Ethan Axtell Animal rights

My topic for the civic engagement project is animal rights, the impetus for my decision to bring attention to this issue are the recent surge in horse deaths at the Santa Anita race track. I have lived in Arcadia, home of the Santa Anita race track, for most of my life, and never attended any horse races. My only real experience there was participating in my high school graduation ceremony which was held there. Nonetheless, I was fairly disturbed by the news of the 21 horse deaths that have all occurred at the track in a fairly short period of time. I have always been fascinated by animals, I grew up with pets, watched my neighbor's dogs when they went on vacation, but I wouldn't consider myself an animal rights activist by any measure. I have great reverence for animal rights activists and rescue organizations as well as conservation groups but I personally have never accomplished anything comparable to their selfless and heroic actions. Nevertheless, I do appreciate the opportunity that this assignment provides to motivate myself to actually bring light to a serious issue and potentially achieve some kind of positive impact on my community.


To refer back to my inspiration for selecting this topic, according to Sid Garcia, reporting for the Channel 7 Eyewitness News in a piece titled, "Santa Anita business community uncertain after horse racing suspended", the race track was, "suspended indefinitely when a horse died at the facility on Tuesday, the 21st within a two month span." This news was broken on Wednesday, March 6, 2019. This outcome is positive in the sense that more horses will be spared easily avoidable deaths but it also reminds us of a critical aspect that often accompanies animal abuse: financial gain. Factory farming, poaching, dog fighting, cock fighting, and horse racing are all motivated at least in part by financial gain. The Santa Anita race track has become a dangerous environment for horses because exposure to rain and constant use has damaged the surface of the track. If the powers that be were compelled by ethics and moral concerns, than the track would have been closed long enough to repair it but because of the financial incentive to keep it operating, literally dozens of horses died.

As far as the broader issue of animal abuse is concerned, a study titled Animal abuse: Offender and offence characteristics. A descriptive study, conducted in the Netherlands by Anton Van Wijk, Manon Hardeman, and Nienkie Endenburg, found that in the 90 animal abuse cases they studied, the vast majority, 89% in fact, of the perpetrators of the abuse were male and their average age was 34. The study also revealed that, "14% of the case files mentioned (probable) addiction to alcohol and 10% addiction to drugs (soft drugs). Another few interesting results were that, "19% of offenders had contacts with persons with a criminal background," in addition, "abuse was unplanned in 52% of cases." The study also found that the rationale given by the offenders varied, as some cited a need to vent frustration, some expressed a lack of desire to care for the animal while others enjoyed the thrill of abusing power through sadistic acts and some admitted that they had a preference for sex with animals.

According to, "Animal Cruelty Crime Statistics: Findings from a Survey of State Uniform Crime Reporting Programs", a study by Lynn A. Addington and Mary Lou Randour, of 28 states surveyed, 64% receive data on animal cruelty, however two-thirds of that number, only receive information if there is an arrest for a felony or misdemeanor animal cruelty offense. These findings are fairly comforting for the prospect of protecting animal rights however it also reaffirms the limitations of law enforcement. Unless authorities are made aware of animal abuse, they cannot intervene, and thus it is paramount that if anyone knows of animal abuse occurring, then they must alert the police as soon as possible.

This issue directly affects everyone because the presence of animal abuse directly indicts our character as a society. We cannot claim to believe in decency and justice if we tolerate cruelty and mistreatment of animals. Many people who commit violence against animals also perpetrate other violent crimes. In addition, this is a particularly important issue because it manifests itself in such a variety of ways: abuse and neglect of pets, poaching, habitat destruction, animal fighting, factory farming are all heinous demonstrations of this issue. The environmental and social consequences of ignoring animal rights are genuinely dire. 

 "The Beef Industry and its excessive use of Bovine farming not only damages the environment through its exorbitant production of methane (a greenhouse gas more harmful than carbon dioxide) but also forces cattle through a short and cruel life cycle with no regard to their conscious awareness of the brutality being inflicted upon them. Painfully, torn from their mothers at birth, they are forced into inhumanely small cages and fed synthetic corn meal that tortures their digestive system until they are summarily slaughtered at an unjustifiably young age." - Victor Riccardi, Arcadia resident, on his frustration about the immoral conduct of the Beef Industry.

"Factory Farming at it's worst is a contest to see who can breed the fattest, largest and most inbred chicken, then stuffing them in a pen to eventually be processed into McNuggets. People are breeding foxes that grow so thick they can't even walk on their own feet. Synthetically grown meats and furs are the future. Let's eat clones not abominations of God." - Gabriel Dino, Arcadia resident, on what he feels is the most pressing issue pertaining to animal rights.

"I think that one of the most notable animal abuse issues today is unlicensed pet breeders. There are countless illicit operations that excessively breed dogs and cats for quick profits. Many of these puppies and kittens are born with genetic deficiencies and die within a month or two, and those that survive are often neglected or abandoned." -Isidro Santa Maria, Arcadia resident, on what he believes is an overlooked animal rights violation. 

References: 

-Santa Anita business community uncertain after horse racing suspended

https://abc7.com/pets-animals/santa-anita-business...after-horse-racing.../5173257/

By Sid Garcia on Wednesday, March 6th, 2019 on Eyewitness News  abc channel 7

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2. Wijk, Anton, et al. “Animal Abuse: Offender and Offence Characteristics. A Descriptive Study.” Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, vol. 15, no. 2, 2018, pp. 175–186.

 

https://awionline.org/sites/default/files/publication/digital_download/Animal%20Cruelty%20Crime%20Statistics.pdf

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