When one thinks of animal abuse, the first thing that comes to mind is someone intentionally and purposefully hurting animals. While that does happen most everywhere around the world, sadly it isn’t the only form of abuse. Here, we look at several forms of abuse and some facts and statistics about them.
Animal hoarding
There are many documented cases of animal abuse that unfortunately came as the result of well-meaning, loving people who just couldn’t turn an animal away, people who genuinely loved their pets but ended up with too many pets.
Unfortunately this means good people sometimes can’t care for their pets as they should. This is called animal hoarding, and the majority of hoarders have some mental or emotional illness and often do not even realize that the animals they think they are caring for are not fed and watered properly, and aren’t cared for as they should be.
These animals are often underweight, living in extremely unsanitary conditions. Often in these cases dogs that are hurt do not get the medical care that they need. These animals are rarely vaccinated and are almost never spayed or neutered, which only leads to more disease and more abused animals as time goes on. Here is a drastic example of animal hoarding by owners who had way too many pets. They just couldn’t keep up with the needs of all the animals that they hoarded.
Fact: According to surveys, dog hoarders are more likely to be women over the age of 60 who are in need of social or mental health services.
Hoarding doesn’t only hurt the animals; properties where owners were hoarding animals often have to be condemned because of the unsanitary conditions, and a large number of roaming animals can do damage to the neighborhoods that they live in.
You can help prevent hoarding by reporting it to the authorities. These are some of the signs you should be looking for if you suspect a neighbor is hoarding animals in their home:
- An abnormally large number of animals in or around the home
- Thin, malnourished looking pets
- Sickly pets who look like they need veterinary care
- Unsanitary conditions and lack of water, food or shelter
- An owner who fails to see his or her pet’s conditions and lack of care
- An owner who hoarded animals in the past as they are very likely to start hoarding again
Organized Cruelty
Organized cruelty is another form of animal abuse. Dog fighting is a horrible way to abuse dogs and often results in their death. Injured dogs may or may not receive care based on their ability to fight. People who participate in or initiate dog fighting rings are often involved in other criminal activities.
Several instances of dog fighting were linked to drug cartels that were using this despicable activity for drug running. Dog fighting isn’t only cruel in its final form. Puppies bred for dog fighting are conditioned from the very start for a life of misery. They are kept on short, heavy chains and not allowed to socialize with other dogs. They are trained to be mean, angry, aggravated and scared. They are only allowed to interact with a few humans. Their tails and ears are often cropped with crude instruments in an inhumane means of giving opponents less opportunity to have something to bite onto.
Fighting dogs are often given steroids to increase muscle mass and narcotics to make them fearless during the fight. These dogs have stressful, painful lives in which they are not allowed to play or do much of anything except for fighting. Some dogs that lose a fight are painfully executed or left to die of their injuries.
People who intentionally abuse animals often have a history of violence against their families as well.
Fact: Approximately 250,000 dogs were placed in fighting pits nationwide in 2007. (We have no reason to believe this number changed dramatically to this day.)
Abuse of Pets at Home
Pets are often abused at home as well. Many victims of domestic violence reported not wanting to leave the abuser for fear that their pet would be harmed or killed as a result. Domestic abuse is a real problem that is now linked to pet abuse and other cruel behavior.
Fact: Surveys show that these abusers are predominantly males under the age of 30, and >70% of domestic violence victims reported that the abuser also targeted family pets.
Recognize and report animal abuse
Any form of cruelty towards dogs and other animals is reprehensible, whether the abuser is intentionally harming their pet or blissfully unaware that they are not providing even the most basic care that their animals need. It is important to recognize the signs of abuse and let the proper authorities know of any form of animal abuse without delay. In some cases this might also save a human’s life. If you suspect anyone you know of abusing their animals or family, it is your duty to report it. Animals deserve more our protection, and sadly, in too many cases they need it just to survive.
