René Descartes, a famous philosopher, once argued that, “animals are not sentient- they are machines, like mechanical clocks, devoid of feelings and incapable of experiencing pleasure or pain” (Vaughn). Today, unlike Descartes, most people believe that animals are intrinsically or instrumentally valuable, also, whether they have or deserve any rights. Defining what cruelty is has been very subjective. To some people. An animal is just property and they can beat it around as much as they want, to others, animals are part of their family and they would never lay a finger on them. There is legislation against animal cruelty but because there is so much subjectivity, the legislation fails to deter people from abusing their animals. For there …show more content…
They just do not see that as being animal cruelty. Most people believe that it is wrong to be cruel to animals. Within different societies, animals are treated differently. Depending on how and or where a person was raised, an animal could be a loved pet that is part of their family, or they could just treat it as property and a tool that is just there for their personal use. According to Ohio law if a person owns a dog then it is considered a companion animal, no matter if it is kept in their residential dwelling or not. IN one situation the owner keeps their dog in their house and it is a part of the family. They treat their dog like a baby, petting, playing, and cuddling with it. In another situation the owner keeps their fog outside and uses it as a watchdog. The only interaction with the dog is just checking to make sure it has food and water, and maybe a quick pat on the head, and gives it a “good dog” praise. It is quite easy to see that he first person loves their dog. It is not so easy to tell in the second situation. They may truly love their dog and that was how they were raised to treat it. They could also have emotional attachments to the dog, such as being proud, without really caring about the dog. Kind of like my dog is bigger than your dog pride. Within the law both situations are considered equal, even though they are unequal in the emotional attachment to their animals. Living in
In October of 2012, a Jack Russell Terrier puppy named Phoenix was set on fire in Buffalo N.Y. The woman who discovered him was attracted by black smoke. She managed to put out the the flames with her sweater and proceeded to rush him to a small animal hospital with severe burns over his whole body and a serious ankle infection. Although he lost 60% off of both of his ears he maintained almost complete mobility of his leg. He still has a slight limp. Judi Bunge, a senior vet technician at Buffalo Small Animal Hospital who had been looking after Phoenix, adopted him soon after he had fully recovered. He now lives with Judi and her two other dogs. "Phoenix will become a therapy dog and continue his work as an ambassador for the
Intro: Can you imagine having the urge to intentionally hurt or even kill your helpless little puppy? Over the years, animal abuse has increased an unbelievable amount. I believe animal rights need to be enforced to people across the world. Animals are helpless creatures that should only be making the world a better place. I will enforce my belief by explaining what animal cruelty are, animal abandonment laws, and how to report animal cruelty.
Over the years that animals have been used for entertainment purposes, in most cases it was likely to engage the audience to learn about a specific animal and help grow love and care for that animal. Today, animals are seen doing show stopping tricks whether it be on TV, in circuses, or in theme parks. However, are we unintentionally exploiting these animals to situations that they should not have to deal with? Specifically, when in come to cases of wild animals that follow their primal instinct to survive in their selective habitats. The audience witnessing these commercials, ads, and shows may feel adoration for these animals but the facts are that for these wild animals confinement is detrimental, their quality of life diminishes, and
For one to completely understand animal cruelty one must know how animal cruelty is categorized. Animal cruelty was first categorized as a symptom of conduct disorder by the American Psychiatric Association in 1987 (McPhedran; 2008). Conduct disorder is defined as “a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others are major age appropriate societal norms or rules are violated” (American Psychiatric Association; 1994 as cited as McPhedran; 2008). To be diagnosed with conduct disorder, a person must have at least 3 of the 15 symptoms of the disorder presented. Other symptoms of conduct disorder include persistent patterns of aggression towards humans, lying and deception, theft and/or robbery, and
them both on the same level. This theory questioned all that was believed to be
Catholic views on animal abuse is varied greatly. The ‘traditional’ view is that humans are made in a different image than animals. It proclaims that humans have been given ‘dominion’ over nature, meaning humans can use animals in accordance to their own needs (gen 1:28). However, many Catholics disagree and believe that God gave human ‘stewardship’ over the animals, which means we are put on this Earth to look after and care for God’s creation (Luke 12:6). There are a number of Catholic authorities that discourage animal abuse;
Why is it that we as a society condemn the actions of a man against a man but very rarely a man against an animal? I think this question must be understood if we are ever to change the rights animals have. As of yet I don't believe animals have any actual rights. Rather humans have rights that involve animals. If we are to truly allow animals to have rights the same or similar to humans then we must first define what it is that makes us feel as if they are entitled to rights.
It is so easy to become complacent in our sheltered world and to turn the other cheek to the violence and misery that our every life decision can perpetrate, and that the majority of the country (mostly unknowingly) buys into. The fact is that if the horrors of the meat industry were common knowledge, the business would decrease, and drastically at that. So, to keep the knowledge from becoming widespread, meat and animal factory farms are content to work quietly and discreetly in the sparsely-populated back corners of the country where no one can see what is being done without making an active effort. The problem for them is, many people have been making an active effort- as the animal cruelty cause became more mainstream, the US saw a
I agree with Rifkin to the extent that animals deserve proper treatment and compassion. In the other hand, I don’t think we should go as far to compare ourselves with furry critters. Furthermore, I’m not saying to be abusive to animals; because all living creatures should be treated with care and respect because that’s the right thing to do. Humans have higher capabilities to obtain knowledge. As a result, makes us more aware about what we do. Major differences in livestock and domesticated animals are the fact that we grow emotional connections to our pets, while livestock are raised in multitude to feed our kin. Domesticated animals are household pets that pet
Animals are valuable and we share the earth with these creatures and we should treat them how we want to be treated. No one should ever suffer or go through pain or stress and abuse. I believe that humans and animals should have the same rights to an extent, but not to where the point is ridiculously bad, people have so many more rights than animals do. The worst thing that a person could do to a animal is making it suffer by abusing it or making it starve. If a person has a pet, they should be well educated and know how to treat a pet. Having a pet is a responsibility that is important, an animal is like a human
Animal Cruelty is a subject that spreads far across the United States and into most civilized cultures. Animal cruelty can either be in the form of intentional abuse, simple neglect, or abandonment of animals. Whatever forms the abuse takes, however, the animal that is the victim of the abuse is often helpless and may experience extreme suffering. Animal right activist feel if you don’t know how to take care or treat an animal it can be as deadly as physical abuse to care for one.
Most Americans have pets like dogs, cats, and fish. Americans cherish many animals but some people use animals for different reasons that should be illegal. Many people visit zoos and don’t understand the treatment the animals go through. Animals are trained to go out and kill for people’s entertainment. All of these misuses of animals result in insignificant punishments. The use of animals constitutes animal cruelty because people don’t see that as a form of abuse.
Animal cruelty is defined as inflicting suffering or harm upon animals for purposes other than self-defense. A wide range of actions from animal neglect to violence against animals can be considered animal cruelty. Some people say that activities such as dog fighting, horse racing, and circuses cause animals to suffer, but many also say that there is nothing wrong with treating animals this way as long as they are treated humanely. Animals are put into captivity, into zoo’s, shows, and even circuses, but some still say that animals are doing what they were born and bred to do. People take advantage of animals and use them just to show off, and once they are useless to them, they just throw them out. Most owners do not realize that animals need care. Animals should have the same amount of rights as humans do.
I was shocked when my mother introduced me to my new foster dog, a seven year old dachshund named Andy. I expected a friendly dog to greet me when I came home but instead I found a dog that was sick, feeble and afraid of me. It was then that I quickly learned about the horrors of animal abuse. Spellbound, I listened to my mother tell me Andy’s story of abuse. Andy spent his entire seven years in a puppy mill, confined to a small cage and rarely had any human contact. He came to us with a skin disease, parasites, and almost all of his teeth were missing from decay. The foster organization told my mother that he was hit and beaten by his breeder numerous times. Andy was one of the lucky ones, his breeder was arrested, he was put in a foster organization, and brought into our home. Animal abuse is a significant problem causing nearly one million animals to die each year from many different forms of abuse; animals are not people, but that doesn’t make their lives less precious. There needs to be an end to this preventable suffering.
The rights of animals and their role in society is a topic that is constantly considered, but is never known how the problem can be solved. The dictionary definition attempts to explain it with “the rights of animals, claimed on ethical grounds, to the same humane treatment” (“Animal Rights”). For animals to have humane treatment, is an endeavor to give them the same rights as humans. People want animals to have rights to make sure that they aren’t abused and mistreated, but having the same amount of rights as humans is just unnecessary. Animals such as pigs, chimps, and cows can’t have the same rights as us because they are NOT us. It does not make sense why we should give human rights those that are not human. However, it would be