The Forms of Animal Abuse in The United States

Animal Cruelty has been a problem for many years. In 2011 there were 1,423 reported cases of animal abuse. Out of the 1,423 animals 70% were dogs, 20% were cats, and 24% were other animals. The most commonly reported animal abuse are dogs, cats, horses, and livestock. In 2016 animal cruelty was added to the uniform crime report, making it officially illegal in the United States.

One of the biggest sources of animal cruelty is dog fighting. Dog fighting is a blood sport where dogs are forced to fight one another for entertainment. Dog fighting is illegal and a felony in the United States, although it still occurs. Many dogs suffer to injuries such as puncture wounds, broken bones, lacerations, and blood loss. Losing dogs are often killed as part of the sport. There is an estimated tens of thousands of dog fights in the US. The dogs participating is the fights are usually raised in captivity and are on chains almost all their life. The dogs are also conditioned using drugs and other harmful substances.

Another example of animal abuse is animal hoarding, animal hoarding is when a person takes in more animals than they can take care of. Animal hoarding often leads to the starvation, and injuries due to neglect. In many cases the animals are living in broken down houses with holes in the walls and floors, etc. The home may be covered in dried feces, vomit, and urine. The hoarder may also neglect to take care of themselves, and will insist that they and their animals and happy and healthy. In the United States every year around a quarter of a million animals are succumbed to hoarding. Every state in the United States recognizes animal hoarding as cruelty.

There are also many corporations known as Puppy Mills that abuse and neglect dogs every day. Puppy Mills are similar to animal hoarding in the sense that they both neglect dogs and do not supply them with enough food, veterinary care, or socialization. Puppy mills sell puppies to pet stores and sometimes straight to customers, they usually have genetic problems or diseases due to the poor conditions they were born in to. Also many of the puppies have behavioral problems because they were not socialized properly and taken away from their mothers at an early age. Because of the large amounts of dogs being homed at these puppy mills their cages are usually stacked on top of each other exposing dangerous wires that can injure the puppies paws. Many of these mills are not licensed or inspected which makes it completely illegal.

The last example of animal abuse is horse slaughter, horse slaughter is often confused with euthanasia, which is completely false. Horse slaughter is when horses are killed for human consumption. Horse slaughtering works by taking innocent horses and killing them in cruel ways, then shipping them out to other countries to be consumed. In 2006 a total of three slaughterhouses killed about 104,000 horses. Slaughter houses were closed in the United States which did not help the problem at all, now the horses are sent overseas to Mexico or Canada to be murdered. Most of the horses killed in these houses are killed in very cruel ways, such as dismembering the horses while they are still conscious. Many times when horses are no longer wanted or needed they are put up for auction and are sold by the pound. The horses are then taken on extremely crowded trucks without food or water to be killed and eaten.

Some people believe that they can discipline their own animals however they want. These people use their animals for their own benefit, for example chicken fights, people who host chicken fights believe that because they own the animal means that they can hurt it for their own benefit. Animal abuse is not okay under any circumstances, it is illegal no matter whose animal it is. In the state of Arizona animal cruelty is described as “A person commits cruelty to animals if he or she intentionally, knowingly or recklessly subjects any animal under the person's custody or control to cruel neglect or abandonment, fails to provide medical attention necessary to prevent protracted suffering to any animal under the person's custody or control, inflicts unnecessary physical injury to any animal, or recklessly subjects any animal to cruel mistreatment, among other things” It also states that intentionally attending a dog fight is a felony, and intentionally attending a cockfight is a misdemeanor.

In 2012 a chart of the different kinds of animal abuse was made, it shows which kind of animal abuse is most common and vice versa. The chart was made following the information gathered from Petabuse.com, ASPCA.com, and Peta. According to the chart shooting was the third most common form of animal abuse. The second most common form of animal abuse was hoarding. Lastly, the first most common form of animal abuse was neglect and abandonment. Also according to this chart, in 2012 seventeen thousand and seven animals were abused, and this is just the reported cases, many animal abuse cases are unreported.

My plan for 2018-2019 is to try and help raise awareness and become a volunteer at an animal shelter. I will be applying to become a volunteer for the Arizona Humane Society which saves, heals, and puts many animals up for adoption every day. I will also be making an educational video about animal abuse. By becoming a volunteer at the humane society I will be helping many dogs and cats get adopted by properly socializing them and caring for them. The Arizona Humane Society offers many ways to help, such as becoming a volunteer, or a foster hero, or simply donating money and/or supplies.