Abusers may threaten or abuse animals in front of children and partners to keep them from reporting abuse or leaving. By hurting the animals, an abuser is sending the message that a human victim could be next. Children who witness such abuse are three times more likely to abuse animals and to play a role in an abusive relationship later in life.
When an animal is abused, a chain reaction begins in our community. Not only does an innocent animal get injured, but the person who commits the offense often falls into a cycle that could ultimately result in violence against other people. The evidence of a link between cruelty to animals and violence toward humans is compelling.
In fact, people who abuse animals are five times more likely to commit violent crime. Body condition scoring systems for cattle and horses have long been in place to help assess the condition of livestock, and in recent years scoring systems for dogs ranging from ideal to emaciated have been developed to help animal cruelty investigators and veterinarians assess cases of animal neglect.
A major shortcoming of many animal neglect laws is their failure to address all animal species. For instance, many statutes specifically apply only to dogs and cats or "companion animals" and exclude those considered "farm animals" or trapped wildlife. Prosecutors in some states have the option to charge an egregious case of animal neglect as a felony when the neglect was considered to have fallen under the definition of "torture," or was considered intentional although intent has been notoriously difficult to prove in court.
Still, felony convictions have been obtained in neglect cases resulting in the animals' deaths. There are several compelling reasons for treating animal neglect as a serious crime, including the extreme suffering involved and its implications for the welfare of other animals and people who may rely upon the abuser.
Be aware of the signs of animal neglect—including chained dogs, animal hoarding, or abandoned pets—and be willing to make a report to your local animal control agency. If your town or city does not have a local animal control, you can make a report to the sheriff or other law enforcement agency.
You may remain anonymous when filing a report. For example, some communities have fence-building projects for the owners of chained dogs who may not have enough money to build a fence. This approach is usually more effective if you're well acquainted with or are on positive terms already with the person in question.
In most cases, the education and monitoring of the neglect situation is best left to your community's law enforcement professionals. Animal cruelty and neglect FAQ. Contents What is animal cruelty?
Why is it a concern? Why would anyone be cruel to animals? Is there any evidence of a connection between animal cruelty and human violence? What happens when authorities prosecute an animal cruelty case? Can reports be made anonymously? How many animals are victims of cruelty each year? What can I do to help fight animal cruelty?
What is criminal animal neglect? How does it cause animal suffering? Are there other concerns? Are there laws against animal neglect? Can animal neglect be prosecuted as a felony offense? What can I do to help stop animal neglect? What is animal cruelty? This law primarily focuses on the housing, care, and transportation of animals used in labs, zoos, and bred and sold commercially. However, several species are not covered under the law: birds, rats, and mice bred for research, and farm animals amongst others.
In addition, the law prohibits some of the worst animal cruelty including burning, suffocating, and drowning of animals. The laws at the federal level can generally only impact those actions that cross state lines. For this reason, most animal cruelty laws in the United States are implemented by states and not the federal government. In Pennsylvania , the term includes failure to provide food, water, necessary veterinary care, and shelter; knowingly overloading, beating, or abandoning; tethering an unattended dog for more than nine hours within a twenty-four-hour window; and animal fighting amongst other acts.
In Alabama , cruelty to animals is defined simply as subjecting any animal to mistreatment or cruel neglect. The definition also specifically includes causing harm to an animal belonging to someone else without good reason. Before the EU had the European Convention on the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes which outlined the expectation that farmed animals be allowed to experience the five freedoms:. These outlines apply to member states of the EU, but countries also enact their own animal protection laws.
Portuguese law dictates a prohibition on unnecessary violence against animals, abandonment, purchasing an injured or sick animal for any purpose other than healing it, among other activities. Legislative Decree No. All fifty states and the federal government have laws that allow for animal cruelty to be prosecuted as a felony. Felonies are considered the most serious class of crimes in the United States.
The PACT Act provides for the prosecution of those that perform certain cruel acts such as crushing, burning, or suffocating animals to be tried for a felony. In the state of Florida , animal cruelty that results in the death or repeated harm of an animal is considered a third-degree felony.
Adopting pets instead of purchasing helps to ensure that there is space in animal shelters for pets that may be the victims of cruelty. In addition, it helps by not contributing to the cruelty of puppy mills. By donating time, money, and other resources to animal shelters you can help to increase the number of animals that rescues are able to help. Perhaps the most effective method of cutting down cruelty is making sure that the next generation of pet owners, kids, know how to treat animals and provide them with proper care.
Looking for cruelty-free products and eating a more plant-based diet helps reduce animal cruelty by limiting the number of animals suffering in labs for the production of cosmetics or on factory farms for food. To report animal cruelty seen online you can file a report with the Internet Crime Complain Center.
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