Our country is one that holds many rights in which some have been presented in my previous blogs. One right that still holds current debate is animal rights. Some laws are established to prevent animal cruelty, but not all laws defend animals. One thing is for certain; all pets should be protected from harm and danger.
The thought of someone intentionally putting animals in danger is a complete and absolute outrage. For obvious reasons there does exist some exceptions to the rule. For example, hunting is considered a sport that helps to control over population of certain animals such as deer and bears.
On another note, endangering and mistreating pets, such as dogs and cats is unacceptable. Let's take in consideration puppy mills. This is a place where dogs are caged up and forced to breed over and over without proper medical care and nutrition. These dogs suffer through the scorching hot sun or freezing cold weather in cages with no concern of their physical and mental condition.
Apparently, Pennsylvania is considered to be the capitol of puppy mills of the east coast. According to the provided website, the dog cages are stacked upon one another which means that the dogs occupying the cages below are "defecated and urinated" upon. The photos are horrific to bear another look. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania isn't the only puppy mill state. Other states include: Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. In my opinion, these mills must be stopped from this sort of animal cruelty. Not only are they putting these dogs at risk but they are also putting the families that purchase these puppies at risk. These puppies run the risk of having diseases or other medical problems that could be costly. Bottom line, puppies should not be purchased in pet stores and pet stores should be boycotted.
The Animal Welfare Act "establishes certain laws, policies and guidelines for treatment of animals" for example in laboratories. However, this act is not always enforced by law. Some states, such as Florida, have established there own Association to enforce cruelty to animals. The Florida Animal Control Association will not hesitate to prosecute those found guilty of such cruelty.
Being a dog lover, I found it very difficult but important to write this blog. Reading about the puppy mills literally made me cry. If I was financially and physically capable, I'd rescue as many of those dogs as possible. I'm sure it would be complicated and is obviously not within my reach but for now, all I can do is refuse to buy pets from the pet stores and try to convince as many people as I know to do the same and hope that they to will spread the word.
1 comment:
I'm going to come out of the gate here with a qualification on myself: I'm a 90%er (a mostly vegetarian) who was vegetarian for 7.5 years. The reasons I was a vegetarian for so long have a lot to do with empathy and animal rights, as well as environmental protection. So. Here's why I qualified my position: you say that "Certain circumstances warrant animal rights and other circumstances do not"--which circumstances? Even if you name them, I know morally there will always be a line drawn in the sand. Look up Hindus or Jainists...who go to physical extremes regarding the harming of other life forms.
In your second paragraph, I know many groups who disagree with hunting, even though it might control the population.
Where do you draw the line? There is a great book out there, called "The Omnivore's Dilemma." Basically, why do we love dogs but eat cows and pigs? (This is something I continue to struggle with.) Check out the book at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143038583/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1594200823&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1XZECX4BA49HV6JX09MP
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