Combating Animal Cruelty: How to Get Involved

Sadly, animal cruelty is a topic that continues to make headlines. While we have made great progress over the years, we still have a long way to go when it comes to animal rights. Whether it be wild animals or domestic pets, animal cruelty is one of the biggest issues facing society today.

Cruelty is inexcusable, whether it be toward a pet dog or a dolphin in an aquarium. Every animal has the right to a healthy, dignified and cruelty-free life.

From failure to comply with the law, to neglect and sadistic acts of violence, animal cruelty can take many forms. In this next section, we want to take a look at some of the different types of animal abuse.

Types of animal cruelty

• Abandonment: There’s no excuse for abandoning an animal. There are always other options – it’s just a question of finding them. Before abandoning an animal, the owner can always put them up for adoption, or sign them over to an animal shelter.
• Indiscriminate hunting and/or breeding: This usually occurs in terrible conditions, and helps promote animal trafficking and the illegal trade of exotic species. Often, indiscriminate hunting or breeding is used to supply materials to the fur industry.
• Commercial exploitation: Among the most common forms of commercial abuse are circuses and zoos. However, all animal shows, fights (involving dogs, roosters etc.), hunting activities, bullfights, the food industry, and animal-drawn vehicles constitute forms of cruelty.
• Insufficient housing or shelter.
• Insufficient or a complete lack of food and water.
• Chaining or tethering: if the owner alleges that the chain is to prevent the animal from hurting others or escaping, authorities must conduct a thorough investigation. Regardless, there are always better alternatives than chaining an animal.

• Beating or other forms of physical violence: Under no circumstances does any animal ever deserve to be beaten. Animals aren’t like humans. They follow their instincts, and don’t always make rational decisions. As such, owners cannot hold their pets responsible for “naughty” behavior.
• Torture: We often see videos of animal torture online. In many cases, the animal dies of its injuries, while the perpetrators go unpunished. Any such videos or photos should be reported as soon as possible.
• Animal testing (both cosmetic and pharmaceutical): Animals undergo procedures that have a significant impact on their health and well-being.

Animal cruelty: how to combat it

With so many different forms and sources of animal cruelty, stopping it may seem like an impossible task. Where to even begin? But, believe it or not, there are many ways you can help fight abuse.

• Adopt don’t shop. Similarly, you should also avoid buying exotic pets. Dogs and cats are well accustomed to living with humans after years of domestication and breeding, but some species are simply born to be wild.
• Donate time or money to charities dedicated to protecting animals and fighting against animal cruelty. Among other things, you could take part in local or online campaigns, volunteer at a shelter, or as a temporary foster family for animals awaiting their new home.
• Don’t turn a blind eye if you find an animal abandoned in the street. Try to find out if it’s simply lost or if it’s a stray in need of a new home.

“Animal cruelty has many faces, and, as such, there are many ways to combat it.”

Combating animal cruelty on a daily basis

• Choose “cruelty-free” beauty products and cosmetics. In doing so, you’ll be saying “no” to companies that continue to test their products on animals.
• When buying or eating animal products, make sure they come from small, locally owned farms. By doing so, you can help combat the torture that often occurs in factory farms.
• Check that your clothes, shoes and accessories aren’t made from materials such as leather, fur, skin or ivory. 

Other ways to show your support

Any time you can give to support the fight against animal cruelty will make a huge difference. There are many local and global campaigns for you to choose from, and there are so many ways you can get involved.

Make sure you do plenty of thorough research, and be sure to discuss these topics with family and friends.

What else can you do?

• Avoid going to zoos, circuses, bullfights, and other forms of entertainment that involve animals.
• Protest against events such as illegal dog fights and races.
• Report any abuse you encounter, whether in real life or online. Animal cruelty can occur anywhere: in the street, in pet stores, in your neighborhood, so it’s important to keep an eye out.

If you think you’ve witnessed any form of animal cruelty, don’t stay silent. Failure to intervene, apathy, and ignorance are also huge contributing factors to animal abuse.