Dear Future President,

Animal abuse is defined as “the intentional infliction by humans of suffering or harm upon any non-human animal, regardless of whether the act is against the law.” Forms of Animal abuse are neglect, industrial animal farming, circuses, bull fighting, warfare, abandonment, and violence or physical harm. The average number of animal abuse / cruelty cases reported in the media each year is 1,920. 32% of the reported cases of Animal abuse is Neglect / Abandonment. The primary location that animals need for help is in the factory farm industry, because due to undercover investigations, it has been revealed that animal abuse abounds in the factory farm industry. I believe animal abuse should be the priority of our future president because about 1.1 million animals die because of domestic violence per year.

I have personally witnessed an animal that had been abused and raised improperly, and from seeing just a small part of what abuse can do to an animal mentally and physically, it makes me want to make people more aware of this issue. “Whenever an animal is abused, a chain reaction begins in our community. Not only does an innocent animal get injured, but the person who commits the offense often falls into a cycle that could ultimately result in violence against other people.” (Wisconsin Humane Society) I have always had an emotional connection to all types of animals and it hurts me when I hear that people abuse or neglect them. These things matter because that chain reaction could lead to other adults and even little children getting physically or verbally abused. Currently, no government institution or animal organization is responsible for tabulating national statistics for the animal protection movement. (ASPCA) These things matter because that chain reaction could lead to other adults and even little children getting physically or verbally abused. Harm to animals is very dangerous and should be stopped at all costs.

Animals are all internally wild and have primal instincts, for example most dogs descend from the wolf and their every day instincts relate to that. Which helps the understanding of why people would be cruel to animals in order to get the animal to behave and listen. Some animals also use their instincts when angry or scared and may attack. This is another reason why someone might hurt an animal or neglect them. The National Health and Human Services agency in the United States reports that 9.9% of deaths caused by animals were from dogs. Animal attacks are a common cause of either human fatalities or injuries. (Wikipedia) This matters because not all cases of animal abuse is when the human is at fault.

To resolve the issue of animal abuse across the country, i believe the actions needed to help the cause is a law that states specific rights of all or certain animals (bugs optional), and there should be a fine from people who overfeed, intentionally harm, or kill animals who did not do anything wrong. The global target most connected to this cause is global goal number 16, Peace and Justice for all. If we solved this problem we could relate and contribute our actions to the UN’s program and helping those who need it in other countries. This should be a major priority for the next president because animals may look different, they may not be able to talk but we can fight for them, animals have given people a voice by committing their lives to bring service animals, working on police force and in the army. They do so much for us, we should protect them against the harm that comes at them.

Sincerely, 

Elizabeth Fogarty

This Image connects to Animal abuse due to the fact that the dog is behind bars and looks homeless and hungry.