Every 60 second, an animal suffers abuse. Dogs are involved in 70% of all reported cases of animal abuse. The sport of bullfighting causes 10,000 deaths in bulldogs. A dog will try to grab the snout from a bull that is pinned. The United States alone uses 1.13 million animal specimens to test for anything from drugs and radiation to surgical techniques or genetic manipulation. The egg industry kills millions of day old male chicks in macerators, which are machines that cut up solids and reduce them to tiny pieces. Animal abuse is a reality that has many shocking statistics. Slowly, but surely, laws to protect animals have evolved over the years. How have laws evolved since their inception? To understand the problem, we must first know what abuse is.
People should be more aware of crimes such as animal abuse for many reasons. Animal violence can be an indication of future violence. 70% of the animal abusers convicted of animal violence have criminal records. Mental health services can help us to stop the bloodlust. Zoosadism describes the pleasure you get from cruel treatment of animals. Zoosadism leads to sociopathic tendencies. These animals have no voice. This is why they’re targeted. The word “animal” usually brings to mind violence. Animal abuse can take many forms. The most common is neglect. Animal abuse includes more than just violence. It also covers crimes against animals. Animal abuse can include anything from leaving an animal in extreme cold or chained for a long time to not providing veterinary care when needed. However, these laws haven’t been around for all of American history. Mass media usually ignores abuse of lab animals. If you think of the animals that are being tested, you will probably think more about it. Imagine the life they live in cages, and how they have done nothing to deserve this. The animals are exposed to diseases that have never been seen in any other species. Seizures, blindness and surgeries are just some of the things they have to endure. They are then usually put back in their cage after all this. The U.S. laws do not prohibit other cruelties such as starvation, burning, isolation, and drug exposure. U.S. law does not require the use of analgesics. They are also psychologically scared because they can see that animals similar to themselves have been killed. They have no power over their own lives. On August 24, 1966, the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act was passed into law. The law set out the minimum standards of animal care for animals such as cats, dogs, primates and guineapigs. This can include anything from food, housing, water and handling to veterinarian care. The Animal Welfare Act, which was passed in 1970, now applies to all warmblooded mammals. The first laws to protect animals were passed.
As time went on, these laws began to change. After ten years, the Laboratory Animal Welfare act expanded to cover all animal carriers, brokers, and handlers. It is a requirement of the law that you have a vet certificate before transporting animals over state borders. All dogs, regardless if they were used for a specific purpose, are required to be protected by the law. The law states that federal agencies like the NIH (National Institutes of Health), the Air Force and Army, who use animals for research, must comply with the new act. 1985 marked the beginning of the law’s impact on the meat-processing industry. In 1985, the ISLAA was incorporated into the Food Security Act. ISLAA’s purpose was to reduce the suffering and distress of laboratory animals. All research facilities are required to have a committee for institutional animals. A veterinarian and a non-affiliated person must make up this committee. The committee will inspect lab and inform the lab of any corrections that need to be made. Labs will be required to fix any issues immediately. If the USDA is not notified immediately, if they do not correct them, then this will happen. In this case, the grant will be suspended or revoked. Approximately 20 year later in 2008 we have another law change. The Food, Conservation and Energy Act is the new law. This act amends the Animal Welfare Act. The amended law increased the fines for animal cruelty. Prior to the changes, the penalty was $2,500 a day per animal for each violation. The fine for a violation of animal law per day was $2,500 before the amendment.
The FBI did not change its policy on these crimes until 2014, a year that was relatively recent. The FBI had previously categorized animal abuse into a “other” section, which contained crimes of lesser importance. Animal abuse crimes became less valuable. The crime was harder to trace and locate. It was not until 2014 that this category was created. Animal abuse has four subcategories, including simple/gross negligence, intentional abuse and torturing, organized abuse (such cockfighting and dogfighting) and animal exploitation. How did animal abuse become a separate category? All thanks to Animal Welfare Institute’s and National Sheriff’s association’s efforts.
These are the main changes to the laws on animal abuse. If the laws are changed, it must be because people are violating them. Many cases of people breaking these laws have come to the nation’s attention. Michael Vick’s dog-fighting case is one of them. This case involves a NFL quarterback who has a $130,000,000 contract, and he is also involved in a gambling ring that includes animal-fighting.
Michael Vick owned a house in Virginia. The house may have looked normal, but it was actually a dogfighting arena. Michael Vick ran Bad Newz Kennels with three of his associates. The pitbulls were fought and gambling was done, which is illegal. Vick was unaware of the scheme and it went smoothly until one associate was arrested for drug charges. It was discovered that the associate had listed his property as an address. The authorities found the property to be absolutely disgusting. They found 54 dogs that were underfed, scared and frightened. There was also an arena with other tools commonly used in dog fighting arenas. Federal officials, along with the U.S. Department of agriculture and other experts, carried out a thorough search. They found 8 dog corpses in mass graves.
Vick denied ever knowing about the situation and went so far as to claim that he never visited the property. He then blamed the family members living there. Vick was forced to plead guilty as the truth eventually came out. He acknowledged that he knew about the scheme, funded it and accepted full responsibility. He admitted to all of his wrongdoings. He made the dogs take part in different testing sessions. The dogs that failed the test were put to death in a variety of ways. These methods ranged anywhere from electrocution and slamming to hanging. Naturally, the NFL suspended him until he’d served his punishment.
The Surry County Jury brought two separate charges against Vick. SS 3.1-796.124 is a Class 6 felony that makes it a Class 5 felony to promote, encourage, sponsor, sell, train, or own any dog for the purpose of animal fighting. One count under the VA Code Ann. SS 3.1-796.122.H makes it a class 6 felony for a person to torture or ill-treat animals, including beating them, mutilating, or killing them. Vick finally confessed to his hands-on involvement when questioned by his accomplices. In the interview, Vick revealed that his previous statements about the Bad Newz Kennels were false. He claimed to have only funded the venture and now admits to having hung many dogs. Vick received a sentence of 23 months, compared to his colleagues who only got 18-21 months. Vick, after serving the months of prison, stated that he’d learned from mistakes and wanted to get a puppy to keep in his family.
All 49 dogs were adopted and rehabilitated by multiple rescues, shelters. Georgia was one of the dogs that were saved. The New York Times wrote an article on Georgia. In the article, it is described what Bad Newz kennels did to Georgia. It describes the scars of what Bad Newz Kennels had done to her. These dogs’ physical injuries must have been painful, but their emotional scars will never heal. These dogs were able to survive the worst. These dogs were made to fight and suffer for their own lives. They were forced to perform and fight for their owners who enjoyed watching them suffer. But they survived and found new owners that gave them the love, comfort and care they needed. What made this case so significant? The case made the nation more aware and opened their eyes to the dangers that animal fighting poses. Even if animal fighting is illegal, it can still happen.
Animal abuse laws were enacted to protect lab animals. The law has evolved with time to protect the majority of animals. In the future, I hope that hunting for sport will be banned. A future in which man’s best companion can call us his best friend. We will provide the same care and support to our pets as they do for us. The future of animals in all forms.
