Persuasive Emotional
Through Their Eyes No food, no shelter, no attention. This unfortunate situation is the everyday life for thousands of mistreated animals. Since animals do not have a voice of their own, they cannot defend themselves. Animal cruelty is immorally disturbing which is why these poor, innocent creatures deserve more rights. Providing care and protection should an ethical and moral obligation, because as you should see not enough is being done. Animal cruelty is often broken down into two main categories, either active or passive. Passive cruelty, or acts of omission, is animal neglect. Examples are starvation, parasite infestations, dehydration, allowing a collar to grow into an animal’s skin, inadequate shelter in extreme weather conditions, and failure to seek veterinary care when medical attention is needed. Active cruelty, or acts of commission, implies malicious intent in which a person has deliberately and intentionally caused harm to an animal. This behavior is often associated with sociopathic behavior and tendencies. Another disturbing behavior is a paraphilia called bestiality, also known as zoophilia. In a simple sense, bestiality involves intercourse with an animal and includes oral genital contact of any kind between humans and animals. Shockingly, this act is legal in several states. The common sexually abused animals are: cats, dogs, sheep, cows, hens, rabbits, goats, ducks, horses, bulls, and fish. All these animals are accessible, which is why they are commonly abused. Bestiality is considered abuse because it is forced sex. Some animals are owned for only one purpose – to fight. Animal fighting is a blood-sport in which animals are specifically bred and trained to fight each other within an enclosed pit or ring; these animals often fight to the death. Thankfully, dog fighting and cock-fighting is illegal nationwide. Unfortunately, there are other types of fighting that occurs. When two dogs are thrown into the trunk of a car to fight each other, this type of fighting is known as “Trunking.” Another is “Hog Dog Fighting”, which is more common in the southern states. In this situation, a dog is pitted against a hog or pig and then allowed to fight. Not only are dogs being injured in these fighting styles, but other animals are being seriously injured or killed. On estimate, there are 10,000 badgers killed every year from badger baiting. Though zoos believe they are doing good by protecting wild populations and their habitats, most animals in zoos are not endangered and while confining them to zoos keeps them alive, it does little more. Returning captive bred animals to the wild is impossible because animals that grew up in zoos were denied the opportunity to learn survival skills. Cages and cramped enclosures take away the animals’ freedom to satisfy their natural behaviors such as: flying, swimming, foraging, digging, running, hunting, climbing, exploring, and selecting a partner. The mental frustrations of the animals lead to self-destructive behavior. Some zoos also import animals from the wild. In 2003, the San Diego Zoo captured and imported eleven African elephants from Swaziland. Zoos breed animals because the presence of babies draws visitors and boosts revenue, but as a result, the zoos become extremely crowded and the older animals suffer. Older animals often become “warehoused” in cages, sent to animal dealers or auctions. Animal testing is also a cruel form of mistreatment to animals. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic act was created by the FDA, who supports the development and use of alternatives to animal testing. Usually to test a product, substances are pumped into an animal’s stomach or airways, or applied to the eyes or skin. Most tests are crude, out-of-date procedures that are not effective in prediction human reactions. More than 100 million vertebrate and invertebrate animals are used in testing in the United States each year. There are effective alternatives instead of testing on animals, such as Episkin®. This is artificial human skin, which is also being continually developed and improved (“Cosmetic and Product Testing”). Animal cruelty also comes in the form of entertainment, such as dog racing, crush videos, circuses. There are currently over thirty dog racing tracks operating in the United States (“11 Facts…”). It is estimated that it takes 1,000 dogs to maintain a mid-sized racetrack operation. New greyhounds are continually entering the system to replace injured or aged ones. Even so, circuses treat animals the same way as zoo do in a sense that the animals are kept in cages and deprived of learning survival skills and experiencing life in their natural habitat. Some animals are cruelly mistreated in circuses because wild and exotic animals are trained through the use of intimidation and physical abuse (“11 Facts…”). Former circus employees have reported seeing animals beaten, whipped, poked with sharp objects and even burned, just to force them to learn routines (Kretzler). Also, elephants that perform in circuses are often kept in chains for as long as 23 hours a day from the time they are babies (“11 Facts…”). Being chained up is no life for a majestic and wild creature like an African elephant. Animal cruelty laws do not necessarily give animals right, but do provide more legal protection. The purpose of these laws is to clear: to diminish violence by humans and impose a penalty for such acts. There are varied felony punishments for animal cruelty in forty-one states (“Cruelty Laws”). Every state now, including the District of Columbia, has a law prohibiting cruelty to animals. In Illinois, a charge for neglect of owner’s duties can be a fine up to $1,500 plus up to six months in prison. For cruel treatment, a person can be fined up to $2,500 and serve a year in prison. Aggravated cruelty will get a person a $25,000 fine and between one to three years in prison plus one year probation. A person would receive a $25,000 fine and two to five years in prison with one year probation for animal torture (“Cruelty Laws”). There is something that can be done though, there are ways YOU can make a difference. There are many organizations in the world that deem rights for animals as necessary and have passion for their enforcement and installation. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world, with more than 300 million members and supporters (Kretzler). PETA focuses its attention on four areas: factories and farms, clothing trade, laboratories, and entertainment industry. Another organization is the National Center for Prosecution of Animal Abuse (NCPAA), which was created in partnership with the American Society with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to bring greater awareness of animal mistreatment. The Humane Society of the United States directly cares for thousands of animals through rescue efforts, disaster response, mobile veterinary clinics, and five animal care centers (“Our Work”). Also, it contributes to shelters since four to five million animals die in animal shelters every year (“11 Facts…”). Animal shelters have good intentions, but with poor funding, they are not helping in all reality because the animals are forced to live in crowded shelters without veterinary care. Help from organizations is nice, but is sadly not enough to put an end to the egregious actions mentioned above. Without a voice or a way to fight back, mistreated animals are rendered defenseless. Cruel mistreatment should not be tolerable. Animals have done nothing to deserve being beaten, killed, or forced to live without food, shelter, and affection. Thousands of unfortunate lives deal with this each day. In order to provide more legal protection and help support the lives of many, animals should receive more rights.
Works Cited

“11 Facts about Animal Cruelty.” DoSOmething.org. 2012. Web. 24 June, 2014.

“Cosmetic and Product Testing.” Humanesoctiety.org. 2012. Web. 23 June, 2014.

“Cruelty Laws”. StrayPetAdvocacy.org. 2010. Web. 23 June, 2014. Kretzler, Michelle. “PETA”. PETA.org. 01 Nov. 2012. Web. 24 June, 2014.

“Our Work.” Humanesociety.org. 2012. Web. 23 June, 2014.