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Ethical issues surrounding euthanising animals
Ethical issues surrounding euthanising animals
Moral and ethical issues of euthanasia animals
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When you hear the term euthanasia in reference to animals you think of the process that is used to end the suffering of an animal by putting them in a painless and permanent state of sleep. Today the term euthanasia is used to give reason to the murders of innocent animals all over the world. Animals should only be put down by euthanasia if they are in pain or suffering. Unfortunately most dogs that are euthanized over the course of the year are not aggressive or suffering from any disease (The Humane Society of the United States). Most of the animals are euthanized due to overpopulation in animal shelters. Euthanasia is a cruel and unnecessary practice that is not in the best interest for the animal.
There are many different types of euthanasia animal shelters use to put down animals. The most popular type of euthanasia called intravenous injection, which is a poison containing sodium pentobarbital. This poison is injected in the heart or leg without any pain killers. The animal is put to sleep and in some cases they wake up when they feel the pain and start to struggle and fight the vet. More than one injection may be needed based on the weight of the animal. This process is also used for animals that are euthanized due to disease or injures. Another process is called the gas chamber. The animal is put into these gas chambers and “will usually scream and cry until they fall asleep” (Chrysta). Carbon dioxide is sent out and the animal will die in about twenty minutes. Many animal shelters believe this is an inhumane way of killing the animals and are against it. But there are still animal shelters in the United States that still use this method. Displacement of the neck or known as cervical dislocation is another f...
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One goal of euthanasia is to limit pain and suffering of animals, in some circumstances there is unnecessary pain and extreme suffering by prolonging your pet’s life. In the blog, “Is It Ethical to Euthanize Your Dog?” (2011), by Elliot D. Cohen, Ph.D, a few reasons are given for euthanasia, even among his heavy
Four journalists named Helen Jones, Larry Andrews, Marcia Glaser, and Fred Myers thought it would be a good idea to create a nonprofit organization to help animals that have are treated cruelly by either abuse or when they are left alone. The Humane Society has been helping animals since November 24, 1954(2). Their mission since the beginning has been celebrating animals and confronting cruelty. There are a great number of things that the Humane Society has been doing for the animals, like saving them from people who want to harm them. The list of animals that the Humane Society helps is very long, because they don’t just help the household pets that you might have thought. The conditions of the Humane Society change due to the types of animals
While some people may believe that euthanizing animals is important and can protect people from dangerous animals or that it puts animals out of pain; I strongly encourage them to look at the other side of the argument. Understanding that many people abuse euthanizing for their own convenience is just one of the reasons we should stop euthanizing. Among other reasons is that people need to understand that euthanizing can immensely hurt a population of species by killing too many too soon. Above all, letting nature take it's course by allowing animals to die when it's their time is why we should not allow humans to euthanize. We should not decide animals fate for them. Therefore, I encourage that we take a stand against euthanasia. Together, we can stop this cruel act against
First off, what is euthanization? reference.com describes euthanization as "the intentional ending of a life via a drug administered by a professional." There are many opinions on
Thousands of animals are put to sleep each year due to not having any available homes for them to be adopted. According to Jennifer Sexton and Tom Warhol in Domestic Animal Overpopulation, “The average female cat can produce two litters of six kittens per year, a female dog can produce one litter of six or more puppies per year, making pet overpopulation a significant problem.” Animal overpopulation is costing money and you can help the pets with spay and neutering programs. A new solution is mandatory contracts for breeders and spay and neuter programs. This paper will talk about spay and neuter programs, contracts for breeders, and why some people don’t think animal overpopulation is a problem. Thankfully there are solutions to this issue of animal overpopulation.
Did you know that euthanasia is legal for animals. First of all what is euthanasia? Euthanasia is where someone is in excruciating pain and wants to be put out of their misery (peacefully killed). Euthanasia is not legal anywhere in the real world even if people insist on being killed or say that they would rather be dead, it's
The lack of awareness programs attributes to animal hoarding greatly. The Robinson Rescue is an organization that “educate[s] pet owners about the importance of spay/neuter as a means of ending pet overpopulation.” ( ). This organization shows children how they should think of animals so that they do not abuse their animals like a case in which the defendants argued “that pets are classified as personal property…” and that they have feelings too (Donaghey 2011) (Gunnarson). Few people realize that 354 animals are eutha...
Euthanasia, as defined by the Encarta Encyclopedia, is the “practice of mercifully ending a person’s life in order to release the person from incurable disease, intolerable suffering, or undignified death” (Encarta, 2004). Euthanasia is a Greek word, which means “good death.” As humans, we understand death is something we cannot avoid but having some control over death is empowering and reassuring to us. If someone is suffering from a terminal illness, intolerable pain, or in a long-term coma, euthanasia is an acceptable option for someone to end his or her life. With the consent of their doctor(s) these people should be able to have the law on their side supporting their decisions.
Everyone has experienced a moment where the pressure is just too much, the pain is too unbearable or nothing ever seems right. It is life, life contains hacks, trails and obstacles. It would not be life without it, the same concept goes for medical issues. J. Gay- Williams addresses the reasons euthanasia should not be an option to be legal in his essay. He justifies his reason for his position with the fact that illnesses are a part of life. Williams position of disregarding euthanasia is rational because a life is a valuable thing to waste or gamble with.
Countless lives locked away in cages and forgotten about have overwhelmed our society, it has left blood stains on our history as a species and if history has taught us anything, it’s that we have a choice to change our ways of adjusting to situations. A war which was fought in pursuit of ending such criminal means, yet we as human beings do little to nothing to end the horrific crimes of animal deaths in shelters. It is no secret that this world has become infused with problems that have extended from one side of the globe to the other. Amongst these problems lies a terrible truth: nearly every year, sums of almost eight million cats and dogs have been placed in shelters around the world. Out of these vast numbers, half will be euthanized; that equals to one animal being put down every 8 seconds. Animals that are not adopted are kept in shelters until they find a home. Most of these shelters do not have enough space or resources to care for the animal. Only 15% of dogs and 2% of cats that enter animal shelters are reunited with their owners. The majority of pets are obtained from acquaintances and family members. Twenty-six percent of dogs are purchased from breeders, 20 to 30 percent of cats and dogs are adopted from shelters and rescues, and 2 to 10 percent are purchased from pet shops. In addition, only 56% of dogs and 71% of cats that enter animal shelters are euthanized. The 10% of the animals received by shelters have been spayed or neutered, while 78 percent of dogs and 88 percent of cats are not spayed or neutered, in 2009 Statistics from animal shelters in 55 counties in WV (West Virginia) shows that nearly 54% of all animals entering shelters are euthanized, The euthanasia rates ranged from the lowest at 5% to the highe...
Euthanasia is an action that result in the death of a person. There are four types of euthanasia, such as voluntary active euthanasia, nonvoluntary active euthanasia, voluntary passive euthanasia, and nonvoluntary passive euthanasia. Among the four types of euthanasia, voluntary active euthanasia or VAE is the most controversial ethical issue in the United States. It is the killing of a competent patient who decided to end his/her suffering by ending his/her life with the help of the physician. VAE is illegal in the Unites States; however, it is morally just. Voluntary active euthanasia is legitimately moral on the basis of Immanuel Kant’s human dignity, the utilitarian’s Greatest Happiness Principle, and James Rachel’s view of active euthanasia.
This site gives a lot of pertinent information that pertains to local and national happenings as far as pet overpopulation goes. They have researched many sites and brought the info into their own.
The different types of Euthanasia are active or passive euthanasia and voluntary or involuntary euthanasia. Passive Euthanasia generally refers to the ending of a persons life by removing the person from a life-sustaining machine, such as a respirator. This form of euthanasia is endorsed by the American Medical Association and is less controversial than active euthanasia. Active euthanasia refers to ending a persons life by a competent medical authority giving the person a lethal injection of a muscle relaxant or pain killer medication. The terms voluntary or involuntary refer to whether or not a patient requests euthanasia or whether the patient is not able to make such a request and euthanasia is carried out by a competent medical authority at the request of another family member, or by a competent medical authority’s decision. Involuntary euthanasia usually occurs when a patient is comatose.
Euthanasia Euthanasia is a though that ponders in the mind of many everyday. Is it right, is it wrong, who can decide the value of a person's life? Euthanasia is an option that many sick and dying people consider everyday. Euthanasia can be a sick person's only escape from a life of torment and suffering where they are waiting to die. People also choose Euthanasia as a means to ending their life because they feel that can no longer live their lives the way the want to.
Euthanasia, according to the dictionary, means the killing of a person who is suffering from an incurable disease. Lately, it had been a huge debate over whether euthanasia should be legalized or not. Personally, I believe that euthanasia should be legalized if it is voluntary. I have three reasons for my argument.