Animal Cruelty...Acts of Human Selfishness and Violence

Animal cruelty. Sometimes it's acknowledged, a lot of times, it is not. And for what reason? Why do humans become ignorant of the pain animals go through? There are humans who become outraged at the thought of another human murdering another human yet they themselves will slowly kill an animal through neglect and cruelty. What gives a human the right to cast cruelty on an animal merely because they can and because the animal cannot defend itself?

Hunters will get together do take down a single bear or more, gorillas, elephants, tigers....beautiful and unique SOULS! They do this to kill and sell their coats of fur, skin and the like. Dogs are put into fighting contests, are beaten, neglected, abandoned and starved....Cats are kicked, thrown, abandoned, burned and starved.

Now some will say, "Isn't putting animals in a Zoo cruel?" Here's my answer- I can understand putting an animal in a Zoo, if it has nowhere else to go and if it is suffering because of nature, or most usually, the carelessness and viciousness of humans. If it's in a Zoo for it's care- I can understand fully. But to put an animal in a cage for the sake of the often attitude of "I can and will" is downright wrong.

Below I have listed some facts from a website called dosomething.org. Anything in the parentheses are my own comments.

• In many circuses, wild and exotic animals are trained through the use of intimidation and physical abuse. Former circus employees have reported seeing animals beaten, whipped, poked with sharp objects and even burned to force them to learn their routines! (After learning this, I shall never go to a circus again.The nerve and indecency and cruelty they put them through for the entertainment of us humans is not necessary and not right! )

• Elephants who perform in circuses are often kept in chains for as long as 23 hours a day from the time they are babies. (Tell me, why? Why do animals have to suffer for the entertainment of humans? Do humans suffer for the entertainment of animals?)

• More than 15 million warm-blooded animals are used in research every year.

• Scientists estimate that 100 species go extinct every day! That's about one species every 15 minutes.

• If you live in Pennsylvania, California, Florida, Rhode Island, Illinois, Virginia, Oregon, New York, New Jersey and Vermont you have the legal right to refuse to participate in dissection in class! In Louisiana, there is a State resolution and in Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland and New Mexico, there are Departments of Education resolutions in place that allow you to refuse to dissect, although it hasn’t yet become a law.

• Dog fighting and cock-fighting are illegal in all 50 states. (And yet it still hasn't stopped. Harsher punishment needed? Or ignorance of the law?)

• It is estimated that on average it takes 1,000 dogs to maintain a mid-sized racetrack operation. New greyhounds are continually entering the system to replace greyhounds that grade-off due to injury, age or poor performance. There are currently over 30 tracks operating in the United States.

• Tens of thousands of wild and domesticated horses from the United States are cruelly slaughtered every year to be used for horsemeat in Europe and Asia. Since the last horse slaughter plants in the U.S. were closed in 2007, thousands of horses have been shipped to Canada and Mexico for slaughter. (Just because the US stopped slaughtering horses here, does NOT give them the right to ship them off to be slaughtered elsewhere. You still have a part in slaughtering them!)

• Many studies have found a link between cruelty to animals and other forms of interpersonal violence.

• Neglect and abandonment are the most common forms of companion animal abuse in the United States.

• A fur coat is pretty cool—for an animal to wear. Eighteen red foxes are killed to make one fox-fur coat, 55 minks to make a mink coat. (Us humans become outraged when we here of a serial killer, killing many for his own selfish reasons...What makes this any different?)

My heart aches for these animals subjected to the cruelty and selfishness and carelessness of the human race. My belief of what is right becomes more potent and unshaken. What is your belief of what is right? What do YOU believe in?