No More Turning Away
by BRITTNEY WOOD
PVPHS class of '03
Have you ever known an animal that has enriched you as a human being? Have
you ever had a relationship with a non-human animal that has given you
more of yourself, made you more fully human or given you access to
understanding and feeling that you would not otherwise have known?
Most
of us have, and, in fact, I would be sad for anyone who hasn’t had the
extraordinary experience of having their heart touched by a different
species. There is something truly magical about how they can enter our
worlds, and just by being themselves, leave us forever changed.
How
do we return the favor? Most of us treat the animals we call pets well. We
lavish our affection on them and receive much in return. But there are
millions of people who don’t return the favor—millions who simply take
their pets for granted and show them no attention, no love, no
appreciation. These people are also known as animal abusers.
It
seems as if animal abuse has been an overlooked crime. All too often when
you hear of a child abusing an animal, you receive a response such as
“boys will be boys” or “they don’t know any better.” It should
be their parents’ job then to step in and teach their youngsters better,
but some parents just continue with their own business and assume that the
child will learn on his or her own.
Companies
that test their products on animals are also guilty of abuse. Some believe
that using animals ensures the safety of our consumer products and drugs.
Animals are forced to have products and product ingredients put on their
skin or other body part, inhale fumes, and undergo other sorts of tests.
They are fed chemicals and have chemicals rubbed in their eyes and on
their skin, which causes extreme pain and blindness. Animals are killed
and tortured daily, unnecessarily. These methods of product testing need
to be stopped. They provide us with little or no relevant information, and
there are more accurate ways of testing products. Animals are not tools
for us to use as we see fit. They are living things that feel pain the
same as we do.
When
we use them for medical research we justify it by saying that it saves
human lives, and in some cases it does, but in many it doesn’t. Many
drugs that aid humans have harmful effects on animals. By saying that the
research saves human lives, we are completely disregarding the lives of
all the animals that are killed. They should have just as much right to
live as we do. They want to survive just as we do, and to kill an animal
to save a person seems selfish. Many companies have ceased animal testing,
but we are still a long way from putting an end to it completely.
Two
of the main reasons companies continue to use animals to test their
products is to determine the possible dangers to human health and to avoid
product liability suits. There are many reliable tests that can now be
conducted to determine the safety of products without the use of animals.
Before
I researched this information I either wasn’t as aware of the issue or
more likely just turned my back to it like most teenagers do. But now I
have realized that more people need to get involved to help animals.
People need to help in spreading the word and educating the public about
animal abuse. We all need to stop turning away when we hear of an animal
being abused. It’s about time our society stopped making excuses for
animal abusers. All living things are equal in the need for life’s basic
accommodations such as food, shelter and plenty of love.