My Speech For July 7, 2009~ Animal Abuse

here is my speech i will be presenting tomorrow! ~ I hope you like it!

Did you know that dogs, cats, and other animals suffer from abuse every day? According to HSUS.ORG, 1,880 animal abuse cases were reported in 2007. Today I am going to talk to you about Animal Cruelty and Abuse.

1. First, I’m going to talk about, the most common victims in animal abuse are dogs. Pit bulls in particular are most likely to be mistreated. Why are dogs the most common animals of abuse? No one really knows why dogs are chosen to be the most abused. My personal opinion is that, dogs are the most common type of house pet, so they are most likely to be affected.

64.5% (1,212) of the 1,880 animals abused in 2007 involved dogs. An example of dog cruelty or neglect, is leaving a dog outside in the rain, hot weather or sun 24/7, with no water, no food, or no one to be around. This happened to my dog. He was left out in the backyard, tied up in the middle of the hot summer days while his “family” left for vacation, and never came back! One very common type of dog abuse is, unintentionally OR intentionally leaving your dog in a hot car. If it’s not okay to leave your kids in the car, it is not okay to leave your dog in the car either. According to readingeagle.com, a hot car can turn deadly to a dog in just five minutes, even if the weather is not very hot. In JUST ONE fatal incident of a dog being left in a car, it was only 70 degrees. A lady stopped at home, parked in the shade, and came out after what she said was 15 minutes. By the time officers got there, the shade had moved, turning the car into what officers called, “A solar powered Easy Bake Oven.” A dog’s normal body temperature is 101 degree. Once it reaches 106 degrees the result is everything from nerve damage, heart problems, liver damage, systemic organ failure, and all this can happen in just a matter of minutes.

18% (337) of the 1,880 animals abused in 2007 involved cats. A lady just recently lost her home and went to jail for cruelty of her cats. She let them live in their fecal matter, did not clean up after them, and her house was non livable b/c of this situation. She got out of jail but still has 115 counts of animal cruelty on her record.

25% (470) of the 1,880 animal abused in 2007 involved other animals. An example of “animal cruelty” that has been said is, leaving a betta fish in a tank smaller than 3 gallons, without a filter and a heater. Now, I think that is ridiculous. I don’t think that is considered animal cruelty but I personally would never leave my betta fish, or any other fish in a bowl. I have a betta fish, in a 3 gallon tank with a filter, but not a heater..is that considered animal abuse? I don’t think something as simple as that would be in that category. Different people have different opinions. I think if you are feeding your fish the recommended daily amount of food, and keeping it in water at all times, you are not abusing it.

2. What exactly is Animal Cruelty? Animal cruelty is acts of violence or neglect perpetrated against animals. Animal NEGLECT is failure to provide them with the basic of requirements such as food, water, shelter, shade, and veterinary care. This may be due to ignorance on the owners part and it usually handled by requiring the owner to correct the situation. If the problem is not corrected, the animal will be removed from the neglectful person by law enforcement authorities. Animals involved in Abuse or Cruelty cannot defend themselves, to a certain extent. People don’t understand that dogs are just as good as humans. I know they can’t talk to tell us what they want, when they want it, or how they are feeling, but anyone who doesn’t treat an animal like a human, in my eyes is some type of abuse. They were brought onto the earth to be friends to people, and part of families, not to be abused, neglected, starved, and treated like dirt.

3. Some people might not agree, or they might have different opinions but an animal being homeless is a type of abuse, neglect, or cruelty. One example is, if someone is mad at their animal and let it outside and just let it go, that is abuse. They will not have food, water, shelter, shade, etc, The basic necessities of living. If you see an animal on the side of the road, get it, take it home and bring it into your family, or bring it to a shelter! If you don’t step up and do that, how do you know the next person will? And if that person doesn’t, how do you know the next person will? It will keep going on like a chain reaction and that animal, no matter what it is will die. So save an animals life, if you see a stray and you dont pick it up, you are abusing an animal.

4. If you or someone you know are a witness, or has seen animal cruelty, there are numerous places you can call. You can call your local humane society, an animal shelter, animal control agency, or even your law enforcement, but please do call immediately!
In conclusion, If you think of it this way, in a matter of the time of me giving you this speech, A dog could’ve been dead from sitting in a car to hot. Fast huh? Please do your part and help an animal in need!