Cruelty: Pathway to Violence against people. New York. Alta Mira Press, 2004. Print.

Gay, Malcolm. “Effort Uses Dogs’ DNA to Track Their Abusers”. New York Times. June 26, 2010. Web. October 7, 2010.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/science/27dna.html?ref=cruelty_to_animals

Interlibrary loan:

Smith, Kenneth Weldon. “End dog fighting.” Corpus Christi Caller- Times. 3 January 2008. Web. December 3, 2010.

Rollin, Bernard. “Animal Pain.” Animal Rights and Human Obligations. Ed. Tom Regan and

Peter Singer. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1989. 60. Print.