Did you know that an estimated 10 million animals die every year in the United States due to animal cruelty? Animal abuse is a problem all over the world, but did you know that 70 percent of all people who commit domestic violence also tend to abuse animals? Intentional cruelty to animals has a strong correlation with other crimes. Unfortunately, only a fraction of the animal abuse cases will ever see successful prosecution.
What can we do to help people take action in the fight against animal cruelty? I did some research and found a few different things we can do to fight back against animal cruelty.
Key Takeaways
1. It Starts with Yourself at Home
Unfortunately, totally getting rid of all animal abuse in the world will be about as easy as getting rid of all the other issues in humanity like starvation, poverty, and war. You can't control others.
Sometimes, becoming a beacon or a shining example of how to treat animals is one of the best ways to fight back against animal cruelty. If you’re a pet owner, fulfill the needs of your pets and go beyond giving them the basics—try to do the things that will give them their best life.
Be an example of kindness to animals and treat them in the way that you would want to be treated.
Some people choose to become a foster home for pets where they can help to rescue animals in their area. To do this, you may need to fill out an application, and they may require you to attend orientation. Orientation is meant to help you comply with all the laws around foster homes for pets.
2. Report Animal Cruelty to the Authorities
In cases where you witness cases of animal cruelty, neglect, or abuse, report it to the proper authorities. You want to take action to stop people from abusing animals and prevent more cruelty and harm to them. When reporting it, you may want to record the incident with your smartphone since cases like this often require strong evidence for a successful prosecution.
Photos or video will help to prove the case, but you also need to record the date, time, and details. Some of the things that might necessitate a report would include:
- 1Hoarding
- 2Lack of veterinarian care
- 3Abandonment
- 4Inadequate shelter
- 5Pets in cars
- 6Beating and physical abuse
- 7Organized animal fighting
To report to the authorities, you would either call your local animal control agency, or you would report it to the police if you don’t know your local agencies or lack those agencies. In general, I wouldn’t recommend you confront the person unless you know them really well because it can lead to a violent confrontation.
People who abuse animals will often be capable of other violent crimes.
3. Teach Your Children to Respect Animals
Changing minds in the outside world can prove difficult, especially with this type of person, but you can often teach your children to respect animals. Teach them to always treat animals with respect and consideration. This would be another case where you want to lead by example.
One of the interesting things about teaching a child to respect animals is that if they see other children abusing an animal, they can show them the right way as well, so you never know who you might indirectly influence besides your own child in the process.
Every living creature deserves kindness. Show your children the basic rules for treating animals with kindness and never to tease or provoke the animal. Some cats will be friendly, but there are others that are afraid of strangers—teach them to respect those boundaries.
At the same time, it protects your child because an estimated 50 percent of all animal attacks on children were provoked. Never leave young children alone with animals since this can be a recipe for disaster.
4. Get Active with Animal Rights Organizations
All states have some form of legislation against animal cruelty, but some states have more relaxed laws than others around it.
Getting active with animal rights organizations can help you to pass laws that will further protect animals while ensuring that they suffer less.
You might pick a specific thing that you want to target to increase your effectiveness.
There are many different abuses taking place across the country and each issue has its own unique challenges.
Animal testing, for example, is one that can be highly abusive. An example is where they give lab rats head injuries on purpose to test them for specific purposes. When I first heard this, I was horrified, and I still feel horrified at it, but there are many different causes you could fight for like:
Volunteer at a Homeless Pet Shelter
Not only is this a great way to meet other people who feel the same way as you do about animals, but it also helps you to make a difference in the lives of animals less fortunate. This type of work will usually involve feeding, bathing, walking, or cleaning the kennels of the animals.
At the same time, you also help to socialize less fortunate animals, and for people who love working with animals, it never feels like drudgery.
They also have sanctuaries where you can care for wild animals and farm animals, which can be an interesting experience that also helps you to take care of animals.
You may need to psychologically prepare yourself for this type of work because it can involve caring for sick, injured, or abused animals. You may need to have a lot of patience before getting started.
Final Thoughts
You can fight against animal cruelty in a variety of ways doing whatever you feel most comfortable with. Sometimes, it isn’t so much about fighting against it but not adding more to the pollution. Changing other people can be very difficult, but being a beacon of hope for animals can inspire others.
The other thing that I didn’t mention was how going vegan, vegetarian or plant-based can help you to lower the amount of suffering that animals must endure.
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