Advances in Animal Welfare Science

In the present day society, treatment of animals has been an importantly urgent issue. The world is known to be full of violence and cruelty, but as people can fight for their rights and cry for help, animals do not have such a chance. Although some laws and regulations have been put in place to prevent animal abuse, we still hear negative stories in the media. Animal cruelty goes beyond a range of varying behaviors towards animals. Many studies have reported that animal cruelty can be associated with serious types of crimes such as violent outbursts, heavy use of drugs and cold blood murder. According to Gary (1994), there has been an increasing concern on animals being used for entertainment, clothing as well as food. However, Gary continues to stress that there has been an increase in the number of animals being killed every year and the number continues to increase without sign of going down. Studies have also indicated that offenders do escalate their violence towards animals to human beings too. In the real sense, animals have the rights to be protected from abuse as well as inhumane treatment such a way that they suffer.  In spite of the rise of cruelty, people are not showing any signs of stopping. This paper will discuss the impacts animal cruelty has to the animals as well as bring clear measures of how it can be curbed.

Commonly, not everyone who brings a pet home understands that it is not just a form of entertainment but a huge responsibility. People must ensure that they treat animals well because just as human beings, they feel mistreatment and pain. Commonly, many people hurt animals blaming them for their failures or to satisfy their mood which is so wrong.

As mentioned above, many individuals do not realize that they have a responsibility for their pets and also other animals. Time after time, many dogs, and cats run away from their homes as a result of having bad masters. Such animal owners do not understand what humane treatment of animals mean. They don’t understand that animals are not toys and they require care just as their children. Furthermore, animals which lose their home end up dying since they are not used to life in the street. Therefore, animals need protection from owners who are irresponsible.

Many different pets have never been treated in the right way by their owners. For instance, there are many cases where birds are confined in a cage that is unsuitable to act as an interior decoration. In such a case, animals live in horrible conditions with limited moves or even hunger. Even though it is hard to imagine how people abuse animals, animal cruelty is punishable by law. Unfortunately, the legal system does not care that much about animal protection. Commonly, all what the law can do is impose fines on the violator. Not once, people have always asked the government to toughen consequences for people who treat animals in the wrong way. This shows that there is no doubt that fighting against infringement of the animal protection law should be strengthened (Tom Regan, 1986).

Out there, many people who are lonely consider pets as companions. They consider it the only way of not feeling lonely. Nevertheless, why do people forget that the same animals need our protection and care? Weird things do happen; a favorite pet becomes useless when it suffers an illness or becomes old. For instance, a dog can be loyal to the owner all through its lifetime and be abandoned when it grows old and can’t go hunting anymore.

Today, we live in a civilized form of society. This means that animal abuse does not go hand in hand the terms “moral” and “humanity.”  Not only should people treat the animals based on the animal protection law, but also through basic norms of the community. It should be considered a priority for every man who has self-respect.

People show that they care about animal treatment by becoming vegetarians or vegans. For a person to prevent animal abuse, he/she should become a vegetarian or vegan. This means that they stop eating meat completely. Being a vegetarian means that you should not only avoid meat only but also products from the animal world. According to research, becoming a vegan helps people spare at least 95 animals annually. Moreover, according to the vegetarian calculator, a human being eats around 7,000 animals in a lifetime (Barbara J. King, 2015).

People championing campaigns against animal cruelty can use brochures or leaflets to inform members of the public how to treat animals humanely. Also, through provision of information, many people who are not aware that animals are treated inhumanely everyday will have a better understanding of it. Moreover, they can hold meetings to sensitize people on the importance of treating animals in the right way. Currently, there is numerous scientific evidence that animals are sentient beings. Moreover, they have the ability to enjoy life as well as suffer emotionally. Sharing such information will help people develop a personal understanding of the animals around them. Additionally, people will be able to develop feelings for the animals and foster a sense of responsibility on protection and care of animals (Albert Schweitzer, 2013).

 People should stop carrying out tests and experiments using animals.  Around the world, some people do not eat meat but, they do perform various experiments on animals. People against it should make others understand how wrong it is to use an animal for tests. In the US, approximately 26 million animals are used each year for both commercial and scientific testing (Ben Goldacre, 2010). This depicts an inhumane treatment of animals and people against it advocate for substitute methods by researchers. Opponents say that animal testing always gives irrelevant results and should be stopped regardless of the measures put into place.

One of the primary things people should learn about animals is that they are friends. Many have seen and come a long way to hold animals dear in their lives. Therefore, no humane person can imagine them being killed and hunted or even sold. People should show their commitment of better treatment of animals by becoming vegetarians. Also, people need to be provided with information on better ways of treating animals. Furthermore, experiments and test should be banned in the animal world. When people treat animals in the right way, they will be able to develop a community that is morally upright that shows respect for humanity since animals are regarded as sentient beings. Animals should be treated in a humanely!

References

Albert Schweitzer (2013). The Need for Humane Education. World@nimalnet. Retrieved on 26 February, 2017 from: http://worldanimal.net/our-programs/humane-education/the-need-for-humane-education

Ben Goldacre (2010). Animal Research Study Shows Many Tests are Full of Flaws. theguardian.com

Barbara J. King (2015). Does Being Vegan Really Help Animals? Cosmos and culture

Tom Regan (1986). Advances in Animal Welfare Science. The case for animal rights. Pp. 179-189

Gary L.Francione. (1994). Animals Property and Legal Welfarism: “Unnecessary” Suffering and the “Humane” Treatment of Animals. 46 Rutgers L. Rev. 721. Pp. 721