Keener 1 Kristy Keener Professor Julie Townsend English 1102 May 2, 2011 Rights for Beasties Animal a use

o!!urs when one infli!ts unne!essary "ain, suffering, or death u"on an animal# Thousands of animal a use !ases o!!ur e$ery year in the %nited &tates, show!asing a "ro lem our so!iety must deal with, des"ite the illegality of it and how far humans ha$e ad$an!ed themsel$es# To attle the "ro lem, so !alled animal !o"s 'AKA animal !ontrol offi!ers or animal welfare offi!ers( e)ist, laws, and $arious animal rights !am"aigns and welfare !harities thri$e# PETA 'Peo"le for the Ethi!al Treatment of Animals( stands as the fa!e of these !am"aigns, for etter or for worse# The R&P*A 'Royal &o!iety for the Pre$ention of *ruelty to Animals( situated in England may ser$e as a etter e)am"le, although foreign, and of !ourse the A&P*A 'Ameri!an &o!iety for the Pre$ention of *ruelty to Animals(, in e)isten!e sin!e 1+,, 'A&P*A(# PETA s"o-esman &u.anna Barnard on!e said, /Animal a users are !owards# They ta-e their issues out on the most defenseless eings a$aila le to them/ 'Peta(# Ta-e note of the word /issues#/ E$er !ome a!ross the saying floating around that many who murder and otherwise lay down $iolen!e u"on their fellow humans started with hurting animals0 More than 1ust a half o ser$ed notion, as one will learn in e$en a asi! introdu!tion to !riminal 1usti!e !lass, animal a use a""ears as a sym"tom of other !ondu!t disorders# 2n Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal Violence: Readings in Research and Application y Randall 3o!-wood and 4ran- As!ione, the authors note in their studies that /su 1e!ts###who ga$e a history of su stantial animal a use in

Keener 2 !hildhood and adoles!en!e tended to show diffuse aggression, in!luding $iolen!e towards "eo"le '256(#/ The Ma!donald triad 'AKA triad of so!io"athy(, whi!h !onsists of three eha$iors lin-ed with so!io"athi! eha$ior whi!h, together, highlight an in!reased ris- of future so!io"athi! eha$iors7 edwetting, firesetting, and torturing small animals 'Ma!donald(# %nsur"risingly, !onne!tions etween !hild a users, domesti! $iolen!e, and animal a users are re!orded# The A&P*A hea$ily su""orts the !onne!tion etween domesti! $iolen!e and animal !ruelty and thrusts it into the light# Based on all this, the idea that someone, es"e!ially a !hild, !ould torture or -ill an animal and get away free of !onse8uen!es should raise some alarm# E$en if one doesn9t ne!essarily !are a out the animals themsel$es, if they !are at least a out their fellow humans then !ruelty to animals should !on!ern this "erson as well sin!e it, in a way, !an e $iewed as the ti" of a mostly su merged i!e erg : the ti" re"resenting the animal !ruelty and the i!e erg re"resenting the other host of "ro lems "ossi ly "resent# A!!ording to "et:a use#!om9s data ase, most a users find themsel$es housed in the age range of 51 to 60 and the high ma1ority of a users identify as male# The fi$e most !ommon a use !lassifi!ations in the %nited &tates in order7 negle!t;a andonment, shooting, hoarding, fighting, and eating '"et:a use(# 2n <orth *arolina from 200= to 2010, "eo"le re"orted a total of a out 600 animal !ruelty !ases '"et:a use(, ut one should -ee" in mind that we !an ne$er -now the true amount of !rime that goes on# As of <o$em er 2010, still four states e)ist without felony "ro$isions for animal a use7 2daho, Mississi""i, <orth >a-ota, and &outh >a-ota# <orth *arolina had su!h a felony law ena!ted in 1??+ '"et:a use(# @owe$er, des"ite this law in "la!e, <orth *arolina lags ehind in that the ma)imum amount of 1ail time allowa le sums u" to only , months, the lowest out of all

Keener 5 the states and e8ui$alent to that of Mississi""i, whi!h has no felony law at all '"et:a use(# Ane !ould find it unsur"rising, howe$er, for a state that has no law against .oo"hilia 'o$er$iew(# The o$erall "ro lem isn9t always handled as well as it !ould e in *harlotte, <orth *arolina, either# My one en!ounter with the *harlotte Me!-len urg Animal *are B *ontrol di$ision left ehind a stinging disli-e# 2 ser$ed as witness to a near y "it ull !hained u" outside literally !onstantly, ar-ed madly at any "assing li$ing !reature, !learly malnourished, and e$entually !ontra!ted a ty"e of s-in rash# An!e enough had trans"ired, we !onta!ted Animal *ontrol and when they finally arri$ed, they too- the "it ull away# A out a month later the dog ine)"li!a ly returned to his a usi$e owners, a!- to into his old !onditions# Chen he loo-ed star$ed on!e more and !ontra!ted another ty"e of s-in disease, we !alled animal !ontrol again to "i!- u" the dog, this time ne$er returning it# <ot e$en si) months "assed efore the !learly a usi$e owners got old enough to "ur!hase a different "it ull who they then !hained u" outside in the same gra$e !onditions# &wiftly !onta!ted, Animal *ontrol arri$ed efore this dog !ould end u" loo-ing half dead as wellD they "i!-ed u" the "it ull, and the owners ha$e yet to uy another dog# Perha"s they !an9t# Although this situation features only one !ir!umstan!e, the di$ision !ertainly !ould ha$e handled it etter# 2t also gi$es rise to the 8uestion of whether those noted for a using a "et in the "ast should ha$e the !han!e to own another# Chat !an we do to further hel" !ur the issue0 Animal rights !omes fully into "lay here, along with the aforementioned !harities and !am"aigns that !ham"ion the rights and otherwise sim"ly wor- against animal !ruelty# Most of this wor- seems to re$ol$e around trying to get laws to "ass, starting trends, "assing out fa!tual statisti!s that hel" the animal rights !ause, suggesting $isitors do !ommunity ser$i!e relating to animals, "ossi ly "rinting news, and as-ing for donations#

Keener 6 Cor-s *ited As!ione, 4ran- and Randall 3o!-wood# Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal Violence: Readings in Research and Application# 2ndiana7 Purdue %ni$ersity Press, 1??+# Print# /A&P*A E A out the A&P*A#/ ASPCA# A&P*A, n#d# Ce # 2 May 2011# /Ma!donald triad E *lassi! Triads#/ Classic Triads# *lassi! Triads, n#d# Ce # 2 May 2011# /A$er$iew of Foo"hilia and Bestiality 3aws#/ Animal Legal & Historical Center# Mi!higan &tate %ni$ersity *ollege of 3aw, 200+# Ce # 2G Mar# 2011# /Pet:A use#*om : Animal A use *rime >ata ase Real:Time Hra"hi!al &tatisti!s#/ PetA use!com# Pet:A use#!om, n#d# Ce # 2G Mar# 2011# /Pet:A use#*om : Animal *ruelty 3aws7 4elony $s# Misdemeanor#/ Pet-A use!com# Pet: A use#!om, n#d# Ce # , A"r# 2011# /Peta !harity offers I1,000 reward to find !at -iller./ ""C, n#"#, , Jan# 2011# Ce # 2G Mar# 2011#