Sydney Wilson

Project

Presentation

Progress Log

Capstone Essay

Sydney Wilson

Mr. Coussens

8 English

4 May, 2020

Capstone Research Essay

According to the Humane Society of the United States roughly one million animals around the world are abused or killed through domestic violence episodes every year. Around twelve million households have pets therefore 1 in 12 houses have an animal that is being abused in the U.S. To me this is unacceptable so I intend to spread awareness about animal abuse because most of the time these animals are innocent. For my Capstone Project I will be making a children's book to spread awareness. I will teach children how to identify and help animals in need. I am interested in this project because throughout my life I have been taught how to respect and care for animals and I think everyone should be able to learn how to protect animals. For background research, I needed to learn about animal abuse, how to identify it, and how to prevent it. Through this research, I hope to better my devotion to helping pets that are abused and help to show others how to carry out the action as well.

To truly understand animal abuse we must understand how pets were made in the first place since they were once wild animals. Animals became pets through domestication, when humans domesticate wild animals for human purposes and benefits (Lear). Common pets today like dogs and cats were once wild animals until humans realized they could make life a little bit easier. In Roman times, dogs were used for hunting and watching over livestock (“Dogs in Ancient Greece and Rome”). There has been records of selective breeding from Roman times. Cats have been domesticated since around 7,500 B.C and have been used since as pets or “rat-catchers”. It has been said that cats were attracted to human towns because that is where all of the rats lived (Lear). Though domestication of animals at the time sounded like a good idea, it has led to many new diseases such as tuberculosis and influenza (Lear). When animal domestication arose so did the boundaries of how people could treat animals.

With the domestication of animals came the early animal advocates that believed that the animals should be treated better. Now animal advocates were lots different from the ones that are seen today. They ate meat, believed in euthenasia (to end a suffering animal's life), and accepted animal labor as a part of a human necessity (Davis) but they still believed that animals were being mistreated. There were many different types of animal advocates during this time. Some advocates treated animal welfare as a barometer for human morality. Basically the better and more happy the animal was the stronger the morality of the animal’s owner (Davis). One of the first steps that was taken to protect animals was the Animal Protection Act (Davis). This act first entered the colonial record in December 1641 to protect animals from butal human actions (Davis). Understanding what the early animal advocates believed will help to better comprehend how much animal abuse has inflated throughout history.

Animal abuse is a complex topic and there are many different types of animal abuse that fall into the topic. There is a common misconception about animal abuse and that is the idea that it always has to be physical. Animal abuse can occur due to lack of money or education, mental illness, or intentionally (“How To Spot Animal Abuse”). Animal abuse also includes hoarding animals. When people have a hoarding disorder they tend to acquire and keep so many things that they cannot manage it all. That is the same thing with animals, where people get and keep so many animals that they cannot care for them. This is dangerous for the animals because they will not get the attention and care that they need. Another way to identify animal abuse is organized abuse. Organized abuse consists of people forcing animals to fight each other (ex: dogfighting, cockfighting). Organized abuse usually is more common in places of corruption and are strongly linked with other crimes like homicides and drug cartels (“Animal Cruelty Facts and Stats”). Animal abuse includes many different things and will not always be noticable, but there are ways to possibly tell if animal abuse is occuring.

Abuse can also be found by what environment the animal is living in. For example an animal tied up outside for long periods of time, being left outside in extreme weather, living in a cramped cage with little room, cramped with other animals in one small space, and foul odors coming from where the animal is living are all possible signs that the animal is being abused (“How To Spot Animal Abuse”). Evidence of animal abuse can also be found directly on the animal. Open wounds, patchy skin, weight loss, flea/tick invasion can all be signs of abuse (“How To Spot Animal Abuse”). If any of these are found on an animal it could be they are being abused. Learning this evidence will help people to become more aware of the signals of animal abuse and could potentially save an animal’s life.

Once animal abuse occurs it can sometimes be hard to identify and stop it, but there are easy things to do to prevent animal abuse. The first step to preventing abuse is obvious, and that is to be a good owner. Give animals the love and good life that they deserve (“Ways to Prevent Cruelty to Animals”). Most of the time the animals are completely innocent and deserve nothing less than a good life. Part of being a good owner is to teach children to respect animals (“Ways to Prevent Cruelty to Animals”). Children follow by example of the people that they look up to, so if they see that a loved one hurt an innocent animal they are going to start thinking that it is ok to do that. If the children start thinking that hurting an animal is ok then they will continue to do it. Then when they grow up they could possibly believe that if they could hurt animals without any consequences, then they could hurt a person without any consequences as well. Another way of preventing animal abuse is to be aware. Teach others about the facts and statistics of animal abuse so that they can help prevent the abuse as well. When animal abuse is found be aware that animal abuse is commonly linked to domestic violence so it is possible not only an animal is being hurt. The last thing to be aware of when fighting against animal abuse is that animal abuse or neglect does not always mean that the owners do not love them anymore. It may mean that the owner does not have the resources to care for them properly (“Ways to Prevent Cruelty to Animals”). Not every case of abuse is going to be violent. Identifying animal abuse while it is occuring is a difficult task to do but there are simple steps to take to help avert abuse.

There are many sources that state what animal abuse is and how to stop it but why should animals be protected in the first place? One of the reasons that animals should be protected is the animals provide healing for humans. The Gentle Barn, just north of Los Angeles, California, heals and rehabilities abused and neglected animals and welcomes struggling visitors to meet the animals (Jones). These visitors are usually young adults struggling with gang related crimes, abuse, disorders, and addictions. The Gentle Barn gives these kids a chance to relate with the animals and see that they do not always have to feel the way they do now. Miss Mejia-Schnaufer, a young woman talks about her experience meeting a goat named Sophie that saved her life (Jones). “Before I came to the Gentle Barn, nothing gave me hope that life was worth living, but when I met Sophie, I thought she had the most incredible calm and open energy. There was this flow of love back and forth between us that I was feeling so in need of.” Stories like this happen all around the world and for human abuse victims their animals can act as their confidant in their abuse (“Animal Abuse And Violence”). Another reason to protect animals is because they are used in domestic violence. Since the animals are (in most domestic abuse cases) the only comfort for the victim so the abuser may abuse the animal in front of a child or their partner to keep them from reporting the abuse. The abuser is also trying to send the victim a message that they could be next. Basically the animal is being used as a pawn in the abusers game (“Animal Abuse And Violence”). In one study 70% of domestic violence reported that their abuser also abused animals (“Animal Cruelty Facts and Stats”). Animals provide safety, comfort, and healing for people in need but they are also manipulated by abusers and should be protected.

One of the most effective ways to prevent animal abuse is by teaching children about it. Doing this could help break the cycle of animal abuse. Children who grow up with and witness animal abuse are 3 times more likely to abuse animals and play an abusive role in a relationship (“Animal Abuse And Violence”). Teaching children to respect animals will help them to not grow up believing that abusing animals is a good thing to do. If they are never told that it was a bad thing they will continue to do it. Another reason why children should be taught about animal abuse is that it could potentially save a family from abuse. A way to tell if there is domestic abuse occuring is to ask a child in the family about their pets so if a child knows what animal abuse is they can report it. If a child does not know what animal abuse is and witnesses they or engages in it they commonly need mental health treatment plans that include animal therapy and company (Randour). Educating children about animal abuse could help break a cycle of abuse and potentially could save a family from abuse.

Through this research of animal abuse and learning about the early stages of it, how to identify it, how to prevent it, and why it should be taught to children, I have learned a plethora about animal abuse. I have learned that animal abuse is not always physical and is not always intentional. Furthermore, I have learned that animal abuse does not always mean that the owner does not love the animal, it may mean they do not have the resources to care for the animal. I intend to use this information to create a children’s book to inform children about the importance of animal abuse. This is so that the next generation of kids will teach others that abusing animals is not okay and will eventually end the cycle of abuse. Animals provide healing and comfort to people in need. Their comfort has saved people's lives. Animals are innocent and do not deserve to go abused. Millions of animals facing abuse go silent without anyone ever knowing and teaching young children about how to respect animals, this will help to end that.

Works Cited

“Animal Abuse And Violence.” Wisconsin Humane Society, n.d, https://www.wihumane.org/advocacy/laws/animal-abuse-violence. Accessed 8 April, 2020.

“Animal Cruelty Facts and Stats.” The Humane Society of the United States, n.d, https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/animal-cruelty-facts-and-stats. Accessed 8 March, 2020.

Davis, Janet. “The History of Animal Protection in the United States.” The American Historian, n.d, https://www.oah.org/tah/issues/2015/november/the-history-of-animal-protection-in-the-united-states/. Accessed 13 April.

“Dogs in Ancient Greece and Rome.” Penelope Chicago, n.d. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/miscellanea/canes/canes.html. Accessed 20 April, 2020.

“How To Spot Animal Abuse (And How You Can Help).” Animal Kind Veterinary Hospital, 12 September, 2018, https://www.animalkind.com/blog/how-to-spot-animal-abuse-and-how-you-can-help/. Accessed 6 April, 2020.

Jones, Karen. “In the Company of Animals, Healing for Humans.” The New York Times, 1 November, 2011, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/giving/at-the-gentle-barn-animals-and-people-find-healing-together.html?searchResultPosition=2#after-story-ad-1. Accessed 18 February, 2020.

Lear, Jessica. “Our Furry Friends: the History of Animal Domestication.” Journal of Young Investigators, Feb. 2012, https://www.jyi.org/2012-february/2017/9/17/our-furry-friends-the-history-of-animal-domestication. Accessed 2 April 2020.

Randour, Mary Lou. “Children and Animals At Risk.” Animal Welfare Institute, n.d, https://awionline.org/content/children-and-animals-risk. Accessed 13 April, 2020.

“Ways to Prevent Cruelty to Animals.” FOUR PAWS International, 22 March, 2019, https://www.four-paws.org/campaigns-topics/topics/companion-animals/preventcrueltytoanimals/ways-to-prevent-cruelty-to-animals. Accessed 6 April, 2020.