Animal Cruelty: Dog Fighting

Many people do not report cases of animal cruelty. Reports of animal cruelty are less common than crimes against people. This is because the cases do not go through state agencies. The animals that come to mind when someone mentions animal cruelty is often Dogs and cats. These animals do have a higher percent rate, with dogs at 70.1%, cats at 20.9% and all other animals at 24.1%. The percent’s come from cases that people report. If people were to fill all cases of animal cruelty, the rates would be much more different. A common form of negligence is people taking their animal to a place far from home to just leave them there. Animal control pick up these animals everyday and send them to shelter. For the most part the animals have a healthy portion of food and they have shelter from the environment. Most shelters are kill shelters. No-Kill shelters become less common to their counterpart. Animals not adopted within a certain period of time undergo euthanasia. This keeps room for more animals. No-kill shelters protect the animals and help rehabilitate them. The other 24.1% is the factory animals. The purpose of a factory animal's life is a food source. So the owners mistreat their animals because the animals purpose is to be a food source. It is almost as if they do not matter. They deserve animal rights just as much as the other animals do.

Throughout the history of animal abuse there have been several organizations who help to put an end to animal abuse and cruelty. Out of all the groups that are out there to help these three are the top ASPCA which stand for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was the first organization to help protect animals in 1866 (Staff, ProQuest. Animal Rights Timeline. Leading Issues Timelines, 2016, SIRS Issues Researcher). The next organization to start up was the Humane Society of the United States. This organization started in 1954. PETA People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is founded by college student Alex Pacheco and animal shelter director Ingrid Newkirk in 1980 (Staff, ProQuest. Animal Rights Timeline.

Animals are an important and valued part of many families and cultures. In many households, animals are considered members of the family, receive Christmas and birthday presents, and are cared for just as a human child would be. Opposition to animal cruelty has even become a sort of universal value in American culture(Kordzek 604). But animals are uniquely vulnerable to abuse, and despite this they still do not receive much needed protection from the law. The penalties for animal cruelty are not frequently severe enough to even deter one from harming an animal. This is dangerous not only for animals, but for human beings too. Animal cruelty and domestic violence have been proven to correlate in countless ways, and recognizing animal cruelty as a serious criminal offense and a form of domestic violence would serve to protect both animals and human beings from needless acts of violence. Instituting stiffer criminal penalties for animal cruelty and increasing the protective measures for victims of abuse is necessary to further the protection of both animals and human beings.

Many people enjoy companionship with their animals; however, according to the American Society For the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), “every 60 seconds, another animal is abused.” Animals are often neglected in ways such as improper feeding, dog fighting, cockfighting, and being bred in puppy mills. In order to end animal abuse, people need to be enlightened about the multiple ways animals can be abused. Awareness of activities surrounding animal abuse will help decreases animal abuse. Education is of utmost importance in preventing animal abuse.

Every 60 seconds an animal is abused. Dogs, cats, horses, and many other types of animals are being neglected and tortured everyday, yet resulting in few and minor consequences for the perpetrators. Animal abuse is prevalent in the United States and has been an ongoing issue since the 1970's, and prior to. Society as a whole has chosen to avoid the facts and arguments about animal cruelty, because to some it is seen as acceptable and typical. It becomes much more frowned upon when people actually see the results of the cruelty, especially in the media.

1. ATTENTION GETTER: Millions of animals are abused each year. Over a million of these animals are abused or killed just due to the involvement with domestic violence. Despite animal cruelty being a felony which can result in jail time for over 15 years and 500,000 dollars in fines, it is still an issue which occurs on a daily basis across the United States. It is important for these animals to not go unnoticed, which can be achieved if society became more enlightened and educated on the topic of animal cruelty. (Pacelle, 2011).

The mistreatment of animals is a serious problem within our society for a variety of reasons. While current laws and conditions are improving, there is still a

Over the centuries, animals have suffered from cruelty from humans. In the United States, animals are beaten, neglected, or forced to struggle for survival. Animals have been inflicted with pain from humans for reasons other than self-defense. They have been slaughtered for their food and fur for personal gain in profit. In a majority of cases they have even been abused for someone’s own personal amusement or out of rage filled impulses. In some cases animals are found and rescued. They are given the second chance in life to experience what life should be like compared to what they once had.

Animal abuse is defined as either the physical mistreatment of an animal or neglect where the animal is denied basic necessities of care. The mistreatment of animals is a serious issue within society. It often goes unreported because many people believe it is only abuse if it is intentional. This lack of understanding allows minor cases of neglect to progress into major cases that can end in the death of the animals involved. Animal abuse needs a better definition due to the results of neglect, psychological issues, and ethical components.

Those who abuse animals are most likely to abuse humans too. Data reveals that a large number of animals are targeted by those who abuse others around them, such as their children or spouse. 71% of domestic violence victims claim that their abuser also targeted pets. Families under investigation for child abuse also reveal pet abuse had occurred in 88% of these homes. Many victims stay in their abusive households out of fear for their animal's

In America, we come across serious environmental issues about poverty, domestic abuse, ending world hunger ect. Animal cruelty isn’t one of those topics that isn’t being put out there more. We see it all around like the commercials on tv that tell you to donate money to help the poor stray dogs. People don’t see how much damage we can cause to them, but if we got together we can help stop this madness. In the article, Counting cruelty: Challenges and opportunities in assessing animal abuse and neglect in America it briefly says “Cruelty to animals is a crime.” (Lockwood 87). Laws were made for this problem way back. Our laws help keep society in a proper place with no hysteria.Which means people like us should pay attention more to our surroundings.

Introduction: I remembered how throughout my life I respected and admired people that tried to help animals in need. I remembered how I felt when I saw first-hand the result of abuse. I remembered how I wanted to help those poor animals that were being treated so cruelly. And for all that I remembered, I decided that the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) was the interest group I felt strongly for and chose to research.

In this article, Long examines the virtues and limitations of creating statutory authority requiring professionals to report substantiated abuse, neglect, and cruelty across service delivery systems. The author agrees that animals that are being abused should have the same protection services as humans. Long writes for Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare a publication focused on animal violence and interpersonal violence. He presents himself as an practitioner of social work. This article relates some of my other sources, which claims that animal cruelty is one way of relating to home

Each year, the most extreme cases of animal abuse receive media attention. Yet, the animal cruelty problem is more widespread than is reported in the media. Animal abuse and neglect is a nationwide issue, affecting thousands of animals nationwide. Cruelty to animals is defined as the infliction of physical pain, suffering or death on an animal, beyond what is necessary. There is a need to stop abusers from acting in such a horrific manner–preventing the neglect and suffering of the animals. What causes animal abusers to act in such a cruel way towards animals? How are cases of animal abuse being managed, and how should cases be handled? Finally, does the status of animals in society contribute to the rate of their abuse?

There are many different things that fall under the category of “cruelty”, neglect and abuse being the two main subcategories. The most common type of animal abuse involves dogs, Pit-bulls in particular. In 2007, of 1800 media-reported cases of animal cruelty, 64% (1,126) involved dogs, 18% (337) involved cats, and 18% (337) involved other animals. Some of the most common places where animal abuse occur are, in no particular order: fur farms, dog fights, laboratories, races (both Greyhound and horse), slaughterhouses, and puppy mills. Some less thought of forms of animal abuse are crush videos, traditional Chinese medicine, the cat/dog meat trade in Asia, the ivory trade, trophy hunting, and even shock collars. Abandonment is the leading form of animal cruelty. (See illustration.)