Fix the Problem

  

Few can resist the cute cuddly face of a baby animal, but many do not realized what is fully entailed in taking care of those fuzzy creatures. Owning a pet is a huge responsibility that all owners should take seriously. "Pets can upgrade the quality of life, bring us closer to nature, provide companionship, and emphasize the fact that animals must be accepted as desirable participants in society” (Hummer 1975). Most of society either owns or will eventually own an animal as a pet, but the one thing that most people do not do when they get a pet is spay or neuter them.

Spaying and neutering are routine, affordable surgeries that can prevent thousands of animals from being born, only to suffer and struggle to survive on the streets, be abused by cruel or neglectful people, or be euthanized in animal shelters for lack of a loving home (PETA). People will not take the time or money to get their pet spade or neutered, which creates these problems. They will continuously let their animal get pregnant and have many litters, but of course the owners cannot keep them all. So what do they do with all the puppies or kittens? People will give them to the pound, which unless they are adopted, they will ultimately end in being euthanized. They may try to give away the litters to people for free or for a certain amount of money. People have actually made signs outside their home saying puppies for sale, stood in their yard, and, with an outstretched hand, held puppies in the air to show them off to cars as they passed by. That public display was disturbing and would hopefully make one wish that those puppies would go to good homes. This may look like a profitable endeavor, but how do they know who those strangers are that want those young puppies?

Since cats and dogs can have numerous litters, the dog and cat population can increase exponentially because they have not been spade or neutered. Overpopulation threatens the lives of companion animals more than any infectious disease and results from a combination of too many pets for the number of suitable homes and unprepared pet owners (Whitcomb 2010). People need to stop letting their animals mate when they cannot afford to take care of a litter of puppies or kittens. Too many pets are being destroyed and neglected. As Bob Barker always used to say at the end of the Price Is Right game show, “please help the pet population – have your pet spade or neutered.”

 

References

Boks, E. (2005). The Dirty Little Secret In Your Community. Newsweek, 145(26), 15. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hummer, R. (1975). Pets in today's society. American Humane Association, 65(10), 1095-1098. Retrieved from: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/reprint/65/10/1095.pdf.

Kittens Picture. Retrieved from Web: http://www.insidesocal.com/sgvcrime/kittens.jpg

Sharon L., P. (n.d). Sterilizing pets isn't a priority for new owners. USA Today. Retrieved from EBSCOhost..

Spay and Neuter. (2011). PETA: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals . Retrieved from Web: http://www.peta.org/issues/companion-animals/spay-neuter.aspx.

Spay and Neuter Picture. Retrieved from Web: http://members.petfinder.com/~NY190/overpopulation.jpg

Whitcomb, R. (2010). Understanding pet overpopulation. DVM: The Newsmagazine of Veterinary Medicine, 41(4), 30-32. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Animal Hoarding

How many animals are too many for someone to have? Animal hoarding is defined by “four characteristics: the failure or inability to provide animals [with] minimal standards of sanitation, space, nutrition, and veterinary care; the inability to recognize the effects of this failure on the welfare of the animals, human members of the household, and the environment; the obsessive attempts to accumulate or maintain a collection of animals in the face of deteriorating conditions; and then the denial or minimization of the problems and living conditions for people and animals” (Castrodale 2010). People may start out with one or two pets, but for some people, they may adopt or collect a couple more animals here and there until they have twenty or so animals living on their property. Then the person(s) may get to the point where they become overwhelmed with all of the animals that they have. If the person cannot stop their collecting habits of bringing more and more animals home, then they would be considered animal-hoarders. Even though they may believe that they were doing it for the right reasons, it can be seen as animal cruelty if the animals are found to be living in horrible conditions or the animals have been malnourished.

Some animal hoarders believe that what they are doing is positive because they are saving the lives of animals by taking them off the street and bringing them into their own homes to take care of them. “Hoarders often house one type of animal, most commonly dogs or cats, but they can just as easily

own birds, fowl, goats, sheep, horses or combinations of all the above – the numbers of animals involved can range from 10 to over 1000” (Campbell 2006). In cities and counties all over North America, they have established a legal limit to the number of animals one can own. If a person is found with a number of animals that is over the legal limit that they are allowed to have, then they have to sign over the animals to an animal control agency. If the animals are found in deplorable conditions that are effecting the livelihood of each of the animals lives, an animal control agency can have the right to temporarily remove most or all of the animals at the residence, with police presence, until a judge can decide whether or not to release all of the animals back into the custody of the owners or reward custody of the animals with the confiscating animal agency. After that custody trial has occurred, it may also lead to a criminal trial because if a person's animals were taken away from them based on animal cruelty, that person may be fined or jailed as animal cruelty is a crime.

“As hoarders tend to be very secretive, many can lead a double life with a successful professional career - hoarding behavior has been discovered among doctors, nurses, public officials, college professors, and veterinarians, as well as among a broad spectrum of socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals” (Patronek 2001). Anyone can become an animal-hoarder if they cannot control their means of collecting or saving animals when they cannot possibly take care of all of them. Some people go so far as to let the inside of their homes become the animals bathroom and living area, even though the house is theirs, they let the animals overtake their home because the animal-hoarder believes it is for the best of the animals. About “3,500 cases involving 250,000 animals are uncovered every year, mostly by complaints to local animal control officers and rescue shelters” (Strauss 2010). Even though animal-hoarding is illegal, the hoarder does not believe that what they are doing is illegal, but overall, the hoarding becomes harmful for the lives of both the animals and the animal-hoarder.

References

Campbell, L. (2006). Animal hoarding: the who, what, where, and how of it? Humane Society of Missouri. Retrieved from http://wvc.omnibooksonline.com/data/papers/2006_ST2A.pdf.

Castrodale, L., Bellay, Y. M., Brown, C. M., Cantor, F. L., Gibbins, J. D., Headrick, M. L., & Yu, D. T. (2010). General public health considerations for responding to animal hoarding cases. (Cover story). Journal of Environmental Health, 72(7), 14-18. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Cat Picture. Photo courtesy of the internet. Retrieved from http://www.petanim.com/6594/jlbenton/animal-hoarder/.

Patronek, G. (2001). The problem of animal hoarding. Municipal Lawyer, 6-9, 19. Retrieved from http://www.tufts.edu/vet/hoarding/pubs/municipalawyer.pdf.

Patronek, G. & Nathanson, J. (2009). A theoretical perspective to inform assessment and treatment strategies for animal hoarders. Clinical Psychology Review, 29(3), 274-281. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Strauss, G. (2010). Hoarding behavior takes on a four-legged twist. USA Today. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

The Bullhook

Circus's are thought to be places where children can enjoy a spectacular show full of clowns, acrobats, and most of all, exotic animals. Even though circus's are meant to entertain the public, but behind the scenes is a different story. Circus's travel miles and miles between shows, confining animals in cages for each destination. Circus animals spend the majority of the day confined, about 1–9% of the day performing/training and the remaining time in exercise pens (2009). Wild animals are not meant to be domesticated and then trained to perform in shows because it is not natural for them. Inadequate diet and housing conditions, and the effects of repeated performances, can lead to significant health problems – circus animals travel frequently and the associated forced movement, human handling, noise, trailer movement and confinement are important stressors (2009).

The biggest and most fascinating animal in a circus are the elephants. Circus animals, especially elephants, may be kept chained (shackled individually or picketed in lines) continuously for 12–23 hours per day when not performing (2009). The utensils that trainers use to train wild elephants include whips, sticks, and bullhooks. There are instances where grown elephants are taken from the wild and “broken;” this is done by restraining the elephant with short chains to a small area as someone repeatedly beats the animal with a bullhook (2011). A bullhook is a wooden or metal stick that has a sharp steel hook and poker at one end. Trainers hit elephants either on the legs, ears, or trunk with a bullhook to train and control them. Every hit of the bullhook into an elephants skin is a painful blow.

The tricks that elephants are made to perform are not natural actions of wild elephants. They are not accustomed to naturally doing headstands, crawling, or twirling as they are required to do in the circus. Even though people come from far and wide to go to a circus to have fun and be entertained, it is not at all fun for the animals who were taken from their homelands and forced to entertain a crowd. These wild animals do not have a voice to say whether or not that they want to participate in a circus. It is up to people who want to save these tortured animals and to eliminate the animal aspect in a circus, otherwise, elephants and other wild animals alike will continue to be forced to perform for an audience's own entertainment.

References:

Animals in the circus: a lifetime of misery. (2003-2011). Born Free USA. Retrieved from: http://www.bornfreeusa.org/a1a_circus.php
 

Circus animal cruelty. (2011) Circus animal cruelty New edition. Retrieved from: www.circusanimalcruelty.com
 

Iossa, G., Soulsbury, CD and Harris,S. (2009) Are wild animals suited to a travelling circus life? Animal Welfare 18: 129-140. Retrieved from: http://www.savezooelephants.com/pdf/WILD%20ANIMALS%20IN%20CIRCUS.pdf

YouTube Video: Ringling beat animals: a PETA undercover investigation. Retrieved from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECspj0daAlE&feature=player_embedded

 

Why Fight?

Is dog fighting simply another hobby or is it considered animal cruelty? According to US Legal, “dog fighting is an illegal practice in which two dogs, usually of a Pit Bull breed, are put into an enclosed area for the purpose of attacking and quite frequently, killing each other” (2011). The act of fighting dogs is illegal, yet people continue to break the law for profit and for entertainment. People gather together at a covert location, place their bets, and watch as two dogs attack each other, hoping that the one dog they bet on wins. What is more surprising is that often the dogs who lose the fight, yet do not die may be tortured, starved to death, or killed outright by their owners (2007). Why would anyone want to bring their pet to a place where they will get injured or possibly be killed?

Dog fighting itself is crime, but it also promotes other, more serious crime, such as cruelty to animals, violence to others, theft, drug use/possession/distribution, illegal weapons use/possession, and gambling (Dog fighting). This unlawful act is usually supported by or led by criminal groups. On the Anti-Cruelty Society website, they have found that recently convicted dog fighters in Chicago have criminal records that include such significant crimes as assault/battery, arson, weapons charges, burglary, drug charges, and attempted murder (Dog Fighting). These people can be found all over the United States and possibly in your own neighborhood. They keep their dogs in the best shape possible because they want their dog to become a champion fighter.

When it comes to dog fighting, the only people who support this “sport” are those who gain a profit from these dogs and those who enjoy watching animals viciously ripping each other apart. The majority of society views dog fighting in a negative light, partially due to the brutality, especially since it is against the law. The criminals who engage in dog fighting know that what they are doing is against the law, but they go ahead with what they are doing with their animals by letting them fight each other. Overall, with the law in hand, the police can begin to crack down on these dog fighting groups and clean the streets of this illegal activity. 

References:

Dog fighting. The Anti-cruelty Society. Retrieved from:

http://www.anticruelty.org/site/epage/36628_576.htm

Dog fighting law and legal definition. (2011). USLegal. Retrieved from:

http://definitions.uslegal.com/d/dog-fighting/

It's a dog's life. (2007). America, 197(7), 4. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

New York Times. (1996, Feb 18) Dog-fight crackdown reveals animal cruelty. New York Times, 1. 28. Retrieved from LexisNexis.

YouTube Video: Underground dogfighting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQwmnMgLGts

Animals Then Humans?

When a child is given a pet, he or she is supposed to love, cherish and take care of that animal, but not all children do what is socially considered normal. As defined in Learning to be Cruel?: Exploring the Onset and Frequency of Animal Cruelty, “animal cruelty is socially unacceptable behavior that intentionally causes unnecessary pain, suffering, or distress to and/or death of an animal; exclusive of socially condoned behavior, such as legal hunting and certain agricultural and veterinary practices.” There are different methods of animal cruelty such as drowning, hitting or kicking, shooting, choking, burning, or having sex with an animal. These events happen frequently, but are not always linked to people who have committed criminal and violent acts. Do young adolescent children who torture animals later turn into violent criminal or is there no link at all?

Associations have been made of children that abuse animals who later turn into people who become violent to other humans, but there are many mixed results. To find a correlation between children who torture animals and violent criminals, researchers have analyzed cases of violent criminals and have conducted surveys and interviews of violent inmates that are still in prison. From a study where 112 inmates were given questionnaires, Table 1 explains the frequency and percentage of inmates who committed childhood and/or adolescent animal cruelty and their methods while engaging in these acts. As can be seen in Table 1, more than half of the inmates have shot an animal and almost half have either hit or kicked animals in their youth.

Table 1

Frequencies and Percentages of Inmates Who Committed

Childhood and/or Adolescent Animal Cruelty and

Their Methods While Engaging in These Acts

Method	n	%
Drowned	16	14.3
Hit or kicked	50	44.6
Shot	72	64.3
Choked	24	21.4
Burned	17	15.2
Sexual	16	14.3

Note: n = 112.

Based off of the other results of similar surveys, the results were varied. Some studies found that violent offenders were significantly more likely than non-violent offenders to have committed childhood acts of animal cruelty, especially against family pets (251). Other studies suggested that a persons race and/or childhood environment may determine if they would later become violent criminals. Overall, youth who commit animal cruelty are at a greater risk for later acts of violence against humans.

One of major concurring conclusions that many journals agreed upon was that there needs to be more research on this subject as there is no definite answer as to the question of whether or not adolescent youth who abuse animals will eventually turn into violent criminals. There are factors that may influence children to become who they are in the future, but there is no one factor that determines a child's future actions in life. When the answer is supported by more findings, the cycle of animal cruelty into violence against humans can be prevented in the future.

References:

Hensley, C. and Tallichet, S. E. (2009). Childhood and adolescent animal cruelty methods and their possible link to adult violent crimes. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24(1). 147-158. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hensley, C. and Tallichet, S. E. (2005). Learning to be cruel?: exploring the outset and frequency of animal cruelty. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 49(1). 37-47. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hensley, C., Tallichet, S. E. and Dutkiewicz, E. (2009). Recurrent childhood animal cruelty: is there a relationship to adult recurrent interpersonal violence? Criminal Justice Review, 34(2). 248-257. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Merz-Perez, L., Heide, K.M., and Silverman, I.J. (2001). Childhood cruelty to animals and subsequent violence against humans. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 45, 556-573. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Miller, K.S. And Knutson, J.F. (1997). Reports of severe physical punishment and exposure to animal cruelty by inmates convicted of felonies and by university students. Child Abuse and Neglect, 21, 59-82. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.