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Animal Cruelty

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One of the most shocking and gruesome stories over the last five years has been the report of Michael Vick running a dog fighting scandal in the confines of his Virginia home. This story was covered by every single major news outlet across the United States and caused uproar amongst millions of animal lovers. While this press undoubtedly raised awareness of the perils of animal cruelty, there are still hundreds and hundreds of cases that go unnoticed every day. For how loving and caring animals are to human beings, it is about time that we stand up to those who mistreat them and give animals the support they need and deserve. There have obviously been several animal activist groups over the years such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) but there is still so much we can do to raise awareness of this issue and make a difference. There are varying degrees of animal cruelty, however, one no better than the other. It is important to recognize each one and the motives behind the owner’s abuse because there needs to be different ways to handle these crimes. There is blatant abuse, such as in the Michael Vick case, where owners put animals in an atmosphere that is detrimental to their health and well-being. As for Vick, he bred and trained dogs to become vicious fighters as a part of his operation called “Bad Newz Kennels” (Schorn 1). CBS Sports Anchor James Brown asked Vick in an interview what had motivated him to continue to run this operation despite him knowing the risks and consequences of doing so (1). Vick cited that despite knowing everything he was doing was wrong, it was the competition and adrenaline that kept him in the business (1). The second form of animal cruelty can be best described as overall neglect from the owners. Oftentimes the common alibi from those who neglect their pets is that they honestly do not feel like they are mistreating them at all. This is mostly highlighted by animal hoarders. PETA’s website defines hoarders as “well-intentioned people who were overwhelmed by the animal overpopulation crisis” (Peta.org 1). These people oftentimes feel as if it is their personal responsibility to “save” these animals and take them in as their own. Some consider this compulsive need a mental illness but one thing can be agreed upon and that is that the animals affected by this are suffering. Other forms of neglect branch out to what unfortunately many people consider “minor issues” such as leaving their dogs in a kennel all day or keeping them outside for extended periods of time during the winter. These people clearly do not know how to raise a pet and treat it correctly and therefore the animal is left suffering. Fortunately, there have been recent efforts to raise awareness to these varying forms of animal cruelty. Animal Planet largely has promoted a campaign to air television shows that delve into real-life situations regarding this issue. Shows such as Pitboss, Pitbulls and Parolees, and Confessions: Animal Hoarding all display the efforts of individuals to combat the abuse of animals. Pitbulls and Parolees, for example, is a show about the Villabolos Rescue center that works extensively to give mistreated pitbulls a second chance. Much has been made recently of the pitbulls’ aggressive nature. This is predominantly due to how humans have raised and treated the animal. This show tries to change this misconstrued persona and prove to people that they truly are man’s best friend. Aside from medical treatment, their main goal is to rehabilitate fearful dogs so that they can once again live in a house with loving and caring owners. Another show hosted by the Animal Planet, Confessions: Animal Hoarding, shows true-life depictions of people who have let pets take over their lives. These individuals claim they love all of their pets but the bottom line is that no one can support the amount of animals they are attempting to own. This show illustrates how even individuals who do love animals can so suddenly find themselves in this predicament to where they are now mistreating animals. Confessions: Animal Hoarding’s goal is to create awareness to a real and pressing issue as well as to prove that there are people willing to help them overcome this illness. The task of helping combat animal cruelty may seem like a lost cause for the average citizen but that is far from the truth. While we obviously may not be an asset in regards to breaking someone’s hoarding addiction or busting a dog fighting operation, there are still several ways for us to help. The American Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ (ASPCA) website, www.aspca.org/get-involved/[->0], has a list of ways to get involved that range from being a part of rescuing animals affected by the natural disasters that have struck out company, to donating your time at a local shelter to simply donating money to ASPCA to help fund their efforts. Even if one does not feel like it is their obligation to have to work or pay to fix other individuals’ mishaps, I encourage you to at least spread the word of animal cruelty. Share any information you see about this issue through social networking websites, by e-mail or by word of mouth. Any effort on your behalf could potentially bring awareness to a situation that could save a mistreated animal. The unwavering conclusion to this topic is that animal cruelty is wrong and inhumane no matter what the circumstances. Hopefully with cases gone public such as Michael Vick’s, people will realize that intentional abuse of animals is a crime and not tolerated and that will eventually lead to them ending their operations. For those who “unintentionally” mistreat animals, I hope they realize that there are several outlets for them to reach out to. Animals are our companions and deserve as much love and care as we give to our friends and family.

Works Cited
"Hoarding | PETA.org." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): The Animal Rights Organization | PETA.org. PETA. Web. 08 May 2011. .
Schorn, Daniel. "Michael Vick: "I Blame Me"" CBS News. CBS, 16 Aug. 2009. Web. 08 May 2011. .

[->0] - http://www.aspca.org/get-involved/

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