Animal cruelty can conjure up many horrific images of animals being abused whether being thrown out of a car as BJ, the Shih-Tzu/Poodle mix dog was last December, or someone who pounds on a pet until a limb is broken as it has been locally reported recently multiple times.
Animal cruelty exists around this vast world of ours. Countries such as China have a total disregard for animals. They round up dogs and cats for their fur. They steal pets and place numerous animals in wire cages to be taken to be skinned, sometimes alive! China does have animal advocates who have saved some of these poor souls but not enough to stop this unthinkable practice.
China isn’t the only country where animals are regarded as dirty, filthy beings and treated in that manner.
Animal abuses of all kinds exist. Fact. Animal cruelty is a crime in the United States with every state having its own laws and punishment for the various types of cruelty inflicted upon animals.
What exactly is animal cruelty?
Is neglecting a pet, tethering a dog, hoarding animals, allowing your dog or cat to run loose outside, not feeding your pet for days, a puppy in a pet store, dogs and cats in puppy mills, hurting a pet, killing a pet …are all of these examples of animal cruelty? In my mind, absolutely yes! But, the law says differently as do some shelter directors. As I was told by one director, most pain afflicted against a pet is due to ignorance. Owners need to be educated. I feel the bottomline was less paperwork to do and more time for other issues if you don’t press charges. Sad and wrong, in my opinion,
That being said, I don’t care if it’s ignorance or stupidity, I feel people do know the fundamental difference between right and wrong. They DO know when they are being cruel to an animal. Some enjoy it while others take frustrations out on a once-beloved pet while others simply don’t care.
But what if it happens at your local shelter? Trust me, all animal shelters are not created equally. There are animals shelters/rescues in the US who abound in treating animals horribly and killing them quickly instead of finding homes. There are also shelters and rescues who have adopted the no-kill philosphy. No-kill means that every pet that enters that shelter or rescue will stay there until a forever home is found. Most will euthanize an animal if it is very ill or suffering and rightly so.
While my goal was to save every animal since I began my animal advocacy, I had to revise that goal once I began volunteering, then later working, at multiple animal shelters. What goes behind closed doors is heart-wrenching to watch. Those memories will never fade and I won’t let them. I wanted every pet to know, when in my company, that I loved him/her and their lives were not in vain.
Getting back to my original question. What constitutes animal cruelty? While the no-kill philosophy is great, one has to understand the whole picture. While some of these places have adopted this goal, when their shelter/rescue is full, they will not take any more animals until others have been adopted. Unfortunately, these poor animals must go to kill shelters.
The no-kill movement works if everyone works together and it has been successful for many places. The problem lies when there is “no more room at the inn.”
Take for instance, Berks County, PA. We have two main shelters that house animals of all types but mainly cats and dogs. While the Animal Rescue League has obtained all of the contracts for animal control in the county, this has put the place and the workers under immeasurable stress after being forced to kill thousands of innocent animals per year. Since the other shelter, the local Humane Society, holds no animal contracts, they can pick and choose what animals they will accept from the public. Most are told to go to the Animal Rescue League. I can safely say these two shelters are not working together.
People condemn kill shelters. Some of it is justified. What about no-kill shelters? Do you believe all are created equal? The answer is no.
Is it fair for animals to be caged 24/7 for years until they find a home? Do you find it detrimental to the well-being of an animal or do you feel it’s the right thing to do until a home is found? What about the consequences of keeping an animal caged for years?
When I worked at the Animal Rescue League, I saw many dogs go cage-crazy. Animals locked up for months start to act out in their cage. One black dog, in particular, comes to mind. I would watch as he bounced from one wall to the other in a circular motion all day! He bloodied himself in the process. I tried to walk him and he continually walked in circles around me. He literally couldn’t stop. This is all he knew. My heart broke for him. Working in a kill shelter, I knew his chances of finding a home were zero.
This black dog was euthanized. I feel it was the right decision. For him to suffer for months, possibly years until he found a home would be cruel and unjust punishment. He was already going crazy. He would’ve gone insane if that were to happen.
Another true case, in another state: a cat was kept in a cage for three years. THREE YEARS! Never was out of that small cage. Was never socialized. Does this justify animal cruelty to you? Keeping an animal in a small cage is synonymous with keeping dogs in cages for their entire lives to produce puppies for pet stores. Yes, I’m speaking of puppy mills. There is no difference.
While I want to see every animal find a forever home, the reality is that it isn’t going to happen right now. Not until all shelters and rescues work with their community, groups, individuals and other shelters and rescues. It’s a huge undertaking. While it is commendable to achieve this goal, the reality is some animals are going to suffer in the process being locked up in cages for years. That is wrong!!
Being locked up in a cage for months and years and never getting out constitutes animal cruelty.
What is your opinion of an animal being locked up for years? Animal cruelty or not? You tell me.