11 Facts About Animal Cruelty
1. Puppy
mills are large-scale commercial dog breeding operations that put greater
priority on profits than the health and well-being of the puppies.
- Many
dogs are plagued with illnesses or infirmaries like kidney or heart disease, as
a result of the poor conditions they’re kept in.
2. Each
year, thousands of young and healthy Greyhounds are killed because they lack
racing potential or have been injured while racing and are no longer
competitive.
3. Dogfighting
became prevalent in the U.S. after the Civil War, with professional pits
proliferating in the 1860s. And was a source of entertainment for police
officers and firemen.
4. Today
dogfighting has been reported in urban, suburban, and rural settings in all
regions of the country.
5. The
shifting of the earth’s plates in the Indian Ocean on Dec. 26, 2004 caused a
rupture more than 600 miles long, displacing the seafloor above the rupture by
perhaps 10 yards horizontally and several yards vertically. As a result,
trillions of tons of rock were moved along hundreds of miles and caused the
planet to shudder with the largest magnitude earthquake in 40 years.
6. It’s
been estimated that there are 900 to 2,000 new cases every year of animal
hoarding in the US, with a quarter of a million animals falling victim.
7. Over
100 million animals – mice, rats, dogs, cats, rabbits, monkeys, birds, among
others – are killed in U.S. laboratories for chemical, drug, food, and
cosmetics testing every year.
8. Every
major circus that uses animals has been cited for violating the minimal
standards of care set by the United States Animal Welfare (AWA).
9. Most
rodeo events rely on creating a stressful environment for the domesticated and
often docile animals involved. Participants often rely on harsh handling practices
(such as twisting calves’ tails or painful electric shocks) to make animals run
faster or buck harder.
10. The
exotic pet trade is a multi-billion dollar industry in the U.S. And while some
wild pets have been bred in captivity, many are taken directly from their
native habitats. The stress of being violently removed from their homes causes
a number of these animals to die prematurely.
11. Due
to genetic manipulation, 90 percent of broiler chickens (chicken bred
specifically for meat production) have trouble walking.
Sources: ASPCA, PETA, Born Free USA, Animal Planet,
Organic Consumers Association,
