|
Most pet owners love and care for their animals and sometimes even treat them like family members. But domestic animals are also sometimes treated badly. This cruelty may be intentional abuse, or it can be a result of neglect. No matter whether it’s intentional or not, animal cruelty must be stopped.
Tame animals such as cats, dogs, horses and even livestock are the most frequent targets of deliberate abuse, as these animals spend significant time around humans. Some individual pet owners abuse their animals, but organized forms of animal abuse, such as dog fighting, also occur. From a young age, fighting dogs are trained for aggression, which usually involves brutal abuse. Often when an animal is too timid to fight, owners will have other dogs attack it as training.
Animal abuse is also connected with domestic violence. In one U.S. study, animal abuse had occurred in 88 percent of homes investigated for the physical abuse of children. Many abusers threaten to hurt beloved pets to manipulate their victims or just to enjoy the power it gives them. Victims of domestic violence even stay in abusive relationships, fearing that if they leave, their pets will suffer for it.
|