The Register Guard: Man found guilty of neglecting injured foal
Commercial animal breeding has to be one of the more despicable exploitations to masquerade as a cuddly business. It is the source so much misery in our world. The more our society spends on pets, the harder it is to conceive of people supporting legislation that would at least ban the commercial breeding of animals. But they should.
Trading in the lives of animals cheapens their lives and ours, and results in unimaginable amounts of suffering. Countless government dollars are spent sweeping animals under the rug at so-called shelters, which means basically that taxpayers are footing the bill for irresponsible customers and subsidizing the breeders who serve them. Too many millions of animals' lives are taken far too early, ending quite pathetically in death for the crime of simply being brought into existence by an unscrupulous person, not to mention the person who abandoned the animal when he or she no longer fit into the family lifestyle.
At the beginning of a dog's life, he or she may well have suffered squalid conditions at a puppy mill designed to generate a buck on the backs of malnourished and sick animals. And the lives in between aren't always much better. You should see how many stories come across my screen every day about the abuse some animals receive at the hands of humans, and I don't just mean dogfights. People find the most cruel, bizarre, and disgusting ways to take out their own pathological problems on animals who are, for all intents and purposes, defenseless against their tormentors. And, to think, several states still consider animal torture worthy only of a misdemeanor.
Which brings me to animals bred for biomedical reasearch. Millions of mice and rats are bred for experimentation, tens of thousands of cats, dogs, and quite a few others creatures are bred into a life of cages, poking, prodding, electrodes, and any number of unthinkable uses.
I know people generally don't like to see animals suffer, but that doesn't mean we should hide the problem. It means we should stand up, do what's right, and make the problem go away. Yet, for all the activism out there on behalf of animals, precious little focuses on breeding. Regrettably, this is because there is so much strong opposition against ending breeding of animals for human interests. After all, why would anyone benefiting from the exploitation of animals want to see their business dry up? Breeding organizations like AKC are but one opponent responsible for the millions of animals killed in the U.S. every year. It's in their best interests to justify their use of these creatures, which ought to let you know they're not really speaking for what's best for animals right there. Truth is, without the demand, the supply would dry up, and far fewer animals would suffer.
Despite this obvious fact, how is that so many animals continue to be bred in backyards and kitchens, and so many more continue to be bought at pet stores, as if animals are some kind of manufactured product to be packaged, shipped, priced, and discounted before they grow too big to be cute anymore? (hint: they're living beings, not doodads)
How is it that pet buyers still aren't getting the message? Perhaps it's not clear enough? Maybe if I shouted:
Hey! People! Bringing animals into the world only increases the net misery on our planet, despite how nice you might treat your own companions. If you love animals, you'll save one from death by adopting one, you'll tell everyone you know to do the same, and you'll let the pet stores go out of business.
And continuing on down the line, you'll want to abstain from make-up and other products tested on animals, and you most certainly won't want wear animals bred to be worn or eaten. Considering that none of these products are any longer necessities for just about all of us in the modern world (and quite simply harm us and our environment), the kindest, most sensible choice is to simply stop consuming any products of animal breeding and to stop treating living beings as objects.
Labels: animal cruelty, breeding, companion animals, pets
