FINAL SCORE: 45/50 Kelly 1

Cassi Kelly
Ms. Frederick
ERWC Period 3
October 10, 2016
Protecting Innocent Beings
Throughout America, animals are being abused, neglected, exploited and treated with
extreme amounts of cruelty. There are lab animals being tested on, household pets being denied
shelter and care, and wild animals habitats being destroyed without any care for the fact that
homes are being wrecked. Few laws currently exist to protect these defenseless creatures. The
Animal Bill of Rights is a petition to the United States Congress that, if it becomes a law, will
help resolve all these animal mistreatment problems. The Animal Bill of Rights is a necessity in
our country because the unfair and cruel treatment of animals needs to be stopped.
Animal testing is wrong and can be avoided. Innocent animals that are being tested on
dont have the option to say no so someone needs to say it for them. The reality of animal testing
is that it is gory and morbid and people just avoid thinking or learning about it so they dont feel
as bad about it existing. We need to put a stop to this cruel practice for so many reasons. Animal
testing isnt even beneficial to knowing if products are really safe and effective because they
arent humans so the reaction could be different. Therefore, whatever is found during a test on an
animal is generally inapplicable to people (Alternatives to Animal Testing.). People try and tell
themselves that animal testing is necessary because its more important to help humans than to
save an animal that is below us but is that really whats most important? We happily get our new
exciting makeup and hair products but we dont realize that meanwhile over 100 million animals
are burned, crippled, poisoned and abused every year in labs in America. We sacrifice these

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defenseless animals in hopes of finding cures for diseases that we suffer from, but in reality, 92%
of experimental drugs that turn out to be effective on animals fail to ever become beneficial to
humans because they are too dangerous or just dont work in human clinical trials (11 Facts).
We need to resort to other options for testing. There should be more focus on the option of taking
human volunteers to test on, and even consider offering some sort of reward to people who
consent to be tested on. There is also the idea of testing on inmates and giving them the option of
having their punishments lightened if they consent to testing. We could also test on people on
death row and extend their lifetime because they dont have much else to look forward to and
theyre more deserving of the treatment in testing than the defenseless animals we currently test
on are.
Animal abuse within households is out of hand in America. About 7.6 million pets enter
animal shelters each year in America and about 2.7 million animals are euthanized (Pet
Statistics.). That is just of the abuse that is discovered and handled. Many people are able to get
away with continuing to treat their pets cruelly without ever getting caught. It is truly sickening
to imagine an innocent animal being harmed by a human when all they ever wanted to do was
love you and be your friend. Even more horrifying is the fact that the current punishments for
these crimes is not near as intense as it should be. Treating animals with cruelty is considered a
misdemeanor or a felony with a fine of up to $1000 and/ or imprisonment for up to one year and
intentionally harming an animal is also prosecuted as a misdemeanor or felony with a fine of up
to $5000 and/ or imprisonment for up to 5 years (Animal Cruelty Laws). Some people may
think mistreating animals is okay because they dont feel pain and have emotions like we do but
that is actually the opposite of true. Animals have a very similar brain makeup to humans. They
can become depressed and they mourn the loss of other animals (Balcombe, Jonathan).

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Psychologically, they are arguably equal to humans and that should be a good enough reason to
not even consider harming them.
An Animal Bill of Rights would help to protect wildlife in its natural habitat. Habitat loss
is a main threat to 85% of all endangered species (Impact of Habitat Loss.). It is crucial to
protect not just these animals but all wild animals. How would humans feel if animals came
through and destroyed our homes and built whatever they wanted where we lived? We wouldnt
allow that to happen so we shouldnt allow it to happen for them either. Animals lives are just as
worthy as ours and while they may not communicate things the same way, they are just as
deserving of a home as we are. If we keep ruining their homes, we will soon start wiping out
many species of animals from the Earth. With the Bill of Rights this can be stopped and the
diverse life of nature and animals will be saved.
Animals may not be the same species as us, but we have so much in common and that
includes the rights we deserve. They may not deserve to be on the same level as us but they do
deserve protection and fair treatment, as well as being cared for if they are going to be living
with us. An Animal Bill of Rights will give us all of these things and more. Animals will be safer
and happier, and that is important because all lives are precious. We have humans caring for our
own well-being and we need to be there to do the same for them. An Animal Bill of Rights will
improve the lives of animals throughout America and that should be a priority.

Works Cited

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"Alternatives to Animal Testing." PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.

<http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/alternatives-animal-testin
g/>.

"Animal Cruelty Laws State By State." Stray Pet Advocacy. StrayPetAdvocacy, n.d. Web. 6 Oct.
2016. <http://www.straypetadvocacy.org/PDF/AnimalCrueltyLaws.pdf>.

Balcombe, Jonathan. "Yes, Animals Have Feelings (Op-Ed)." Live Science. Humane Society
Institute for Science and Policy, 10 Dec. 2014. Web. 9 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.livescience.com/49093-animals-have-feelings.html>.

"Impact of Habitat Loss on Species." WWF Conserves Our Planet, Habitats, & Species like the
Panda & Tiger. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
<http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/species/problems/habitat_loss_degradation/>.

"Pet Statistics." ASPCA. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.

<http://www.aspca.org/animal-homelessness/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics>.

"11 Facts About Animal Testing." DoSomething.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
<https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-animal-testing>.