Innocent Eyes Every year, over 1,000 innocent animals are abused. Some abandoned, neglected, hoarded, shot, stabbed, and even burnt alive. Some people enjoy dog fights. All at the expense of the animal. But they don’t care. No one cares enough to stop these people. In most cases, the animals did nothing to deserve what they received. People can be very cruel. They don’t realize that these animals have a life too and they matter. They don’t deserve to be beaten down and neglected. Speaking for the animals; we are not your punching bag. Abuse is defined as treating a person or thing with cruelty and violence. One can abuse his power as a representative. One can abuse his rights given to him. And one can abuse another person. Abuse is a negative term that no one wants to be known for. But why do people continue to do it in many different aspects? For the fun of it? Or to gain something for themselves. We may never know the thought process behind the crazy actions of abuse. But it is still there and animals are still being mistreated.
An astounding 2,339 cases of animal cruelty in the U.S. happened in 2006. The majority from neglect/abandonment and second to fighting. Owners need to realize that they are responsible for their pet. They need to watch over them and take care of them the right way. Others that only have the animal to watch fight other animals, need to realize how wrong it is! We need to take a stand and make sure that animal abuse and cruelty is illegal everywhere! The animals can’t talk or fight back; we need to be the ones to help them. We need to be their voice.
There are many different types of abuse someone can do to an animal. Some are more severe than others. Some may only hurt the animal for one day and some can kill them instantly. The leading type of abuse is neglect/ abandonment. There were a reported 187 cases in 2012. This is when someone leaves an animal in an abandoned house, lets them run away, fails to provide for them, etc. All very unnecessary because taking care of an animal is not difficult. If someone did not want the animal, they could have given it to a shelter instead of neglecting it. Owners should not own unless they are prepared for the responsibilities it requires. The second cause is hoarding, with 100 reported cases in 2012. This is when an owner keeps a large amount of animals or just clutter in their home and the animal is overwhelmed and then possibly neglected. For example, an old lady could keep a hundred cats in her house. But if she can’t provide for all of them all of the time, some may die. The third leading cause is shooting with 63 cases in 2012. This is just a stupid situation to me. How can someone be so cruel as to shoot an animal? In some cases I understand that the animal could be out of control and harming a human. But in other cases people just do it for the fun of it, and that’s messed up to say the least. The fourth cause is beating with 46 cases in 2012. There is never a justified reason to take your anger out on an animal. They don’t deserve to be beaten. This just saddens me. The fifth and final cause I will discuss is torture, with 33 cases in 2012. This is a pretty broad category but I am sure none of us want to know what it consists of. I cannot even imagine what some sick people do to animals. I am not able to understand how someone can do such a thing to an animal, or anyone for that matter. It is pretty clear there is many ways an animal can be abused. But these are only the major reported cases. Imagine how many cases are left unsolved, untold, and some we don’t even know about yet. And what about the smaller types of abuse?
Abuse can also be when an owner does not give their pet the vaccines they need. If they do not put on flea and tick medicines, that can also be abuse. They are allowing their pet to obtain these diseases and not doing anything to prevent it. Even worse yet, if their pet has worms/fleas/ticks, and they know about it and are