Causes of Animal Abuse: Delving into the Heart of the Issue
Animal abuse is a widespread issue that can result in severe harm to animals. It is caused by various factors, including extinction, animal testing, and animal fighting. The loss of natural habitats and the resulting extinction of many animal species are significant contributors to animal cruelty. Additionally, animal testing is one of the leading causes of animal abuse, even though it is often justified as necessary for human safety and medical advancement. Animal fighting, such as dogfighting and cockfighting, is another form of animal abuse that often goes unnoticed. To combat this problem, there are several solutions, including increasing punishment for animal abusers, raising awareness about animal abuse, and educating people about the importance of treating animals with kindness and respect. To discuss the causes of animal abuse, in this essay we will explore these factors in detail and propose possible solutions to address this crucial issue.
Many people think that testing makeup or medical treatments on animals is a good idea for the well being of humans. However, it's not a good idea and most of the times the animals die or suffer and it causes them to be abused. The book animal testing claims “The fact is that animals react differently to different substances not only from human beings but from each other”(Haugen). Animals are different just like humans are so if one animal reacts well another might not and the same goes for humans they might not have the same reaction as animals. Animal testing isn't always effective yet people continue to do it every day. Animal testing is a big part of animal abuse because of how often it happens to so many animals, and how often they get hurt.Animal fighting is another form of animal abuse because of how they suffer this happens less often than animal testing but still happens all around the world.
The article Animal lighting Facts says, Handlers attach a razor or gaff to each rooster’s leg (typically the left leg) and put them into a ring to fight to the death. Attendees often consider the events to be family entertainment”(Animal Fighting Facts). The main effect is that people really enjoy animals fighting and bring their family to watch but also some people make a lot of money out of these events. In addition, all the other animals get eaten and others just die of being tired and weak. Washington Post reports, 'People who find entertainment in watching animals”(Andrews). Another cause of animal fighting is because there are some people out there who enjoy watching it. When people want to come to these fights and don't mind paying, many people start to think of this as a good business.
This can cause more animals to get abused. Animal abuse can cause Extinction which is worse because that eliminates that species. Larry Gilman mentions, 'Extinction may occur as a result of natural or human-caused environmental changes or of competition from other organisms'(Gilman). A lot of the extinctions that happen are because of the humans and what they do to the environment, therefore, they cause extinction. Larry Gilman also reports, 'At the present time, human impact on the environment is the leading cause of extinction'(Gilman). In our current world, the number one cause of extinction is because of humans. They are destroying the environment without even realizing it and it is causing many animals to go extinct.Animal testing is not only a huge cause of animal abuse but it has many effects on it. One effect that can happen is that “animals also suffer needlessly when used as subjects for product testing, education, and biomedical research”(Animal Cruelty). When makeup and medical treatments are used on animals and they don’t have a great turn out then those animals suffer greatly or even die. Additionally, I get that the well being of humans is important, but what about animals? In the article Arguments Against Animal Testing explains that “The harmful use of animals in experiments is not only cruel but also often ineffective”(Arguments Against Animal Testing).
Animals are all harmed every day but when it's done for animal testing it can be pointless because it doesn’t always work and animals still die in the process. Neglect is another cause that has major consequences. According to an animal rights book “A dog is socially equivalent to a teenager”(Treanor,36). Dogs are a lot like humans so when they are neglected or locked in a cage it's hard for them because they have no one to talk with. As Jared Newman says,“neglect, could mean an animal has been denied the basic necessities of care, including food, water, shelter, or veterinary care”(Newman). Neglect can happen when the owner is unaware that this is happening and they may not give the animal what they need unintentionally.The last effect is captivity it has a big impact on many animals but mainly Elephants. Naomi Larsson claims that “The captive elephant population is now thought to make up one-quarter to one-third of the remaining elephants in the region”(Larsson). More and more elephants are being captured and the captured elephant population is growing which means that there are fewer elephants running free in the wild. She also reports that “Three out of four elephants surveyed in south-east Asia’s popular tourist destinations are living in harsh conditions”(Larsson). Elephants get put in harsh living conditions and go through hard training so that they can entertain humans by giving them rides. In the morning the poor elephants work and by the afternoon they are locked away in a cage all alone.As one can see there are many causes and effects but one may ask what can we do to prevent it and there are many solutions one solution is to create harsher punishments.
The book animal rights state that, “A felony only carrying 1-2 Years jail time”(Treanor). One person left a dog in their backyard without food water and a proper shelter and the dog had a slow and horrific death and the person did not have a huge punishment for that compared if it was a human then he would be thrown in jail for a lifetime. Now i'm not saying he should be in there for a lifetime but at least a few more years should be added to his sentence. Jared Newnam declares that “There are no federal cruelty laws; the Animal Welfare Act is only federal law that governs the humane care, handling, treatment, and transportation of some animals in certain situations”(Newnam).Our government does not have strict punishment for animal abuse so it's more likely to happen. A harsher punishment will cause people to be afraid and less likely to commit the crime.Another solution that everyone can do is raise awareness and age doesn’t make a difference because everyone can raise awareness no matter how young or old you are. Travis Andrews conveys, “That threat of violence became grounds for the cancellation of the works represents a major blow to artistic freedom”(Andrews). There are some people that really care and because of those people, there are a few more animals that are being saved every day. In the end, one person can make a difference by speaking up. Those people who spoke got the museum to see the real image in the so-called art. Norman Chad asserts that “Only about 50 percent of the dogs reach the finish line”(Norman). In dog racing, many dogs die because of how much they are pushed in races.The last solution I found was education, educating people about the subject will make them well aware and will be less likely to cause it. David Haugen mentions that “First every species of animal is a totally different biomechanics and biochemical entity”(Haugen).
Every animal is different they might look similar but on the inside, they are probably different and might have different genes or immune system, therefore, testing animals is pointless because it does not help humans a lot because they can still react badly to something an animal has reacted well with. The same person argues that “Leaders who understand the madness of basing human medicine on veterinary medicine, have never spoken out publicly in favor of phasing out animal experimentation”(Haugen). Animal testing is a serious problem that many people don't know about, but there are very few people that understand. Animal testing is not only killing the animals but also not doing us any favor. Those few people who understand this are not speaking up when they need to. Animal abuse is a serious problem caused by extinction, animal testing, and animal fighting, it can be improved by increasing punishment, raising awareness, and educating people. People cause animals to go through a lot of pain even when it might not be intentional. We should not just sit back and watch it happen we need to work together and come up with even more solutions to fight it. In conclusion, animals are living creatures and they should be treated with the same respect that people have.
