Dear Next President,

First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your accomplishment. I know it can not have been easy to win the election. However, now that you are in charge of our country I feel that there are some things that you could change for the better. I know that there are a lot of issues that people think are more important, but this is important too. Animals all over the country are being abused without anyone noticing. They are being taken advantage of and people refuse to take action. I feel that we as a country need to step up and put an end to animal cruelty.

The statistics are shocking regarding animal abuse. In the article “Animal Cruelty Facts and Stats” the Humane Society says that, “Undercover investigations have revealed that animal abuse abounds in the factory farm industry. But because of the weak protections afforded to livestock under state cruelty laws, only the most shocking cases are reported, and few are ever prosecuted.” This shows that even with cruelty laws, nothing is being done to prevent it. If a law is made then it has to be enforced. Unfortunately, people do not always report abuse when they see it. This causes crimes to go unprosecuted and that abuser is allowed to continue on with whatever they are doing. Also, in the article “11 Facts About Animal Cruelty” it says, “Over 115 million animals – mice, rats, dogs, cats, rabbits, monkeys, birds, among others – are killed in laboratory experiments worldwide for chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics testing every year.” Animal cruelty does not only happen with domestic pets. It also happens to wild animals who are taken advantage of. If we truly want to end animal cruelty, then it has to end for all animals.

Now, I know what people are going to say. They will think that there are bigger issues than this in our country and that we need to solve those first. I agree that there are more pressing issues, but this problem is an easy fix! It is as simple as reporting abuse when you see it along with setting up parameters for those allowed to own a pet. Not everyone should be able to own a pet, so those who are unfit should not be able to purchase one. Now you might ask, what is unfit? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, unfit is defined as “not proper, suitable, or acceptable”. If a person has had some criminal record of abuse, whether to humans or animals, he or she should not be able to own a pet. Therefore, to purchase a pet, the breeder or shelter must do a background check of the potential owner’s criminal history to see if he or she is able to own a pet. This is not too much to ask and it is not time consuming.

If you are still thinking this is not a big deal, I have one final message for you. In the same article “Animal Cruelty Facts and Stats” written by the Humane Society, it is stated that “In one study of families under investigation for suspected child abuse, researchers found that pet abuse had occurred in 88 percent of the families under supervision for physical abuse of their children”. This demonstrates that not only do pets get abused, but most of the time children do to. Animal abuse and child abuse, even though they are different, often have the same accusers. Therefore, if we put a stop to animal abuse, we can potentially crack down on child abuse at the same time. It is a win win situation for both the animals and the children.

I know that this might seem unnecessary or not important right now, but it is to all of those animals out there. I think that animals deserve to live a long and happy life just like the rest of us. Just because they are not like us does not mean we can treat them poorly. For this abuse to stop, we as a country have to be willing to make changes for the better. So, I ask you to use your power to make a change for all of the abused animals out there.

Sincerely,

Tori Nelson

10th grade

Mendota Heights, MN