Fuchs 1

Lindsey Fuchs

Dr. Mominee and Ms. Saurine

Religion and English

12 February 2018

ISJRP: Animal Cruelty

“Every 60 seconds, another animal is abused” (“Animal Cruelty”). Animal cruelty is

when an animal is harmed by a human. Animal cruelty began with farm animals and eventually

escalated to all animals. Organizations were around but lacked getting all of the information out

to effectively stop animal cruelty. Multiple things can be counted as animal cruelty. A few things

mainly come to mind when thinking about animal cruelty such as beating animals, leaving them

outside without food or water, and being kept in poor conditions. What does an animal do to

deserve this harm? What would you do if you saw someone beating their animal? Would you say

something and help the animal? Or would you just be quiet because you are afraid of what the

person might do to you? Two organizations that work to help stop animal cruelty are PETA and

ASPCA. PETA stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. ASPCA stands for

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Animal cruelty can be seen in many

different forms, some major examples of animal cruelty in the world are dog fighting, puppy

mills, and animal hoarding. However; there are things in the world that are here to help stop

animal cruelty: educate others so they know how serious animal cruelty is, ASPCA and PETA

are organizations that offers programs to educate and provide care for abused animals, and

supporting the other animal shelters that are in the neighborhoods.

 Fuchs 2

Puppy mills are one of the biggest problems with animal cruelty. Puppy mills are places

that breed dogs and sell the dogs to pet stores when the puppies are at a young age. In the US,

there are an estimated 10,000 puppy mills (“Animal Cruelty”). As stated by PETA,

Puppy-mill kennels can consist of anything from small cages made of wood and wire

mesh to tractor-trailer cabs or simply chains attached to trees, where mother dogs and

puppies spend everyday outdoors in the same small patch of dirt in all types of weather

(“Puppy Mills”).

Puppy mill dogs are kept in poorly, cramped conditions without the right care and they are

isolated from other dogs (“Puppy Mills”). PETA says, “Health conditions such as crusty, oozing

eyes, raging ear infections, mange that turned their skin into a mass of red scabs, and abscessed

feet from the unforgiving wire floors all were ignored and inadequately treated” (“Puppy Mills”).

Puppy mill dogs can potentially develop serious health conditions which will go untreated. As

mentioned by ASPCA, “Puppy mill dogs do not get to experience treats, toys, exercise, or basic

grooming” (“A Closer Look at Puppy Mills”). A dog normally gets toys, treats, and time to play

but unfortunately puppy mill dogs do not get these things. The female dogs are forced to breed at

everytime that they can, usually with no recovery time, and once they can no longer reproduce

they are normally killed. The female dogs are forced to do this to maximize profits (“A Closer

Look at Puppy Mills”). Puppy mills harm dogs by putting them into improper cages and living

styles. Animal cruelty can be seen within puppy mills with the improper and poor conditions the

dogs are kept in and how they are treated.

 Fuchs 3

Another big example of animal cruelty is animal hoarding. Every year 250,000 animals

are part of animal hoarding (“Animal Cruelty”). Animal hoarding is when a person has more

animals than they can count and care for. As indicated by ASPCA, an animal hoarder is

An individual possesses more than typical number of companion animals. The individual

is unable to provide even minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, shelter, and

veterinary care, with this neglect often resulting in starvation, illness, and death. The

individual is in denial of the inability to provide this minimum care and the impact of that

failure on the animals, the household and human occupants of the dwelling (“A Closer

Look at Animal Hoarding”).

The reasons why people hoard animals are because of attachment disorders, paranoia, delusional

thinking, and depression. (“A Closer Look at Animal Hoarding”). As reported by ASPCA,

“Animal hoarders often appear intelligent and clearly believe they are helping their animals” (“A

Closer Look at Animal Hoarding”). Animal hoarders hide how many animals they have and they

think what they are doing is helping animals. Animal hoarders think they are helping animals but

instead they have so many animals that they can not care for them all and end up hurting them;

therefore, hoarding can be viewed as abuse.

Along with puppy mills and animal hoarding, dog fighting is a big part of animal cruelty.

Dog fighting is when people are raising their dogs to harm other dogs when put into a space

together. ASPCA writes, “Fighting dogs must be kept isolated from other dogs, so they spend

most of their lives on short, heavy chains, often just out of reach of other dogs. They are usually

unsocialized to other dogs and to most people” (“A Closer Look at Dog Fighting”). There are a

few reasons why people get involved in dogfighting. People do it for greed, money, showing
 Fuchs 4

their power, or just because they like the brutalness. Common dog breeds that are used in dog

fights are the Fila Brasileiro, Dogo Argentino, the Tosa Inu, the Presa Canario, and the American

Pit Bull Terrier ("A Closer Look at Dog Fighting"). Dog fighting is one of the many examples of

animal cruelty where the dogs are forced to fight one another and hurt each other. Puppy mills,

animal hoarding, and dog fighting are just a few examples of animal cruelty; the Catholic Church

teaches how animals should be treated and there are ways to help stop animal cruelty.

The Catholic Church teaches that people must Care for God’s Creation and animals are

part of God’s Creation. Caring for God’s Creation is caring for everyone and everything. God

made Earth and everything on Earth. Everyone needs to appreciate what has been given and not

take things for granted. The Laudato Si' is a book written by Pope Francis. ​Laudato Si'​ talks

about what the Catholic Church teaches. In the ​Laudato Si' i​ t states, “His disciple Saint

Bonaventure says that, ‘from a reflection on the primary source of all things, filled with even

more abundant piety, he would call creatures, no matter how small, by the name of ‘brother’ or

‘sister’” (“Laudato Si'”). Saint Bonaventure cared for everything and saw everything as his

brother and sister. Pope Francis writes, “The Catechism firmly states that human power has

limits and that ‘it is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly’”

(“Laudato Si’”). Mentioned by Saint Charles Borromeo, “By their mere existence they bless him

and give him glory. Thus men owe them kindness” (Catholic Church). God blesses animals and

the animals praise God. Since animals praise God, humans must be kind to them. Saint Charles

Borromeo states, “Animals are God’s creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care”

(Catholic Church). God surrounds animals with his care and they are God's creatures. Saint

Charles Borromeo writes, “We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of
 Fuchs 5

Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals” (Catholic Church). St. Francis of Assisi and St. Philip

Neri respected animals and treated them with gentleness. We must look at these examples to see

how we should treat animals. Lastly, as stated in the ​Laudato Si’​,

If we approach nature and the environment without this openness to awe and wonder, if

we no longer speak the language of fraternity and beauty in our relationship with the

world, our attitude will be that of masters, consumers, ruthless exploiters, unable to set

limits on their immediate needs (“Laudato Si’”).

The Catholic Church teaches that everyone has power over animals but that power is not to be

used to harm the animals.

Educating others about the dangers of animal cruelty is the first step in helping to stop

animal cruelty. Teaching others about the issues that animal cruelty will help them to know what

to look for to report it. PETA writes, “Don’t leave people in the dark about the horrors of the

animal experimentation industry. Knowledge is power, so educate them” (“7 Ways to Help

Animals in Experiments”). Make sure others know what is happening and what they can do to

help stop it. ASPCA states, “Be aware. Get to know and look out for the animals in your

neighborhood” (“ASPCA offers tips for animal cruelty”). Make sure people know what to look

for so they can report animal cruelty if seen. Research from ASPCA has said, “Learn to

recognize animal cruelty. Signs: wounds on the body; patches of missing hair; extremely thin,

starving animals; limping; etc.” (“ASPCA offers tips for animal cruelty”). If someone knows

what to look for they can report it and it may not be animal cruelty but it will be looked into and

something can be done about it. People who hoard animals are sometimes because of the

disorders that they have. Not all disorders can be cured but they can be helped. There are things
 Fuchs 6

people can do to help stop these disorders. For example, going to see a psychiatrist or

psychologist could help. Going to therapy and talking to others can be helpful. Doing the small

things can have such a huge impact, just knowing what to look for and reporting it can help the

animals out so much.

ASPCA is an organization that supports animal and offers programs to educate everyone.

ASPCA is a place that people can help foster animals and they offer programs for everyone. It is

written, “The mission of the ​American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

(ASPCA) is ‘to provide effective means for the prevention of ​cruelty to animals​ throughout the

United States​’” ("American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals”). ASPCA shares,

The ASPCA advocates for the safety of animals. It has a direct impact on animals by

providing homes, improving animal health, and protecting animals from mistreatment.

The organization also educates people and offers resources that will make pet-owners

better providers for their ​pets​. Finally, the ASPCA works to influence legislation relating

to ​animal welfare​ and monitors its enforcement ("American Society for the Prevention of

Cruelty to Animals”).

ASPCA programs are provided for many people and are on many different topics. A couple of

the programs are “Web of Life” and “Extend the Web.” These programs are for providing

information to schools about the relationships between humans and animals. Another program is

“Adopt a School” which is for individuals to introduce educational materials in schools.

Examples of the materials are videos, class pet programs, books, and seminars ("American

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals”). PETA and ASPCA both work to help abused

animals and educating the public, so everyone can get an understanding of what is happening.
 Fuchs 7

Supporting the local shelters in the neighborhoods is an essential part to help stop animal

cruelty. There are many shelters out there to help animals. Becoming a volunteer or donating to

the shelters are really beneficial. A few examples of shelters are SICSA and 4 Paws for Ability.

As outlined by ASPCA, “Support your local shelter or animal rescue organization. Support with

donations of money, food, or supplies” (“ASPCA offers tips for animal cruelty”). There are

multiple household products that are tested on animals, try not to buy these products. To know if

a product does not test on animals check for the leaping bunny symbol. If a company does not

have the leaping bunny and people are unsure if they test on animals, contact the company to see

what they do. (“Keep Animal Testing Out of Your Shopping Cart”). Brands that do test on

animals include Maybelline, Almay, Dove, Aquafresh, and Avon (“7 Ways to Help Animals in

Experiments”). These brands have been tested on animals and can be harmful for them. Common

brands that do not test on animals are ELF cosmetics, Bath and Body Works, and Lip Smacker.

Supporting the local shelters with things that are around the house can be a big help. For

example, SICSA will use anything that they are given, they will use anything from dog treats and

toys to foam boards and glitter. Shelters need the support and donations so they can keep helping

the animals who are being harm.

ASPCA notes, “The first step to creating positive change for these animals is recognizing

the cruelty that threatens them” (“Animal Cruelty”). In the world, animal cruelty is a big issue

and can be seen if people know what to look for. Just knowing what to look for is a huge step.

Once everyone knows what to look for they can report it. The Catholic Church teaches that we

must take care of God’s creation and take care of what we have been given. There are multiple

issues with animal cruelty. Animal cruelty can be expressed in many different ways. Some
 Fuchs 8

common forms of animal cruelty are dog fights, animal hoarding, and puppy mills. To stop

animal cruelty: individuals can educate others, support local shelters, and there are organizations

out there to help stop animal cruelty, for example ASPCA and PETA.
 Fuchs 9

Works Cited

“7 Ways to Help Animals in Experiments.” ​PETA,​ ​www.peta.org/action/

easy-ways-help-animals-used-killed-experiments/​. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

“A Closer Look at Animal Hoarding.” ​ASPCA​, ​https://www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/

animal-hoarding/closer-look-animal-hoarding​. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

“A Closer Look at Dog Fighting.” ​ASPCA​, ​www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/dog-fighting/

closer-look-dog-fighting​. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

“A Closer Look at Puppy Mills.” ​ASPCA,​ ​www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/puppy-mills/

closer-look-puppy-mills​. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

"American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals." ​Special Interest Group Profiles for

Students,​ edited by Kelle S. Sisung, Gale, 2001. ​Opposing Viewpoints in Context,​

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ2119000032/OVIC?u=chaminade_jul&xid=8f179a

8b. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

“Animal Cruelty.” ​ASPCA,​ ​www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty​. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

“ASPCA offers tips for animal cruelty” 04 Apr. 2006. ​PR Newswire​ Retrieved from

https://search.proquest.com/docview/451190756?accountid=5056​. Accessed 15 Jan.

2018.

Catholic Church. ​Catechism of the Catholic Church. ​http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/

2416.htm​. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

 Fuchs 10

“Keep Animal Testing Out of Your Shopping Cart.” ​The Humane Society of the United States​,

www.humanesociety.org/issues/cosmetic_testing/compassionate_consumer/take_action.h

tml​. Accessed 8 Feb. 2018.

“Laudato Si'.” ​Laudato Si' 24 May 2015 | Francis,​ w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/

encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html. Accessed 15

Jan. 2018.

“Puppy Mills.” ​PETA,​ ​www.peta.org/issues/companion-animal-issues/pet-trade/puppy-mills/​.

Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

“Search for Cruelty-Free Companies, Products, and More.” PETA, 16 Oct. 2013,

features.peta.org/ cruelty-free-company-search/index.aspx. Accessed 8 Feb. 2018.