Animal Rights
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As you read this, there are thousands of animals who are suffering horrific abuses and they need us to fight for justice on their behalf. If a person can abuse, and kill an animal who shares the same emotions and feelings as humans, this person is capable of doing to the same to another human being. Hope is not only for humans, it is for all of God's creation. You are the Hope Movement, and it time to take to take action.
Life is a gift from God above. All life has value, and works together and has great purpose. Often times the most vulnerable face horrific abuses, and need someone to stand up to be their voice to speak out, educate, and fight for justice. Animals are deeply loved by many. They bring companionship, friendship, assistance, and most importantly love. But there are those who view animals as a business opportunity, and treat them as though their lives are of less value than a human beings.
As you read this, there are thousands of animals who are suffering horrific abuses and they need us to fight for justice on their behalf. If a person can abuse, and kill an animal who shares the same emotions and feelings as humans, this person is capable of doing to the same to another human being. Hope is not only for humans, it is for all of God's creation. You are the Hope Movement, and it time to take to take action.
What is animal cruelty?Animal cruelty encompasses a range of behaviors harmful to animals, from neglect to malicious killing. Most cases investigated are found to be unintentional neglect that can be resolved through education and support. Intentional cruelty, or abuse, is knowingly depriving an animal of food, water, shelter, socialization, or veterinary care or maliciously torturing, maiming, mutilating, or killing an animal.
Why is it a concern?
All animal cruelty is a concern because it is wrong to inflict suffering on any living creature. Intentional cruelty is a particular concern because it is a sign of psychological distress and often indicates that an individual either has already experienced violence or may be predisposed to committing acts of violence.
Is there any evidence of a connection between animal cruelty and human violence?
Absolutely, many studies in psychology, sociology, and criminology during the last 25 years have demonstrated that violent offenders frequently have childhood and adolescent histories of serious and repeated animal cruelty. The FBI has recognized the connection since the 1970s, when its analysis of the lives of serial killers suggested that most had killed or tortured animals as children. Other research has shown consistent patterns of animal cruelty among perpetrators of more common forms of violence, including child abuse, spouse abuse, and elder abuse. In fact, the American Psychiatric Association considers animal cruelty one of the diagnostic criteria of conduct disorder.
Why would anyone be cruel to animals?
There can be many reasons. Animal cruelty, like any other form of violence, is often committed by a person who feels powerless, unnoticed, and under the control of others. The motive may be to shock, threaten, intimidate, or offend others or to demonstrate rejection of society's rules. Some who are cruel to animals copy things they have seen or that have been done to them. Others see harming an animal as a safe way to get revenge on someone who cares about that animal.
What Is a Puppy Mill?
A puppy mill is a large-scale commercial dog breeding operation where profit is given priority over the well-being of the dogs. Unlike responsible breeders, who place the utmost importance on producing the healthiest puppies possible, breeding at puppy mills is performed without consideration of genetic quality. This results in generations of dogs with unchecked hereditary defects.
Puppy mill puppies are typically sold to pet shops—usually through a broker, or middleman—and marketed as young as eight weeks of age. The lineage records of puppy mill dogs are often falsified.
In order to maximize profits, female dogs are bred at every opportunity with little to no recovery time between litters. When, after a few years, they are physically depleted to the point that they no longer can reproduce, breeding females are often killed. The mom and dad of the puppy in the pet store window are unlikely to make it out of the mill alive—and neither will the many puppies born with overt physical problems that make them unsalable to pet stores.
What Problems Are Common to Puppy Mill Dogs?
Illness, disease, fearful behavior and lack of socialization with humans and other animals are common characteristics of dogs from puppy mills. Because puppy mill operators fail to apply proper husbandry practices that would remove sick dogs from their breeding pools, puppies from puppy mills are prone to congenital and hereditary conditions. These can include:
- Epilepsy
- Heart disease
- Kidney disease
- Musculoskeletal disorders (hip dysplasia, luxating patellas, etc.)
- Endocrine disorders (diabetes, hyperthyroidism)
- Blood disorders (anemia, Von Willebrand disease)
- Deafness
- Eye problems (cataracts, glaucoma, progressive retinal atrophy, etc.)
- Respiratory disorders
On top of that, puppies often arrive in pet stores—and their new homes—with diseases or infirmities. These can include:
- Giardia
- Parvovirus
- Distemper
- Upper respiratory infections
- Kennel cough
- Pneumonia
- Mange
- Fleas
- Ticks
- Intestinal parasites
- Heartworm
- Chronic diarrhea
How Are Animals Treated at Puppy Mills?
Puppy mills usually house dogs in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, without adequate veterinary care, food, water and socialization. Puppy mill dogs do not get to experience treats, toys, exercise or basic grooming. To minimize waste cleanup, dogs are often kept in cages with wire flooring that injures their paws and legs—and it is not unusual for cages to be stacked up in columns. Breeder dogs at mills might spend their entire lives outdoors, exposed to the elements—or crammed inside filthy structures where they never get the chance to feel the sun or a gust of fresh air on their faces.
How Often Are Dogs Bred in Puppy Mills?
In order to maximize profits, female dogs are bred at every opportunity with little to no recovery time between litters. When, after a few years, they are physically depleted to the point that they no longer can reproduce, breeding females are often killed. The mom and dad of the puppy in the pet store window are unlikely to make it out of the mill alive—and neither will the many puppies born with overt physical problems that make them unsalable to pet stores.
Seeking a puppy supply source on the East Coast, puppy brokers—the middlemen who deliver the dogs from mills to pet stores—convinced many of Pennsylvania’s Amish farmers in the 1970s that puppies were the cash crop of the future. Brokers conducted seminars to teach farmers how to operate their own breeding facilities. Thirty years later, Lancaster County, PA, has the highest concentration of puppy mills of any county in the nation and has earned the dubious nickname of “Puppy Mill Capital of the East.”
When and Why Did Puppy Mills Begin?
Puppy mills began sprouting up after World War II. In response to widespread crop failures in the Midwest, the United States Department of Agriculture began promoting purebred puppies as a fool-proof “cash” crop. It is easy to see why this might have appealed to farmers facing hard times—breeding dogs does not require the intense physical labor that it takes to produce edible crops, nor are dogs as vulnerable to unfavorable weather. Chicken coops and rabbit hutches were repurposed for dogs, and the retail pet industry—pet stores large and small—boomed with the increasing supply of puppies from the new "mills." Today, Missouri is considered the largest puppy mill state in the country.
Seeking a puppy supply source on the East Coast, puppy brokers—the middlemen who deliver the dogs from mills to pet stores—convinced many of Pennsylvania’s Amish farmers in the 1970s that puppies were the cash crop of the future. Brokers conducted seminars to teach farmers how to operate their own breeding facilities. Thirty years later, Lancaster County, PA, has the highest concentration of puppy mills of any county in the nation and has earned the dubious nickname of “Puppy Mill Capital of the East.”
How Can I Help Fight Puppy Mills?
There are many ways you can fight puppy mills, starting with refusing to patronize the stores and websites that sell their dogs.
Do not buy a puppy from a pet store—in fact, do not buy a puppy from any place that does not allow you to see its entire facility and meet the mother dog. This includes websites that sell pets online. Anyone can put up a great-looking website boasting the highest standards of breeding and care, but you really have no way of knowing if such businesses are what they claim. Truly responsible breeders want to meet you before selling you one of their prized pups to be sure that he or she is going to a good home.
You can also take a more active role in fighting puppy mills by working with the ASPCA and other Animal Rights organizations to pass legislation that ensures that all animals bred to be pets are raised in healthy conditions.
Dog fighting
Originating in the Roman coliseums, sanctioned by aristocracy, embraced by medieval gentry and promoted throughout Colonial and Victorian times, dog fighting is actually a sadistic contest staged solely for the spectators’ entertainment and profit. Make no mistake: This “sport,” outlawed in the United States since the 1860s, is in fact a felony crime.
The underground, clandestine nature of dog fighting and its relationship to other crimes and community violence have become increasingly difficult to ignore. It is estimated that no less than 40,000 dogfighters in the United States are operating on local, national and even international levels. The vast majority are involved in organized crime, racketeering, drug use and distribution, gang activity and violence against humans.
To maintain and grow the “sport,” professional fighters breed generations of skilled “game dogs” and command enormous stud fees for champions. They even publish trade journals and websites for dog fighting “enthusiasts” that provide information on the winners and losers of recent fights and advertisements for training equipment and puppies. One of these journals alone circulates over 10,000 copies worldwide.
The essential logistics of a dogfight practically guarantee the presence of criminal elements. The fights themselves are generally set in remote or abandoned barns, garages or warehouses. Refreshments, entertainment and gambling are provided as a carnival-like backdrop for the bloody main event. Drug dealers distribute their illicit merchandise, wagers are made, weapons are present but concealed and the dogs mutilate each other in a bloody frenzy as crowds cheer on. The gambling that is intrinsic to dogfights magnifies the already violent atmosphere so it is common for human violence to break out among the usually armed gamblers as betting debts are collected and paid.
Those involved in dogfighting go to great lengths to avoid detection by law enforcement. Although incidents of ad hoc street fighting are increasing, dogfighting is rarely a spur-of-the-moment act; it is a premeditated and cruel practice.
Methods of "Training"
The methods used to train a dog for “gameness” may vary but there is little doubt about the inhumanity of it. Depending on the level and experience of the dogfighter/owner, “training” typically includes:
- Heavy chains wrapped around the dogs’ necks to build neck and upper body strength.
- Additional weights added to the chains and dangled from the dogs’ necks.
- Treadmills used to increase endurance.
- Smaller “bait” animals restrained or confined to an area and chased and mauled by the dogs. Once the exercise sessions are over, the dogs are usually rewarded with the bait.
To round out the training, dogs are pitted against stronger, more experienced dogs to test their “gameness” and resolve in the face of exhaustion and impending defeat. If the dog passes this test, it is considered to be ready to fight.
Once in the fighting ring, it is not uncommon for both combatants to be critically wounded, often with massive bleeding, ruptured lungs, broken bones and other life-threatening injuries. Generally, the loser of a match dies from injuries or is killed. When dogs are killed after a match, it is not done by humane euthanasia methods. Typically the animals are shot, beaten or tortured. Those that do survive the match generally never see a veterinarian, regardless of the extent of injuries. Countless dogs die of blood loss, shock, dehydration, exhaustion or infection hours or even days after the fight.
Fight dogs are often neglected and abused from the outset, spending their entire lives alone on chains or in cages. They only know the attention of a human when they are being trained to fight and they only know the company of other animals in the context of being trained to kill them. To say that dogfighting is a profound form of animal abuse and cruelty would be an understatement.
The Hope Movement is passionate about breaking the cycle of abuse through our life-transforming initiatives. You can make a difference by adopting-a-program, giving a financial gift is a powerful way for you to transform lives.
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02/10/2011
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