This destroyed the image set by Americans, a great strong champion reduced to a pile of steaks, or put into dog food. Where is freedom and liberty in that? But, though they excel at it, horses are not just made to run, some horses are used as guides for the blind. Horses contribute so much to society and all that potential is wasted in each horse sent to slaughter. Another cultural reference is the mustang, a strong free animal that roams the range. Mustangs were formerly protected from slaughter until recently in 2005 when a bill killed a 1971 law that prevented feral horses from being sold to slaughterhouses. Now any horse older than ten years old, or any young horse that has not been to three auctions and been sold is to be sent to slaughter. These horses have bloodlines of nearly pure Spanish stock and are an essential part of America’s living history. Congress needs to understand that the American’s perspective of a horse has shifted from being livestock to being a companion animal. For example, in a US survey by the Huffington Post, only thirteen percent of Americans sa...
The current situation today, is that horses and donkeys have exceeded the amount to keep an ecological balance; from 26,600 wildlife to 38,300 wildlife. The horse program enacted by the bill passed in 1971, costs the government approximately $49 million a year. It takes the majority of the budget to manage the already captured horses; taking into account the life of the horses, it has been concluded that the total cost would be closer to $1 billion (Dean Bolstad, Roundup of Wild Horses…). A Federal law, allows the Bureau of Land Management to kill “excess horses to maintain what it calls ‘a thriving natural ecological balance’” (Ginger Kathrens). However, due to retaliation of animal right groups, the BLM has not taken any measures to eliminate
Throughout the last century the concern of animals being treated as just a product has become a growing argument. Some believe that animals are equal to the human and should be treated with the same respect. There are many though that laugh at that thought, and continue to put the perfectly roasted turkey on the table each year. Gary Steiner is the author of the article “Animal, Vegetable, Miserable”, that was published in the New York Times right before Thanksgiving in 2009. He believes the use of animals as a benefit to human beings is inhumane and murderous. Gary Steiner’s argument for these animal’s rights is very compelling and convincing to a great extent.
There is a very important distinction when dealing with animal welfare and animal rights. After learning to tell the difference between the two, it is easier to distinguish the organization that wants to help animals and the people who wish to end the use of animals. Even though there are different groups that support different agendas for the sport, both should have the same goal. Animal rights are organizations that seek to end the ownership and use of animals. The largest of those groups are The Humane Society and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. There is a ‘Pro-Rodeo’ organization under the guise ‘Friends of Rodeo.’ They claim to be the only organization solely devoted to protecting and promoting the sport of rodeo, all of rodeo regardless of association affiliation. “What rodeo proponents fail to acknowledge is that rodeos harm animals that are forced to perform in a competition that is essentially a display of human domination over other species” (The Rodeo 1).
The underlying issue of wild horses is the overpopulation of a particular species, which is contributing a serious ecological disaster, overgrazing. The degradation of the land has a domino effect, which will lead to more issues. It is important to maintain a balance between the need of the species, and what is healthy or the environment. The issue created controversy, is central to the passing of laws, and creates an opportunity for the government and the community to work together. There are many way to solve the issue of the wild horses and the issue that are created due to their existence. Issues such as a reduction in the number of the horses removed from the range. Increased use of birth control, a partnership with the Humane Society,
Gunnarson, Helen W. "Animal law comes into its own: as Americans place more value -
Robert Gonzales is only one of many people to commit animal cruelty. Kevin Brunson was also accused of harming an animal. He starved his dog, Rambo, until he weighed only fifty-one pounds. A normal dog his size would weigh around one hundred and twenty-five pounds. Rambo was seventy-four pounds underweight. A dog named, Lacey had scabbing around the eyes and other injuries from being abused. “Lashawn Whitehead of Greensboro, admitted to police that she beat her dog for fifteen minutes, then set it on fire. The dog ran away, and she was found. Her injuries were burned ears, a broken jaw, and teeth. She was adopted into a new loving family.” (Cawthon 2) All animals are affected when it comes to animal abuse. Horses have been reported to be starved and in very poor living conditions. Owners don’t clean stalls, feed the animals, or take care of the horses grooming needs. The horses become depressed to due to the lack of care they receive. Sixteen horses were found at Gina Rapuano’s Farm, Apache, Willy, and Destiny are merely three of the horses greatly in need of care. Apache was starved so much you could see his ribs; he was infested with worms, and needed hoof and dental care. Willy had trouble walking, and horrible eye infections. Destiny had such bad dental care that he could not eat properly, and was starving. “The horses eyes were dull; they were not alert. They t...
Indians understood animals to be powerful creatures possessing their own spiritual power and deserving of respect, but available as a food source. Therefore, Natives struggled to understand that animals could be property, but under the pressure of the English invasion attempted to integrate livestock into their lives. On the other hand, the English saw animals as property and as an indication of the supremacy of sophisticated agricultural culture. In part two, “Settling with Animals” Anderson examines the development of livestock agriculture in North America. The imported animals changed not only the land, but also “the hearts and minds, and behavior of the people who dealt with them”. (p.5) When the English arrived in America with their livestock the colonists became less focused on the animals and more focused on the cultivating of fields for crops for export and food purposes. The lack of labor and costs involved in the operation of farm lands led to the English being forced to allow their animals to roam freely in the woods. Ultimately, they lost control of the livestock and many of the herds became as feral as the animals the Indians typically
4.)"Rodeo Facts: The Case Against Rodeos." Winning the Case Against Cruelty. Animal Legal Defense Fund, 1979. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. .
If horse slaughter was not legal more horses would be neglected. If slaughter was illegal in Canada and Mexico. The horses would instead of of traveling a day or so in a trailer they would be abandoned of sent to slaughter in Japan. Both of which cause more stress to the end of a horse's life than necessary. In Canada alone in 2011, 89000 horses were slaughtered and that number has steadily increased as the Canadian dollar has dropped. If those horses were of not to been slaughtered they would of ended up ending their owners broke, in an uneducated home (where many medical issues go unnoticed) or the horses would be neglected. In the United States it would take roughly 5300000 to house the surplus horses. The
As an advocate of animal rights, Tom Regan presents us with the idea that animals deserve to be treated with equal respect to humans. Commonly, we view our household pets and select exotic animals in different regard as oppose to the animals we perceive as merely a food source which, is a notion that animal rights activists
Animal activists and various animal rights/animal welfare support groups have been publicly declaring their beliefs against rodeos since the late 1800’s. Rodeo abolitionists believe PRCA members and contestants have always and always will mistreat their livestock. To support their opinion, activists use information such as the injury/death rate, veterinarians ignoring injured animals, and the belief that wranglers torment the animals into performing. The injury/death percentage is very low in PRCA rodeos. “PRCA has continuously called upon on-site, independent rodeo veterinarians at PRCA-sanctioned events
The continuous shaping of America’s overall social, economical, and political systems correlates with how humans and animals interact. Helen Horowitz, Andrew Isenberg, Bonnie Clause, and Etienne Benson are some of the historians that have connected the treatment, view, and placement of animals in the American society throughout the developing of the country. These historians showcased animals that were used for things such as medical research, the displaying of wealth, as well as monetary gain. Although each of them focused on different animals, points in time, and issues; they all we similar by the way they valued and related human and animal interactions to how America’s history formed.
America focuses heavily on its livestock and crops earning us a major role in global trade as a farming nation. Unfortunately this has led to some poor choices in treatment of our animals. Many farmers who believe in animal rights say that it started back when farmers only tended to fewer animals, “Ownership of farm animals became concentrated in fewer hands, and flocks and herds grew larger. As a result, the individuality of animals was lost to their owners and they began receding from most people's everyday life” (Namit 29). When people lost their connection to the animals that provided their food, the quality of the animal's lives began to dramatically decrease. Consumers constantly pushed farmers to their limits with high quotas. To keep up with demands agriculturalists turned to some unorthodox practices to keep costs low and still maintain their annual quotas; “To raise efficiency and cut costs, farm animals began to be engineered for abnormally rapid weight gain, fed unnatu...
In the year 2007, the last horse census was taken. This census taken by the Unwanted Horse Coalition, they determined that in 2007 there were approximately 170,000 unwanted horses in the United States (The Unwanted Horse Coalition, 2009). Without knowing a specific number today, they claim this number is higher. An unwanted horse is branded as one that is injured, no longer serves a specific purpose, or cannot have its needs financially met its owner. (Staff research; AVMA Animal Welfare, Governmental Relations and Communications Divisions, 2012). The overpopulation of unwanted horses is growing from an extreme amount to even more. A solution to this issue must be established before more horses
In the United States, an animal is abused every 60 seconds. Neglected and terrified, these animals are constantly fighting for their lives (“Every Animal Deserves a Second Chance”). As common and harmful as it is, animal cruelty was not a felony in all 50 states until just a few months ago (March 14, 2014) when South Dakota effectively set the new law, making animal abuse a crime countrywide (Berry). Just because animal abuse is illegal, doesn’t mean that people aren’t continuing to commit these atrocious acts of violence. Although laws against animal cruelty do help supply most of the animals in the United States with legal protection, they do not adequately aid the progress of animal’s rights. There are approximately