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L Ngc Bo Trn Professor Phan Ngc Chin English 101 07 December 2012 Cruelty towards Animals Thousands of animals, pets usually, are abused a day. Tens and thousands of cats and dogs are kicked, hit, abused, and for what? Nothing. Animals were put on earth to be loved and to love in return. Other times people abuse animals for control. You cant control a human as much as you can to a dog or cat. If you kick or hurt another human out of control, you can get sued. But if its your own pet, who are they going to tell? No one. Most people who abuse animals are adults, males most often, but some are kids whose lifes are unfulfilled. Animal cruelty comes in several forms: animal abuse, animal experimenting, and poaching. Animal cruelty is a growing social issue that many people do not understand. Each type of abuse has displayed certain patterns of behavior that we can use to help understand more about why people commit the crimes they do today. Animal cruelty is often broken down into two main categories: Passive Cruelty (Acts of Omission) is typified by cases of neglect, where the crime is a lack of action rather than the action itself - however do not let the terminology fool you. Severe animal neglect can cause incredible pain and suffering to an animal. Active Cruelty (Acts of Commission) implies malicious intent, where a person has deliberately and intentionally caused harm to an animal, and is sometimes referred to as NAI (Non-Accidental Injury). Acts of intentional cruelty are often some of the most disturbing and should be considered signs of

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serious psychological problems. This type of behavior is often associated with sociopathic behavior and should be taken very seriously (Mukherjee). Animal testing or animal experimentation is the use of animals in scientific experimentation. This issue has generated such sustained and passionate controversy as the use of animals in scientific research. Yet, at least on the surface, little seems to have changed in the debate over the last century. There are scores of examples of differing reactions of drugs between animals and humans. Penicillin kills guinea pigs and hamsters, but is very beneficial for humans. Thalidomide, a tranquilizer formerly prescribed for pregnant women with morning sickness, caused serious birth defects in more than 10,000 children but does not cause birth defects in numerous species of nonhuman animals. Acetaminophen, a common human pain reliever, is deadly to cats (Carlson). Simply because animals are not human does not imply they don't feel pain, despair, torture, and horror, somewhat as we do. Right now, millions of mice, rats, rabbits, primates, cats, dogs, and other animals are locked inside cages across the country. They languish in pain, ache with loneliness, and long to roam free and use their minds. Instead, all they can do is sit and wait in fear of the next terrifying and painful procedure that will be performed on them. They often experience cruel methods of testing and suffer great pain as a result. They do different tests such as the draize eye test which is used to test shampoo, weed-killers, pesticides, household detergents and more. Whish are then applied to the animals eyes while conscious, usually when products are getting tested on animals the irritation is so bad that the product actually burns the animal. It is estimated that 50-100 million animals are being tested on each year, worldwide. And 50% of the animals used for cosmetic testing, 50% die two to three weeks after being tested.

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(Kara). A few years ago there was, and probably still is, the biggest ever survey of doctors on this subject. 88% of doctors agreed that laboratory experiments performed on animals can be misleading because of anatomical and physiological differences between animals and humans, 69% of doctors agreed that too many experiments on animals are performed, 51% of doctors agreed that patients would suffer fewer side effects if new drugs were tested more extensively on human cell and tissue cultures, 81% of doctors would like to see scientists trying harder to find alternatives to animals for testing drugs and cosmetics (Coleman). Illegal poaching and trade of endangered animals has been a huge issue in Africa and Asia for many years. Even today, despite great efforts by African wildlife authorities and environmental groups, the killing goes on Poaching is the serious problem, especially in Africa and Asia. Many nations have banned poaching, but enforcement is difficult. Poachers usually hunt tigers, elephants and rhinos; they kill sharks and whales, too. Hunters do not seek out the weak, sick, or starving animals for their kills, but rather the strongest and healthiest in order to have the largest trophies. Culling or managing the number of animals is a smokescreen used by wildlife agencies who are more interested in increasing the wildlife populations so that more hunting licenses can be sold. Many of the practices in sport hunting are unethical and morally repugnant. (Fund for Animals) Chinese medicine is the most widely practiced traditional medicine, although there are other traditional medicines used in other cultures worldwide which also involve animal cruelty. There are 36 different species of animal are used in traditional Chinese medicines, including the endangered species the tiger, the rhinoceros, and the sea horse. Poaching is being driven by the

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soaring price of rhino horn, which is used in traditional medicine in Asian countries such as China and Vietnam. In 2010, there were 443 rhinos killed or seriously wounded by thiefs who hacked off the creatures' horns. This compared with 17 incidents in 2007, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Many animal species used in traditional Chinese medicines are listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Animals and Plants. Consequently, it is illegal to trade in these animals designed as an academic introduction to the theory and their products in all member countries. This would automatically exclude medicinal use of any products originating from rhino and tiger, among other species (Still). Animals are beautiful creatures god has put on this earth, people should not abuse these poor animals that have no way to protect themselves like us humans can. Animals are just like humans in every way possible, and people should not abuse them. The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creatures that cannot (Twain).

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Works Cited Anonymous. "What Are The Pros And Cons Of Animal Testing?." blurtit. n.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2012. Carlson, Peggy. "The Rights of Animals." Animal Medical Experimentation Is Unjustified. (1999): 72. Print. 05 Dec. 2012. Coleman, Vernon. "Animal Testing Vivisection." animalliberationfront. n.p., 2003. Web. 05 Dec. 2012. Fund for Animals. "The Rights of Animals." Hunting Is Immoral. (1999): 122. Print. 05 Dec. 2012. J. Still. "Use of animal products in traditional Chinese medicine: Environmental impact and health hazards." Ethical and Legal issues. (2003): 19. Print. 05 Dec. 2012. Kara. "Research paper: Animal rights." Blog post. kara-wwwfarmsanctuaryorg. n.p., 22 Apr. 2012. Web. 05 Dec. 2012. Mukherjee, Bidisha. "Why do People Abuse Animals?." Buzzle. n.p., 20 Feb. 2012. Web. 05 Dec. 2012. Twain, Mark. "quotationsbook." quotationsbook. n.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2012.