I can never forget what I saw that day. I was returning home from school, my mind cluttered with all the assignments that were given today when suddenly I heard a commotion near the end of a street. I turned around to see a bunch of seven-eight-year-old school students circling around and laughing loudly at something in the middle. My curiosity took better of me and I headed towards that group.
I was horror-stricken.
A kid in the middle had broken pieces of brick in his hand and was throwing it towards a puppy. The puppy shrieked helplessly and tried to run away. Sadly, he could not get far as he had hurt his leg. Still, he limped with all his strength while the boys amused themselves with this show. Some were rolling in the ground with uncontrollable fits of laughter while others encouraged the boy, their ‘hero’, to continue on. Luckily, I managed to stop this with the help of some other adult passersby. The kids scuttled away, and the puppy received proper medical attention.
This is only but one of the thousands of animal cruelty cases that occur each day. Even the very minute that you have spent reading these lines, an animal is getting abused somewhere in the world. In the United States alone, 10 million animals are mistreated each year. Asia has one of the highest animal cruelty cases and a recent report published by ‘Four Paws’ shows that 9 million dogs and 1 million cats are being cruelly slaughtered in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia every year. It is very saddening to know that countless animals are getting butchered and inhumanely treated all around us. As we strive to make a change and put an end to these atrocities, we must first identify the root causes for this issue:
Lack of proper guidance: Insufficient education and lack of proper guidance is one of the primary causes for people to treat animals like objects. Kids who are born and brought up in an environment where people already have a negative mindset against animals like stray dogs and cats will most likely turn out to be like them in the future. That is why there is a high number of animal cruelty cases carried out by kids living in rural areas of Asia.
Using animals for monetary purposes: Millions of animals are targeted each year for the sole purpose of gaining money. They are used for the illegal trading of fur, meat, animal body parts, and many more. In Asia, around 20,000 bears are currently held in captivity for bile extractions that are used to make traditional medicines.
Improper regulation and monitoring of laws: Even though many countries have adopted harsher laws against animal cruelty, the number of cases is still undisturbed. It is because in most of the developing and underdeveloped countries, it is easy for perpetrators to get away with their crimes due to corruption. A lot of the abuse cases are left unnoticed as people carry on with their inhumanities.
A correlation between animal abuse and domestic violence can also be drawn. According to ‘The Humane Society’, 71 percent of domestic violence victims reported that their abuser also targeted pets. It is people’s inability to consider animals as living beings that make them condone such unfathomable crimes. They discard their emotions and continue on treating them as tools or objects.
It doesn’t have to go on like this.
There are many ways you can create a meaningful impact and help minimize the rate of animal cruelty. If you wish to donate, you can help out countless NGOs that are working tirelessly for this cause. Here are some of them:
7. Your local animal shelters
Another great way to put an end to such atrocious crimes is educating yourself about this issue and spreading awareness among others. Stay updated about any animal cruelty cases around your neighborhood and point out any cases that go unnoticed. Thousands of animal abuse cases go unnoticed throughout the world because onlookers hesitate to report them. Condoning such actions and not putting a hand to stop it is equally as bad as doing the crime.
You can help spread awareness by raising your voice and educating your friends and peers about this issue. Raising your voice doesn’t necessarily mean giving motivational speeches. One can use any medium that they prefer to express their emotions. Social media, art, music, YouTube videos, writing blogs are some of the many mediums that you can choose to shed light on the animal cruelty cases that are occurring around you.
If we all do our part in protecting the lives of these animals, the rate of animal cruelty can be drastically reduced. Humanity has prevailed countless times and will prevail once more as we all work together and raise our voices against these crimes.
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