Animals in Sport

What do we mean by having Animals in Sport? 

‘Animals in sport’ means having animals do physical work, often for human enjoyment. Some sports are legal, such as horse racing or bullfighting, but the laws surrounding them widely depend on a country’s culture or ideologies. Many mindsets believe that animals don’t truly have emotions, and that humans have the so-called ‘right’ to control them for our own pleasure. Other sports are illegal in most areas, but still happen underground as the subject of blackmarket businesses, such as dog fighting. 

Sometimes animals in sport can be a good thing, for example, dog shows. Dog shows demonstrate the impressive skills dogs can perform like jumping over a set of bars or running through a tunnel - skills that only come from love and training. Sports can help energise animals and give them a good time exercising. 

Issues of Animals in Sport

• Illegal animal sports often come with gambling, where immense amounts of money are cashed out. It is illegal money that is being gained and isn’t taxed to the government. 

• Animals are often abused both physically and psychologically:

  • The animals might be stored in solitary confinement in tight spaces.

  • They might be deprived of social interaction with other animals of the same breed, which could drive them into a state of depression. 

  • Horses are euthanized if they get injured in extremely intense races. They are also whipped to go faster in races. 

  • Animals might be beaten to provoke them and put on an ‘entertaining show for the audience’. They are put through immense forms of trauma for no reason other than human enjoyment. Does this feel right to you?

Legal action

Some blood sports like dog fighting have been criminalized, as it is cruel to have animals fight each other to the death. Greyhound racing also became illegal, since these dogs are often overexerted. Hunting some animals that are seen as endangered or valuable to the environment have been protected by law. 

However, depending on culture and societal norms, some cruel animal sports are still legal in the world. For example, hunting animals is often legal if the hunter has a permit, even if the techniques they use for slaughter are inhumane and cruel. Additionally, the government has ‘more pressing matters’ on their hands, so there isn’t a large incentive to enforce these laws. As the penalties are not very severe, the perpetrators find loopholes to sneakily bypass the regulations. Which is why the government should focus on enforcing these laws properly. 

Conclusion

To conclude, while some animal sports have been criminalized, there is still a long way to go before humans stop letting their greed for entertainment engulf them. Many people depend on animal sports for their income, so it would be very difficult (even in the far future) to completely eradicate these sports from existence. However, we should still aim to not support these sports, particularly because you never know what the animals go through behind the scenes.

Animal Cruelty

Animal cruelty is not a new thing, it has been around since 5000 BC. Back then, it was fine to use animals for harder work that was too difficult for normal human beings, but at least animals were being treated better than they are now.

Although the definition of ‘animal cruelty’ has obviously changed since the beginning, people don’t use animals for work anymore. Now, it has gotten less and less practical as we use machines like bulldozers and cranes. Yet, certain individuals still use animals for labour, making a quick buck at the cost of many animals’ freedom and lives. People who treat their ‘pets’ in a harmful way or lock them up in such small cages commit a heinous crime.

Issues with animal cruelty

Animal cruelty never ends well. The best outcome is that the criminal gets arrested and the abused animals are adopted into a loving family. According to the website ‘Shelter Animals Count’, 85% of animal abusers actually get arrested. However, this is just the number of recorded cases and not the actual amount. In reality the number could be 50% or even lower. Moreover, even if the abused animals were to be adopted into a new family, they will usually experience trauma for a long period of time. So even if they did get into a loving family, they would likely still feel anxious. Animals may accidentally even be sent to another abuser, for example the family might not even be caring towards them

Why should we care?
You may have already pondered the question,“Why should I care?”. There are several reasons why you should. Firstly, for ethical reasons. After all, if you were to be locked inside of a cramped space with only a bowl of food and water with little to no air conditioning, you probably wouldn’t be happy. Secondly, for legal and social justice. Abusers are criminals. We should aim to stop these people in order to prevent them from harming animals as well as other people in the future. Lastly, helping these animals as a society may promote kindness towards animals and encourage communities to become more empathetic and responsible, developing a more compassionate society. 

Conclusion
In conclusion, animal cruelty is a worldwide issue which frequently goes unreported. We can help combat this issue by donating to animal shelters and animal rights groups, or by reporting these cases to the local police. Together, let’s protect our animals and allow them to live a happier life, without having to struggle.

Sources
https://www.shelteranimalscount.org/animal-abuse-facts-and-statistics-2024/