Aubree Rhom

Mrs. Hensel
English IV
Thursday, April 14th, 2016

Animal Cruelty

Animal cruelty and abuse has become an issue that not everyone realizes,
looks at, or pays attention to. This is due to people not being informed of the kind of
abuse that pets, farm animals, and wild life animals go through on a daily basis.
People need to become more educated on the connection between animal abuse
and domestic violence and also violent crimes. The public also needs to know the
effects of animal abuse on the animals in general and on society.
An example of animal cruelty that people are misinformed about is Dog fighting.
Dog fighting is known as a blood sport, also referred to as a game or gamble
(Dog Fighting). Dog fighting is specifically two dogs in a ring or pit fighting against
one another, until one of the dogs are dead or badly wounded. The purpose of the
dog fighting is for human entertainment and to gain profits. The dogs used for dog
fighting are bred and trained specifically for the dog fights. If the dog loses to its
opponent the owners of the dog will either severely beat them or even sometimes
terminate the dogs. If the dogs do win the fight they are left with several severe
bruises, deep puncture wounds, and broken bones. Although dog fighting is a felony
in all 50 states it has continued to be a problem but more commonly in urban areas.
Another type of animal cruelty that we are unaware of are puppy mills. A puppy mill
is an unsanitary and unsafe facility that dogs are bred in for sale. The dogs are
overly bred for the owners to sell their puppies for money. The conditions of puppy
mills are horrendous; there are animal droppings that cover the entire bottom of
their crates. There are so many dogs in one little tiny space that many of them end
up getting diseases that are not correctable and sometimes fatal. Also many of the
dogs are kept in cages with wire flooring which injures their paws and legs. One
thing that really shocked me that people were unaware of in puppy mills was that
when female breeding dogs reach a point of physical depletion and can no longer
reproduce, they are often killed (Puppy Mills). Which means that once the dog
has been so over bred that it can no longer produce they kill them, because they
are no longer needed. A way to avoid buying dogs from puppy mills is to not buy off
the internet, and make sure to visit the facility in which youre interested in getting
a puppy from, to make sure that the puppies are healthy and in a sanitary well
being.

However, one of the more crucial types of animal abuse is factory farming.
Factory farming is a breeding ground for food processing. Companies like Tyson,
Jimmy Dean, Hillshire, are companies that use factory farming for their frozen
meals. Farms that are not properly maintained can be breeding grounds for
salmonella and E. coli, which are passed to humans through meat, dairy and eggs.
(Factory Farms). Many times the animals are given extremely high doses of
antibiotics to help fight the unsanitary living conditions. A lot of the animals kept on
these farms are not allowed outdoors nor have access to the outdoor. A large
quantity of the animals in factory farms are genetically manipulated(Factory
Farms). which makes the animal grow and produce more than triple their natural
size, which also leads to even more crowding. Some of the chickens grow so
enormous that that their legs cannot support their bodies. Often times leads to the
chickens dying of starvation or dehydration because they aren't able to walk to their
food sources. Once the animal has maintained a certain weight they are piled and
crowded onto a truck and are transported for miles in extreme weather, typically
with no food or water. At the slaughterhouse, those who survived the transport will
have their throats slit, often while theyre still conscious. (Factory Farms)
Most of the time there is animal cruelty going on that we don't know about. Factory
farming is disgusting conditions that our cows, chickens, pigs, etc. have to live in
that we eat on a everyday basis. We also buy dogs, cats, and other exotic animals
from puppy mills, because they are sometimes cheaper and more available to us.
There are laws and regulations in all 50 states against animal abuse, cruelty, and
neglect towards any type of animal. Animal cruelty is an inhumane way of treating
animals and Im glad that there are people, foundations, shelters, etc. that speak
out and help the voiceless animals.

"Dog Fighting." ASPCA. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,
2016. Web. 14
Apr. 2016.
"Puppy Mills." ASPCA. 2016 American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals. All Rights
Reserved. The ASPCA Is a 501(c)(3) Non-for-profit Organization. Privacy Policy Legal
Info,
2016. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
"Factory Farms." ASPCA. 2016 American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals. All
Rights Reserved. The ASPCA Is a 501(c)(3) Non-for-profit Organization. Privacy Policy
Legal

Info, 2016. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.