Should Animals Be Used For Entertainment Values?

Animal Cruelty is a subject that spreads far across the United States and into most civilized cultures. Animal cruelty can either be in the form of intentional abuse, simple neglect, or abandonment of animals.  Whatever forms the abuse takes, however, the animal that is the victim of the abuse is often helpless and may experience extreme suffering. Animal right activist feel if you don’t know how to take care or treat an animal it can be as deadly as physical abuse to care for one.

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

Not many people think about how immoral it is for us humans to take animals from the wild and hold them captive for entertainment. Captive animals are often deprived of everything that is natural and important to them, and they experience captivity-related health problems as a result.

What is animal abuse? For starters, animal abuse is when a person inflicts suffering or harm on any animal. Most people, all over the world own an animal; but there are still far more animals left out on the street. Homeless animals are either left out on the streets or are “thrown” into shelters. This became a problem because not all animals are domesticated. Animal shelters began as pounds. “When the system began to be used to impound wandering dogs and cats, these animals were often killed because little monetary value was placed on them” (Lila Miller, Animal sheltering in the United States: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, 1) . This issue persists because shelter workers and others truly believe that an animal life has no value, but that is not true; animals are living beings just like humans with brains, hearts, and bones. A reported case was that “authorities had seized 23 puppies, 11 cats, and four adult dogs from a self-processed animal “rescue” after they were found in the “rescuer’s” filthy home.” (‘No-Kill’ Label Slowly Killing Animals, 3). This means that an unauthorized person hoarded many animals and forced the animals into an unsafe “shelter”. The shelter being a dirty home.

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.

Think about how we will look back on our cruel forms of entertainment in the future. Will we be proud of the way we treated these great animals, with abuse as neglect? Today we turn our heads away from reality and what happens behind the scenes of animal entertainment. However, we can’t turn our heads forever. Around the world, there is so much more to animal entertainment than what meets the eye. These animals have been torn away from their beautiful, natural homes and brought to a prison of concrete. In these prisons, they are beaten, starved and tortured all for our money and entertainment. These animals lives should not be taken from them for us. Our money and happiness should not be worth these animal’s lives. Circus, theme park and zoo animals all suffer from aggression towards trainers, mental disabilities and physical injuries. These animals should not have to suffer any longer.

There are many animals who deal with abuse everyday, and that is not okay. If an animal is neglected or abused the pet will be taken away and the caretaker will be charged $1,500. Animals are very loyal, such as dogs, dogs are one of the most loyal animals you can own. When abused, they don’t know where they went wrong. They only know that you are mad at them. Animals, such as humans, shouldn’t be abused or neglected. Most animals who are abused or neglected are usually abused unintentionally, but the second most are abused on purpose. The people who abuse animals on purpose sometimes deal with mental illnesses, were abused as children, or have a hard time dealing with stress or anger. Animals are just like humans who have been abused. They are usually skittish and shy. People tend to see animals differently than humans, but they are the same in my eyes. For example, if I locked you in my basement, starved, and beat you, I’d be charged with attempted murder and kidnapping. Pets have the same rights as you to live freely, but people don’t see it. You are able to live on your own and take care of yourself, but they

Animal abuse is something that has been around since ancient times. Even Aristotle, in his own way, abused animals. He believed that animals were merely possessions. Aristotle even wrote in his Great Chain of Being how he believed the species on earth were arranged in a hierarchy, with humans being at the top and animals at the bottom, and that those at the bottom were only meant to serve those above them (“Animal Rights”). However, because they believed in the transmigration of the soul between humans and animals, the Pythagoreans and Neo Platonists thought that people should respect animals and their interests. So while many people may not have treated animals

“Nearly as many, 68 percent, were concerned or very concerned about the well-being of animals used in ‘sports’ or contests as well as animals in laboratories (67 percent) (Kretzer, 1).” Many people question whether an animal is capable of thought and emotions. Others feel as though animals are the equivalent of humans and should be treated as such. Since the 1800’s, animal rights has been a topic that has several different sides including two extremes. If animals can react to their environment, emote, and are aware of things done to or with them, then they should have similar rights to humans.

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.

There are many types of animals used for entertainment such as circuses, dog fighting, zoos, and rodeos. All of these types of entertainment are not natural for these animals which is a form of abuse. Often times they are wild animals that don’t belong in cages and are not able to do things that are in their instinct to do. This is especially true about zoos and circuses. Animals are not able to roam free and instead kept in small cages. Even in optimal settings experts say that it is difficult to provide for the needs of wild animals.(Lemonick) Children should learn to respect animals and not see them as entertainment. People should only support animal free circuses and raise awareness how animals are abused for entertainment.

“Imagine being abused by someone you trust and who is supposed to love you, and to make the situation worse, you can’t use your voice to cry out for help. Animals are like humans except they can’t tell people to stop.” Animal cruelty and abuse, a good website, said that. I think that is a big problem we need to fix. People hurting animals just because they can’t speak out for themselves. Some people take advantage of that. And it us up to humans to tell those people to stop.

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?

In the last decade, the views and forms of animal cruelty have changed. Many people have different views of an animal’s rights or purpose. Some people believe that animals have no rights and are a piece of property to be utilized by humans. To others, animals can still be used by humans, but they have emotions as well. A few people consider that only certain animals with high intelligence like chimpanzees or monkeys, should not be used by man, and they should have all the rights that man has currently (“Animal Rights” , 2009). Domestic violence has a correlation with animal abuse. In a survey, 71% of domestic violence victims also reported that their abuser also targeted pets/animals. The most common animals who are abused are cats, dogs, horses,

Humans have always had a complicated relationship with non-human animals. This relationship has always benefitted the needs of humans, with little consideration for animals’ needs. Some animals are tortured for entertainment, some are butchered for food and others are taken from their habitat and family, and forced to be pets for humans. These are all examples of the ways humans have exploited animals for their own satisfaction. Hal Herzog’s essay “Animals Like Us” describes the complicated relationship that humans and animals have, and how difficult it is to determine what is ethical when dealing with animals. Jonathan Safran Foer makes a similar observation in his essay “The Fruits of Family Trees” of the ethical issues in the