They Can Feel It Too Essay -- Animal Rights

Did you know that domestic violence against an animal as a first offence is only a class B misdemeanor and domestic battery against a human is a Class A misdemeanor? Did you also know that a Class A misdemeanor is about 2 times more severe than a Class B misdemeanor? What makes us humans so special and superior to animals? Why do animals have fewer rights and less protection than us? Animals have feelings too and need to be treated as such so I say it’s time for a change. All this abuse and neglect towards animals needs to stop. Animals can feel pain even though they may not express it the same way that us humans do. Animals need our voices to help close the loopholes in our laws. Someone has to speak up for them since they can’t speak for themselves. In media-reported animal cruelty cases, dogs, pit bulls, in particular, are the most common victims of animal cruelty. In 2007 64.5% of media-reported cases involved dogs, 18% involved cats, and 25% involved other types of animals. The HSUS (The Humane Society of the United States) estimates that nearly 1 million animals a year are abused or killed in connection with domestic violence. About 2,168,000 women and men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner in the U.S. every year. 63% of U.S. households own a pet, and 71% of domestic violence victims report that their abuser also targeted their animals. These statistics are very alarming. So is the fact that many convicted murderers and serial killers tortured animals when they were younger and progressed to killing humans. The other two red-flag behaviors are setting fires and wetting ones bed. Now I’m not saying every child that wets themselves should be put under a microscopic eye but all three of these behaviors together ... ...2383--.html Pristin, Terry. "New Jersey Daily Briefing;Tougher Animal Cruelty Law." New York Times 16 July 1996: 1. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=108&sid=58dd2e2a-f77d-4363-99b4-a8f9371ab8ab%40sessionmgr114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=29578437 VanKavage, Ledy. â€Å"Humane Law Enforcement in Illinois†, Petfinder.com. Spring 2002. Web. March 18, 2012. http://www.petfinder.com/how-to-help-pets/humane-law-enforcement-illinois.html Whitcomb, Rachel. "Veterinarian Recounts Zanesville's Tragic Killing Of 49 Exotic, Wild Animals." DVM: The Newsmagazine Of Veterinary Medicine 42.12 (2011): 7. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=7&hid=108&sid=58dd2e2a-f77d-4363-99b4-a8f9371ab8ab%40sessionmgr114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=69711284