Animal Protection

Animal protection has always been in question whether animals deserve the same rights as humans. My answer to this is yes, they are living creatures. I’ve encountered many people whose response is, “No animals cannot feel.” I get frustrated when I hear that response and wish to slap them. I’ve always had a huge love for animals and is the main reasons why I wish to become a vet in the future. Sometimes I think that we do not deserve animals. They are so sweet, loving, and always there for us, but at times we take them for granted.

Last quarter I took a course called “Intro to Animal Science” and the professor quoted a quote that a philosopher once said and it left me thinking. Jeremy Bentham stated, “The question is not, can they reason?, nor can they talk but, can they suffer?” This left people in awe. It is something to think about. What is the difference from you and an animal? You can talk and express your feelings and pain while they can’t? They make noises, some bark while others squeal, that could be their version of speaking, but just because it is not actual words to where we, humans, are able to understand it shouldn’t be taking into consideration? Just like humans they experience pain, depression, loneliness, and other feelings, but they simply cannot say it out loud or in the form that we can. This is why I believe it is up to us to advocate for their protection and welfare.

In the United States, animal protection laws can be enacted and enforced on government level, but most animal protection legislation occur at state or local level. There are two types of laws: Federal Animal Protection laws and State and Local Animal Protection laws. One of the federal animal protection laws I am most familiar with is the Animal Welfare Act. The Animal Welfare Act was signed in 1966 and is the only Federal law that determines the treatment of animals in research, exhibitions, and transports. For State and Local Animal Protection laws can vary from state to state or city to city and focuses mainly on companion animals. One of the most common law for this category is called the “hot car” law. I am pretty sure the vast majority of people know what law this is, but if not then I will explain it. It is a law that prohibited people leaving unattended domestic animals, most common animals are dogs, in a vehicle when the temperatures are rising especially during the summer time. Over 25 states have some form of this law and that is great, but what about the rest of the states? It makes me question why they do not believe why this is an important matter. In my opinion, by not creating or enforcing a law similar to this a life is being in stake and could easily be prevented by a simple act as this one.

I believe this specific topic is overlooked. There are so many laws in place and some are evolving, but most of them do the bare minimum or are not specific enough to where people are able to cheat their way through it. For example, the Animal Welfare Act protects how animals in research are obtained and maintained, but fails to protect the how the animals can be used. I am not against animals being used for research purposes, but there are times where they are putting  animals in unnecessary research projects that in the end are killing millions of them every year. I know that at the end of the day animal cruelty will always be an issue and will continue to be a problem until everyone agrees on the value animals should hold, but until then it is nice to know there are non-profit organizations who focus on getting laws passed to help animals receive a better life, fight for more rights towards protections, and rehabilitate them.

Animal organizations play such a huge role in animal protections, but I believe the general population are who determine the outcome of animal protection. Animal organizations organize and hold campaign to fight towards improving animal welfare, but the voices of the people who contributes to the movement are the ones who are improving animal welfare. In order for organizations to continue gathering people to help improve animal law protections, they first must educate them. Not many people are aware of how animals get treated, that is why I believe this topic is overlooked. When a video of an animal being abused or mistreated surfs the internet, many comment or share the video, but I do not think that they look into it and contact an organization to help out. They feel some type of way, but then skip to the next video (at least that is what I believe). Education seems to be the key towards improving animal protection.