animal cruelty
animal cruelty.
Be kind to every kind, not just mankind.
- Anthony Douglas Williams
Today I would like to discuss and express my thoughts on animal cruelty. Although various debates, books, and so many more social media posts have a unique view on animal cruelty, this is my view on the toxic animal production, fur, and trade industry. In addition, I would like to discuss the different forms of animal cruelty and how we can genuinely take action and avoid harming animals.
Before I start this discussion, however, I would like to point out that by no means are all farms, circuses, zoos, or research labs cruel to animals. This post refers to a specific majority of farms and production companies. There are different sides to animal cruelty, and I represent one side.
Animal cruelty, to put it simply, is being cruel to animals. Inflicting any unnecessary pain and suffering on an animal is animal cruelty. Unfortunately, there are quite a few types of animal cruelty found in a variety of different industries.
The first and most common type of animal cruelty is abuse. Abuse exists in two primary forms; physical abuse and mental abuse. Physical abuse implies causing bodily harm and violence toward animals. Kicking, throwing, and stabbing are a few of the most common forms of abuse—the majority of found in farming industries and agricultural industries.
The second type of abuse is mental. Though farms or laboratories raising animals might fulfill an animal's physical needs, giving them shelter, food, and water, it often deprives animals of requirements that benefit their mental well-being. Taking newborn animals away from their mothers the moment they are born to raise them faster is the most common form of mental abuse. Motherly love is something all animals, wild or domestic, need. It is a form of safety and intimacy. Even if newborns only stay by their mother's side for a few months, the few months are still vital in their mental growth. However, newborns are deprived of this motherly love in many zoos, laboratories, and farms. They are often shipped away or put in a cage separate from their families. This is the same as a newborn human baby being put away in a room the moment it is born. It might not ever even see its mother again. If it is stressful for humans, it is the same for both animal mothers and animal babies.
The second form of animal cruelty is through exploitation. This refers to when we use and manipulate animals for our own benefit. This could mean using them to earn money to using animals simply for entertainment. This could mean forcing dogs and demosticated pets to perform actions, make sounds, and dress up for social media when they don’t want to. Or training animals in harsh and cruel ways in order for them to paint, talk and ride a bike. It could also refer capture animals that were not endangered before, raising them in zoos or aquariums, simply for the travellers to look at. Often times animals live in small cages with no companions, and spend their whole life in here, unable to return to their natural habitat. Animals are not our tools. They are individuals. We should bend them to our will, treating them as if they were slaves. But, this is what we are doing.
Experimenting and testing animals in labs for medicine or technology cannot be any closer to what exploitation is. Causing harm and pain to an animal for us to earn money and invent new technologies is, quite honestly, the literal definition of exploitation. Killing and hunting wild animals for fur, medicine, and horns are also forms of animal abuse.
Before you question me and say: “But we are simply people! We can’t stop the industry from killing animals. People will lose their jobs! We don’t have the power to stop animal cruelty! “ Please take a few seconds of your time to listen to me explain;
Quite frankly, all of us have the power not to harm animals. We have a choice in what animal might get killed the next day, what animal might be shipped off from its mother, and what animal might be hunted for its fur. We are the ones that are in charge of how this industry works. Companies, diary, and meat industries cannot continue running without us. We are the costumers, and they serve the costumers. If we decide to lower our meat consumption, if everyone in a town chooses to eat less meat, the meat company/farm providing for this town will also reduce the number of animals it raises every day. It could instead work towards different forms of food for the money. Because I repeat, we have a choice.
How can the hunter continue to earn money illegally by hunting fur and horns if the customers stop buying them? How will wild elephants, wolves, and coyotes continue to die if we don’t buy their skin? They won’t die. Because we made a choice. A choice to save a life, a family, a community.
People have the power to find new jobs. If the meat industry decreases, new jobs could form. Jobs that work towards giving us healthier solutions to food. Jobs that work towards renewable energy. Jobs that work towards helping animals in the wild and providing the millions of domestic farm animals a new home in the wild. Positions surrounding vegetable farms. We cannot give up and continue to let animal cruelty continue to happen. If the government and people globally all believe in this on goal, if our community strongly wanted to make this happen. Solutions can be found. But first, we have to believe.
citations:
"Animal Cruelty: What Is It, Types & How To Report Animal Cruelty". Million Dollar Vegan, 2021, https://www.milliondollarvegan.com/animal-cruelty/. Accessed 18 July 2022.