Is animal abuse a major problem? | Teen Ink

Is animal abuse a major problem?

December 2, 2010
By Ashley Ward BRONZE, Cochranville, Pennsylvania
Ashley Ward BRONZE, Cochranville, Pennsylvania
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Everyday thousands of animals are brought to pounds and animal shelters to be saved from their owners who have abused them. Unfortunately, they don’t all come out, and some never live to have the chance to get in. Animal abuse is an issue that has to be dealt with across the entire country. Thousands of people deal with this issue and, or are involved with animal shelters like the ASPCA, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This issue affects thousands of animals and is a major problem. Animal abuse should be seen as a major problem because too many local pet stores are associated with puppy mills, thousands of warm-blooded animals are being used for research every day, many animal abuse cases are recorded in every state, and while we shut down the horse slaughter plants it may not have helped anything.



Everyone knows that animals are used by scientists every day to run tests on instead of humans. But are they aware of how many? According to the website, dosomething.org, over fifteen million warm-blooded animals are used for research each year. That’s more than the human population of Virginia. Rue McClanahan once said, “Cruelty is one fashion statement we can all do without.” So then, why do scientists use animals to test beauty products before allowing us to use them?


Some states, unlike most, are lucky enough to have a small amount of animal abuse cases. According to Pet-Abuse.com’s database, Pennsylvania has 749 cases of animal abuse cases recorded scince 1964. Five hundred and five of those cases are dogs, one hundred and eighty three of them are cats, fifty three are horses, and eight cases are other species of animals. That is an amazing amount of cases compared to Maryland’s one hundred and ninety six cases.


When it comes to animal abuse many people don’t always realize that a large amount of that abuse comes from horse slaughter plants. The last horse slaughter plants in the United States were shut down in 2007. NetPosse.com states that since then many people have been shipping horses to Mexico and Canada to be slaughtered there. That is a lot to take in, you would think that the government would be involved with this and trying to stop it but they aren’t the least bit concerned with it. Paul Harvey said once, “Every occur to you why some of us can be this much concerned with animals suffering? Because our government is not. Why not? Animals don’t vote.” Now, this may not be the case for them not being so concerned with it, but shouldn’t they be? According to Stephanie Ernst, Every year ten billion animals in the United States are slaughtered for their meat, 27 million every day, and 19000 every minute. Everyday more animals are slaughtered than the human population of New York.
Many animal lovers across the United States have purchased their puppy from every day pet stores. Are you aware of where they come from? Eighty percent of puppies that are sold in stores come from puppy mills, according to AKC. It registered nine hundred seventeen thousand two hundred and forty four puppies in 2003 at the cost of 25 dollars per puppy. Next time you go to pet your dog, one that may have been purchased at a store, think about where it could have come from, it most likely came from a puppy mill.
Animal abuse is a major problem because too many local pet stores are associated with puppy mills, everyday warm-blooded animals are being used for research, thousands of animal abuse cases throughout the states, and while we shut down the horse slaughter plants it may not have helped. If you cannot see that animal abuse is a problem, go to a local shelter and see for yourself. Everyday thousands of animals are being abused and we have to help them when no one else will.


The author's comments:
Many things inspired me to write this piece..many of them had to do with problems ive seen in my every day life that need to stop

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eyesuphere said...
on Apr. 21 2016 at 2:18 pm
real good stuff