Cruelty to animals
From ArticleWorld
Cruelty to animals is a crime punishable under the United States Animal Welfare Act. It is a manner of treating animals in such a way as to cause injury or harm to them.
Under the US Animal Welfare Act, which was amended in 1985, anyone found to be performing acts of unnecessarily cruelty to animals may be liable to pay a fine or suffer the required period of imprisonment.
Animals are very useful to humans either as food, clothing or for experiment purposes. Some animals also serve as companions to older folks and to persons with disabilities.
Views on cruelty
There are two schools of though as to what type of animal treatment is tolerable and what is to be considered totally unacceptable.
- Some animal welfare groups agree that animals are useful to humans and can thus be used for food or for experiments. However, the processes used and the treatment of animals undergoing such processes should be improved so as to inflict the less possible harm and pain to the animals.
- There are conservative animal welfare groups which oppose all uses of animals even for food and most especially for experiments.
Required/prohibited acts
The Animal Welfare Act provides the guidelines for the proper treatment of animals, either as pets, for commercial purposes, and even for use in laboratories.
The law provides that animals should be given proper care before and even after surgical procedures. Anesthesia must be used for animals that will be subjected to pain. It is also prohibited to sell or purchase animals for purposes of having them join animal fights for betting.
The practice of engaging animals in a fight for purposes of entertainment or betting can be seen in the traditional cockfighting, horse fighting and bullfighting activities in most parts of the world.
In first world countries, animals are often killed for their fur and leather, turning them into exorbitantly-priced fur coats and crocodile shoes.
In India, animal cruelty consists of
- Causing animals to suffer unnecessarily
- Keeping an animal under a heavy leash for long periods and for unnecessary reasons, making the animal suffer from pain
- Keeping an animal in a shelter or cage, causing him pain and discomfort
- Failing to give food and water to an animal in captivity