Arguments Against Animal Euthanasia

Animal Euthanasia, is a process during which an animal is put to death. According to Humane society “about 2.4 million healthy, adoptable cats and dogs - about one every 13 seconds- are put down in U.S shelters each year.” (humane society.) The saying that dogs are a man’s best friend is often thought of when thinking of dogs, but what if I tell you the man is the dog 's best friend, or even the only friend, only family. So often we see people buying Dogs because they are so cute! and so warm/fuzzy/cuddly! and 90% of the time those dogs do not stay with this family, either they take too much time,decide to move, not enough space or the saddest one they can no longer afford it, and those dogs find their way to the shelter. The family who put their dogs in shelters think it is the best decision, but in turn, it’s really a death sentence. According to Akita Rescue, a dog has “72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off.” (Anonymous) after this time the animal gets put down, So why do this to your pet? to any pet? why have them sit in a cell for no reason, other than you not having enough time or no longer wanting to take care of it; that Dog doesn 't have relatives to which he can go to when things go bad, he can 't just go to his sister, mother, father, or grandparents to that dog you are the world, and by putting your dog in the shelter the dog loses not only you but also his world.

The euthanasia of animals is a very problematic social issue in the world today. Approximately there are about 7.6 million companion animals that enter animal shelters each year. Of those, about 2.7 animals are euthanized, and cats have the highest rate, according to “The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals” (2017). When you hear the term euthanasia in reference to animals, you think of a painless process that ends the countless suffering your pet had to endure over the span of their lives. There are many reasons for which these animals are “put to sleep.” When most pet owners put their pets to sleep it is because their pets have incurable disease, painful illness, behavioral problems and are of old age. When an animal is suffering and is no longer able to recover, this process may be the most humane thing to do. However, euthanasia turns into murder when perfectly healthy animals are killed. Since there is an overpopulation of animals there are many animals left on the street wandering alone. When there isn’t any room for all these new animals being brought in from off the streets, shelters have no other option, but to euthanize. Each year more and more dogs and cats are born and sent into shelters, but for every animal being born another one has to leave and once the animal leave they are most likely going to be euthanized. No matter the situation animals are losing their lives for no clear reason.

Euthanasia, as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is considered to be, “the act or practice of killing someone who is very sick or injured in order to prevent any more suffering” (2015).Within this can be found different methods of euthanasia including passive or indirect euthanasia which requires withholding of basic life-saving measures such as oxygen, nutrition, hydration, or resuscitation. Another form is direct euthanasia which can be caused by administered drugs, injections, or suffocation. In its entirety, euthanasia has been debated as an ethical issue through its many forms and reasoning (Methods of euthanasia, 2011).

Some veterinarians are seeing more requests for convenience euthanasia due to the growing money problems and stress that family’s sometime face. “Philosophers, such as Steve Sapontzis, has argued that one does cause harm to an animal even by killing it painlessly,

Horse slaughter is not humane euthanasia, while, euthanasia is defined as a gentle, painless death provided in order to prevent suffering, slaughter is a brutal and terrifying end for horses (“Horse Slaughter is not Euthanasia”). It is very shocking to hear all the awful things that horses go through in the slaughter process. When the horses are herded through the plant to slaughter, many workers use fiberglass rods to poke and beat their faces, necks, backs and legs as the animals are shoved through the facility into the kill pen (Horse Slaughter “). The USDA recently released photos of horses with broken bones protruding from their bodies, eyeballs hanging by a thread of skin, and open wounds, all taken at former U.S horse slaughter plants. This does not sound like animals that people love and have used as companion pets for many generations ( “The Horse Fund”). Former inspector has stated that horses are only stunned for 30 seconds, long enough to be hung up by a hind leg (“Jeras”) .The horse is still fully conscious at the start of the slaughter process, during which he or she is hung by a hind leg, his or her throat slit and body butchered. Death is the final step, is excruciating (“Horse Slaughter”).How does it sound okay to butcher an animal before it is even killed? Horse slaughter is a threat to human health because horses are given hundreds of drugs during their lives that have not been approved by the FDA for use in animals intended for human consumption (“ASPCA”). Horses are given medications , prescribed by vets that allows them to enter the human food chain, but yet people still consume it (“The Horse Fund”) . The slaughter process is also inherently cruel, as horses are difficult to stun properly and may be repeatedly injured or stabbed during the procedure(“How to Help a Horse”). Each year more than 100,000 American horses - working, racing and companion horses and even children’s ponies - are

Animal shelters provide protection and care to animals in need, but sadly have to kill animals from time to time. Ending an animal’s life with minimal pain is called animal euthanasia. No animal shelters practice euthanasia by choice, but most consider it a necessary system. Some reasons for euthanasia are lack of resources and funding in shelters, but the biggest contributor to why euthanasia exists is overcrowding. This problem can be traced to owners allowing their pets to have multiple litters of kittens or puppies without taking the responsibility to properly give them a home. This carelessness creates a huge domestic overpopulation problem. The consequences of overpopulation results in large numbers of animals being sent to humane societies. Animals are then euthanized to avoid overcrowding. Euthanasia is unethical and cruel; it should be banned from shelters.

that method is absolutely cruel and painful, the veterinary method is not pain free either.

When vet schools used to use animals it wasn't thought as of being cruel to the animals it was thought of as an educational experience (¨Are Live-Terminal Laboratories Necessary?¨). Although these are good arguments there are also several arguments against using animals in vet school. Many schools have backed away from using animals in their studies. “ Fortunately only a dozen of the nation's 125 accredited medical schools still use live animal labs” (“Medical Training Using Animals”). This quotes is saying that 12 of the 125 schools still use animals for educational purposes. That is only 9% of the medical Universities, in the United States (“Medical Training Using Animals”). Common animals used in vet schools are dogs,pigs,mice, rats, and birds. These animals are picked because of their body type, and by the procedures that can be done on them. These 5 animals are commonly used because they are the most common animals that a veterinarian will see in their office. These are also the easiest animals for a University to get their hands on (¨GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS¨). In labs, animals are anesthetized then injected with medicine, tested, and later the animal will die. Many people find this cruel but others look at it as the circle of life. Thousands of animals have been killed due to scientific demonstrations. The operation that is being done that day will depend on what animal will

Euthanasia is a term that when asking friends and family, I found most often is associated with “putting our animals down” when

From a panel of veterinarians, they all explain how before even thinking of euthanasia as an option, they consider the physical and psychological health of the animal before determining the solution to a case. Dr. Flinchum introduces his method of considering euthanasia when an animal’s quality of life is deteriorating and would then draw a plan up to consult with the owners and would only resort to euthanasia if it is in the owner’s best interest for their pet (Hess 53). Dr. Horton states, “We also have it in our policy that we do not euthanize healthy animals. We do offer placement services or referral to behaviorists for those animals that may just need to be rehomed or retrained” (Hess 54). The method that many doctors use for euthanasia is to administer isoflurane gas through a mask until the animal is in a deep sleep state (American Veterinary 6). After, the chosen euthanasia solution would be administered into the jugular or intracardiac vein on the animal which would then result in a calm and peaceful ending for the animal. Unfortunately, the methods and practices of the doctors gathered on this panel are oftentimes not practiced at other animal hospitals. Instead, the policies of the professionals often do not consider the psychological, mental, or physical state that an animal is in and will implement euthanasia regardless of the animal’s health

“Killing by carbon dioxide asphyxiation, neck-breaking, decapitation, and other means” (qtd. ProCon) are all results of what happens to the animals after they have fulfilled their purpose in biomedical research if they are not killed during experimentation. Using animals for scientific and medical

Both poultry and livestock animals are harmed and slaughtered by humans as it is necessary to businesses and primary food in the society. Research shows that one of the common ways to slaughter poultry like chickens and ducks, as well as livestocks such as cattles, pigs, and goats, is through electrical stunning in which animals are placed in a bath water stunner to weaken the animal and slowly stopping its heartbeat (Raj, 1998, p. 1815). Hence, many poultry and livestock animals experience cardiac arrest and loss of Somatosensory Evoked Potential (SEP) or how the body receives the sensation to the brain that enables quick response to the stimuli (Somatosensory, 2018). Another way of animal slaughter is through the process of gas killing. After conducting the electrical stunning, gas killing was then introduced by injecting carbon dioxide anesthesia that will make the animals unconscious before separating the neck out of its body. This method may be quite lighter than the electrical stunning since it does not completely and rapidly damages the brain and heart of the animal. However, gas killing would still result to loss of SEP as well as animals becoming breathless as the carbon dioxide is inhaled (Raj, 1998, p.

On an average year, approximately 2.7 million animals are euthanized in the United States ("Pet Statistics"). Being that animal euthanasia is a horrible and selfish act, we should stop it and only allow euthanasia of an animal if they are sick and will not heal or if they are suffering. Animal euthanasia has been around for years and has been an easy way for a family to put down their precious pet that is suffering. Killing an animal because they are a stray is not ethical. Stray animals, such as cat and dogs, that are said to be mean, can be tamed to the point where they could have a new loving home. We, as human beings, should not be killing innocent animals.

Many people and shelters in the U.S. agree with the euthanasia of dogs in shelters and pounds, but they do not know that euthanasia is being used on healthy and young dogs. A large number of people believe that if there is a high unwanted population of dogs at the shelter that the most humane way for a dog to die is euthanasia. However, there are bountiful options besides killing the dog. Some shelters believe it is ok to use methods of killing such as euthanization, decompression, electrocution, drowning, and shooting (“Euthanasia”). On the other hand, others believe that these acts of violence towards innocent dogs are awful and must be stopped. This controversy of whether or not the unwanted dogs at shelters in Georgia should be euthanized

In the history of the world people use it in terms of hastening one death, killing disable babies. The contemporary debate of euthanasia started in 1870. Animal euthanasia brings out a topic that is it right or wrong. Reason for Euthanasia is incurable conditions, overcrowding, dangerous animals, diseases, and lack of resources to support the animal. Over 4 million animals have nowhere to go and will send the