Various Types of Animal Cruelty

Animal cruelty is an issue that has been going on for many decades, but it is still an ongoing issue in our world. Many individuals have animals that they love, however, that is not the case in every situation. Animal cruelty is when an animal is abused or neglected. Everyone seems to have different ideas of what cruelty and neglect is but in most people's eyes they have similar definitions. This can be the caused by killing animals for food, fur, beating of an animal and even forcing them to mate. Although we all use products such as makeup and perfume, it may be causing many animals pain before the merchandise is consumed by customers. Not only does this happen by companies but rather even pet owners who may neglect and abuse their pets simply for no given reason. There is a section in the criminal code which can lead an individual to get charged for the abuse, maltreatment and neglect of animals. The last thing I will be focusing on is the concept of puppy mills, this is when animals are taken to a small area where they are required and forced to mate until their bodies no longer can. Animals are very vulnerable and can be easily taken advantage of through abuse, testing, and puppy mills if they are not in the right hands.

Do you know what animals have gone through to get your favourite product on shelves? “Several cosmetic tests commonly performed on mice, rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs include: skin and eye irritation tests where chemicals are rubbed on shaved skin or dripped into the eyes without any pain relief.” The reasoning behind animal testing is because they are similar to human beings, they feel emotions including pain, sadness, happiness, anger, etc. If companies want to make sure it is safe for human beings so badly, why do they not volunteer themselves? Why do animals have to be put through testing that inflict pain and are harmful to animals? There are many makeup companies that do animal testing.

Some well-known brands that do animal testing are the following: Benefit, Clinique, Maybelline, and Estée Lauder. These companies make so much profit even though they put animals through pain on a day to day basis. They will not stop doing so because majority of their income comes from committing these crimes. There are many organizations out there that help stop animal testing, two organizations that stood out to me were ECEAE and CAAT. ECEAE stands for European Coalition to End Animal Experiments. They have been using their voice to help animals for 25 years now, they have ended animal testing for cosmetics in the EU. The other organization is CAAT, which stands for Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing. This organization was established in 1981, they bring together industrial and academic scientists, and government regulatory community to discuss the issue of animal testing and its possible alternatives.

Animal cruelty falls into many categories such as neglect, physical and mental neglect is the failure to provide enough water, food, shelter, or necessary care. Examples of neglect include starvation, too little shelter, infestations, failure to seek veterinary care when an animal is in need of medical attention and unsanitary conditions. In some cases, neglect is a result of the owner’s ignorance, and can be settled by law enforcement. “The assumption that animals are without rights and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality.” (Author Schopenhauer).

Animal abuse is not taken seriously enough in our society. Why are petty crimes considered more important than animals being abused? The penalties in BC for animal abuse are the following. A person who commits an offence under the PCA Act is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $75,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both. Under the Criminal Code, a person who commits an offence directly related to one of the sections on animals: is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years; or an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than 18 months or to both. One organization that helps animals is “The Humane Society of the United States”. They work in all 50 states and earned the title of the nation’s largest animal protections organization. The organization was founded in 1954 the headquarters being in Washington, D.C. They focused on two things: celebrating animals and confronting cruelty. These translate into supporting animal protections legislation, operating campaigns to bring about reforms, performing animal rescue and emergency response, providing animal care at sanctuaries, rehabilitation centers, and clinics.

Puppy mills are places where dogs are kept in small areas. Where they are forced to mate until their bodies can no longer do so, when they can no longer bred they are brutally killed. The puppies are then sent off to pet stores and the others are left to continue doing their “job”. Puppy mills are underground organizations so they aren’t monitored by animal control. Many people aren’t aware that most pet stores are supplied by puppy mills. “Petland” is supplied by puppy mills, over 21 locations have been closed down because they were caught in the act. These stores are worldwide, sadly we even have some in BC that are still in business to this day. Animal rights activists are trying to bring awareness about these situations. If people were to stop buying puppies from pet stores eventually puppy mills would run out of business.

There is a downside to store bought puppies, puppies that are bought from pet stores often have serious health or psychological problems. The owners usually end up with huge vet bills because of all their health problems, in rare cases the puppy dies. “Puppies in mills are found with bleeding or swollen paws, feet falling through the wire cages, severe tooth decay, ear infections, dehydration, and lesions on their eyes, which often lead to blindness” Most are in Quebec, they operate from coasts in Canada. Animal rights activists believe that majority of puppies sold in pet stores come from puppy mills. Puppy mill dogs are sold in not only pet stores, but also at flea markets and advertised local newspapers. In rare cases, they are sold directly from puppy mills, but visitors are not allowed inside because they will see the conditions they are kept in. To this very day there is no punishment set in stone for puppy mills, the most that is being done is petitions are being signed. There are some organizations out there like “The Puppy Mill Project”. They work to generate awareness through outreach, education, and legislative efforts. They have advertisements on buses, theatres, and billboards. They even hold demonstrations outside of pet stores that are supplied from puppy mills. Their efforts have not gone to waste because it resulted with the state of Illinois banning the retail sale of dogs and cats.

Throughout this paper I have discussed animal testing, animal abuse, and puppy mills. In most cases, animals are loved and kept in people's homes but are often used in the cosmetics industry which causes them harm because they are used for tests. Humans continue to use specific products even when they know that these products have been used on innocent loving animals. We have animals that we love and cherish but continue to conflict pain on these loving beings. Not only do cosmetic tests give them harm but also the neglect, abuse and pain that is inflicted upon these animals from being starved, abandoned and abused. Even though some people may not see tying up their dog for hours, being alone or leaving them in a car for multiple hours with no air crossing and even being left in a cage most hours of a day is also neglect even though it is not the harshest form of maltreatment. Lastly, puppy mills are very harsh and a terrible process that these animals go through because they are being forced to continue mating until it is no longer possible for them. Even though these animals are not human they still are living and deserve to be treated just as well and with as much love, care and nurture as any human. Puppy mills are something that not as many people are aware about, but I hope that as time passes more awareness will be brought on this issue that we have, even in British Columbia. Animals are killed and lost because they have been tortured and gone through multiple helpless situations because of their owners. As I talk about only a few of the forms of animal cruelty there are still many more that light is not shed upon in my paper.