Animals have the Right to Protect themselves

Animals having little to no rights has led humans to severely underestimating their overall welfare and treatment. An all-purpose approach should be carried out regarding the rights and protection of animals: one that balances both corporate farmerr's needs and animal activistr's ideas, in order to ensure a successful, fair outcome. The current status of animal cruelty is a rising issue in American society and the world as a whole. In this day in age, mistreatment of animals leads to a wide range of subtopics; covering anything from abandoned, sick pit bulls, to caged, malnourished factory hens. The case of nineteen-year-old, Calvin Jamaal McLean, is just one example of how domestic animals are not being properly protected against human wrongdoings. During January 2016, Calvin Jamaal McLean was found to have brutally hurt and abandoned his 18-month-old female pit bull, named Lily (1, Prensky). She was found alone in an apartment complex in Greenville, North Carolina. Many domestic animal abandonment cases involve apartment complexes due to certain building restrictions, as Matthew Prensky said, For areas like Greenville, a major contributing factor to animal surrenders involved apartment complexes. Multiple apartment complexes around the area have guidelines for pet ownership (1 Prensky). In the end of the case, Calvin was put into the Pitt County Detention Center on a bond of $110,000, after he was found responsible for abusing and abandoning young Lily (1 Prensky). Do you think this charge will stop others from committing similar crimes in the future? Officer Tim Langley, the director of the Animal Protective Services at the Greenville Police Department believes, if more violators received a harder sentence than less people would be inclined to commit that crime (2 Prensky). This specific account related to the mistreatment of animals is just one of many that occur on the daily. If not now, when will the topic of animal cruelty cease to be such a rising issue in the United States? (***add sentence for ending?) Corporate farming companies perspective on restricting animals protection rights is easily regarded to by the way they treat their animals. Many farming companies claim they do not want their animals to gain any rights, now or in the future, because it would completely distort their production methods. As stated in an HSUS report, much of industrial agribusiness continues to view them (farm animals) as commodities, rather than sentient individuals capable of experiencing joy and frustration, pain and suffering (1 HSUS). Farms across the world confine their animals into tiny cages and crates, to insure the maximization of their production numbers. Many ignore the welfare of their animals and force them to do unnatural and inhuman activities, for example, forcing hens to lay outrageous numbers of eggs per day (2 HSUS). Cases of farming corporations choosing their production numbers over the welfare of their animals include restricting farm animals into battery cages, and gestation and veal crates, for extremely long periods of time. For example, pigs may be crowded into a barn to the point that their individual growth and reproduction is reduced, yet the performance of the herd as a whole will increase (1 HSUS). This increase in the herds performance as a whole, causes farmers to continue believing the restriction of animals protection rights is for the best. The greater number of animals at their farm, the greater production rates will be; weather the animals are safe or unsafe, is not part of the equation. In the end it comes down to their willingness to give up manufacturing standards in exchange for their animals health necessities. Many animal activists believe animals, both domestic and wild, should be able to fully gain protection rights. They numerously try to campaign for animals to have the complete right to protect themselves, mainly against humans. According to the article, When the Law Recognizes Animals as People, For much of the twentieth century, the law considered pets, or companion animals, to be property akin to a rug or a toaster. Before that, pets had even fewer protections: Someone could steal and kill a pet without facing any penalties (2 Monyak). Animal activists are standing up for the beings who voices are not being heard by the world. One specific animal protest group, often recognized as DXE, openly challenged the safety of about 100,000 chickens who are housed at the Liberty Road Farm, in Petaluma California (1 Digitale Minichiello). This occurred in May of 2018 and it is believed to be the groups fourth protest for animals rights and protection. The activists entered Liberty Road Farm and removed ten chickens from the tens of thousands of chickens that were on the farm. They then went across the road and sang freedom-themed songs and held up flowers. Many said they intended on coming back to the farm, to check on the remaining chickens health, even if it resulted in their arrest. Cassie King, one of the many organizers that was arrested after entering the private property of Liberty Road Farm said, When the law is failing us, consumers and individuals have the right, and even the obligation, to reveal whatr's happening behind closed doors (2 Digitale Minichiello). Although the protestors were trying to provide aid and care to the sick and injured chickens, they also wanted to document the farmr's violations of Californiar's animal cruelty laws. Weber, the owner of Liberty Road Farm, completely and utterly denies the activistr's claims of his chickens being neglected or abused (4 Digitale Minichiello). Other animal activist groups, who may not be so open to getting arrested like DXE, strive to protect animals in other ways. For example, a nonprofit organization, known as The Nonhuman Rights Project, has requested that animals be transferred from captivity to animal sanctuaries (4 Monyak). Even with multiple setbacks and risks taken, many animal activists strongly believe their actions will greatly affect the future years to come. There are numerous possible solutions, balancing the needs for both farming corporations and animal activists, that may abolish animal cruelty completely. Since farming corporations want their production numbers to stay relatively high and animal activists do not want to witness animals hurting any further, one influential change could be different housing options for the animals. As the HSUS stated, One study demonstrated that birds in a cage-free, perch system moved on average seven times as far as the comparison group kept in cages (3 HSUS). Additional found in HSUSr's research, all the symptoms of chronic stress were eliminated after the calves were removed from the crates (9 HSUS). Also, new laws could be passed to control the treatment of animals. Although, all fifty states in the United States have laws in place to prevent animal cruelty (3 Monyak), clearly this law is not properly enforced or strong enough to keep humans from lashing out on animals, severely confining them, or participating in even worse acts. Furthermore, animal activist groups could outwardly promote the production of vegan options in supermarkets and restaurants. This phase change would not only help preserve animals health and welfare, but also humans. Overall, there are many solutions that could effectively eliminate animal cruelty, and benefit both, the farming and the activist parties at the same time. Although many animals needs are met fairly easily compared to humans, that does not automatically mean we can take advantage of them. Fully abolishing animal cruelty will take many years of hard work and dedication from the farming corporations, as well as, the animal protest groups, but it is not impossible to achieve.

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