Animals - Man's Best Friend

Some are our pets, some are our friends, some are our family, but not every person adheres to that logic. Animals, for hundreds and hundreds of years, have been used as sources for food. When we hear about this, we all think first of cows, pigs, turkeys and chickens, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Dogs, cats, hedgehogs, elephants and even specially bred small monkeys are considered a delicacy throughout the world. As appalling as that sounds, animals are now not only used for food, but for clothing, human entertainment and as experimental subjects for treatments and medications. The ethical principles for animal treatment should not lie solely within the person of whom the animal belongs to, meaning, any poor, reprehensible actions should be reported and proper punishment should be handed out. Luckily, animal rights groups are out there looking for these criminals who act aggressively and immoral towards animals.

Animal rights activists generally view moral arguments as the paramount reason for opposing animal experimentation. However, unwilling to rely solely on claims that advance animals' interests directly, activists also employ a variety of "practical" arguments. When publicly arguing against animal experimentation, the most common strategy criticizes the scientific validity of the experiments, known as "bad science" arguments. Activists claim that animal experimentation is wasteful, redundant, inapplicable, and often harmful to human animals. That an animal rights group would make these arguments seems natural; they simply want to see an end to animal experimentation and how that is achieved is irrelevant. However, the tension arising from attempting to use arguments from within science to question the underlying moral framework does not advance, and ultimately undermines, progress toward animal rights. Anti-speciesist arguments alone offer the best strategic choice for advancing the abolition of animal experiments.

Are dogs really man's best friends? To a normal man, woman or child, yes, however, not all people share the same feelings for our faithful companions. In April 2007, Michael Vick was implicated in an illegal interstate dog fighting ring that had operated over five years. In August 2007, he pleaded guilty to federal felony charges and served 21 months in prison, followed by two months in home confinement. "Incredibly enough, Vick then made himself out to be some kind of innocent victim in the whole sordid episode. "I think that's accurate," he told Leitch, when asked if some people simply don't understand that aspect of black culture. "I mean, I was just one of the ones who got exposed, and because of the position I was in, where I was in my life, it went mainstream. A lot of people got out of it after my situation, not because I went to prison but because it was sad for them to see me go through something that was so pointless, that could have been avoided." (Farrar, 2012). To me, he got off way too easy, what he and his friends did was disgusting on all levels. Next to hurting a woman in any way or mass murder, animal torture is the worst crime that anyone could commit. I think the only fair punishment in a crime like this is to be tortured yourself, to see what it feels like to be helpless and horrified. If you abuse animals and are not taught/paid a legitimate lesson, you're more likely to go out and do it again. These are extreme views on the matter, but criminals need to be brought to lawful justice. In Baltimore, MA, in April, 2012, "Police said Johnnie Taylor, 30, of the 2900 block of Silver Hill Ave., was charged with eight counts of animal cruelty and dog fighting as well as drug possession. Animal control officers rescued eight dogs and police seized training equipment used in dog fighting, along with medications, dog-fighting manuals and narcotics."(Wenger, 2012). The offender was punished, but how much punishment is the question. To me, the punishment never fits the crime with cases of animal cruelty, but at least some form of justice would be served.

"Every day in countries around the world, animals are fighting for their lives. They are enslaved, beaten, and kept in chains to make them perform for humans' "entertainment"; they are mutilated and confined to tiny cages so that we can kill them and eat them; they are burned, blinded, poisoned, and cut up alive in the name of "science"; they are electrocuted, strangled, and skinned alive so that people can parade around in their coats; and worse." (Peta, 2012). I saw a TV commercial last year for the Humane Society where there were dogs stockpiled on top of each other inside a dog cage/kennel. Seeing things like that bothers me immensely, as it should bother anyone with a heart. I believe though, that PETA takes it too far sometimes. PETA has reportedly thrown red paint on people wearing fur coats. This makes no sense, as they've destroyed a person's property and the owner will probably sue the offender and just buy another coat, thus giving more support for the very thing you were trying to protest against in the first place. One extreme member of PETA bombed a lab that tested animals for the purpose of finding cures to various diseases. PETA put forth $45,000 towards the defense of the man. This is only one particular instance, but related scenarios have occurred time and time again.

The Humane Society, PETA, the ASPCA and North Shore Animal League are among the many top animal rights activists groups and shelters in the US looking out for animals that cannot be protect themselves from human abuse. According to Arkansas Code 5-62-101 et seq., "The crime of cruelty to animals is defined as: "Knowingly abandons any animal, subjects it to cruel mistreatment or cruel neglect, or kills or injures an animal without the owner's consent." Cruelty to animals is a Class A Misdemeanor punishable with a fine up to $1,000 and/or imprisonment up to 1 year, cost of care for the animal, and counseling. Exemptions are made for hunting and protection of livestock." (Stray Pet Advocacy, 2003).

Aside from the more widely known groups, there are hundreds of other groups assembled to help stop and prevent the future harm of animals. "The Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) is a small, non-profit center. As part of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, we are dedicated to improving health for both people and animals. (In March 2000, U.S. News & World Report ranked Johns Hopkins #1 among all schools of public health.) We promote humane science by supporting the creation, development, validation, and use of alternatives to animals in research, product safety testing, and education. We seek to effect change by working with scientists in industry, government,