What is animal cruelty also known as animal abuse?
Animal cruelty can simply be explained as the infliction of pain and/or neglect by humans on any animal.
God's creation
According to the creation story told in the Christian religion, God created the plants and animals first before he even created the first man named Adam; so more or less animals can be said to have existed before mankind. If so,why then are we humans cruel to them?
As human beings, we are created and wired to live inter-dependably. As the popular saying goes "No man is an island". We are wired to live through interdependence on our fellow human beings, on animals and on nature itself.
If we are to live our lives and fully function well on Earth through that manner, then why do we do more harm than good to those very creatures that are essential to our survival and wellbeing on Earth? Why do we take advantage of their vulnerability, attack their livelihood and shorten their lifespan on Earth?
Animals are living as well and their importance to the human race cannot be over emphasized and so therefore they should not be treated lesser than humans. They have instincts just like we humans do, and they feel emotions like humans do too! Animals do get excited, happy, sad and scared in the same way we do.
A happy dog
Sometimes, they express their sadness by crying. Yes they cry. Let me relieve an experience about a crying animal.
During the summer break last year, I traveled down to another state to spend summer with my cousins. They have a male dog, a German Shepherd named Billy, i could say that the dog was one of the cutest dogs I've seen. It has big black eyes and it's a happy dog who loves to play.
Then one evening, my cousins and I were all playing a game of chase with Billy, and we were all having a fun moment. Then we noticed changes in weather and it started to drizzle.
Playtime had to end; we had to get back into the house and Billy had to go to his kennel. He was sad and also reluctant to go to his kennel as be was really enjoying himself.
Next thing I saw was tears began clogged in his eyes and he started to whimper-he actually sounded like a baby crying. The sight of him crying pierced my heart and I know we couldn't just leave him like that. We had to coax him to go back to his kennel and give him a treat to make him feel better afterwards.
That experience taught me that animals that animals can express their sadness by crying just as we sometimes do.
What are the effects of animal cruelty on the affected animal?
Cruelty on animals could cause emotional suffering, physical pain which is the most common side effect, illness, and in worst cases, death for affected animal.
As a result of continual human activities and unchecked cruelty of the human race over the years on animals, some animals like the Pelagornis sandersi, the Tasmanian Tiger, Dinosaurs, Elephant birds, Dodo birds , Argentavis( the names of these animals and birds sounds strange,right?) have been extinct; while other animals are considered endangered species and are on the way to becoming extinct, and rapidly so if measures are not put in place to prevent that from happening.
Here's another short story how I got to know about the Elephant bird.
I got to know this Elephant bird in my primary school; I was in my promotional year to be precise and was about to be promoted into Junior High School but before that could happen, I had to write an exam of course.
In my home, we usually have past questions ranging from all classes that aids one in studying and make little research.
So one day, I was solving one of the past questions on English Language and lo and behold! One of the comprehension passages was titled "Elephant Bird". That passage in particular snagged my attention and I read it. I got a little enlightened about the Elephant bird, but that little knowledge only fanned the flames of my curiosity. I didn't stop there as I was eager to learn more about the bird.
I carried out a little research on the bird and other extinct birds that got my attention too like the Dodo bird, the Moas and the Argentavis.
Elephant birds are made up of enormous flightless birds that once lived on the Island of Madagascar. The bird was approximately 10 feet tall and weighed about 1,000 pounds. Even though this weight and size isn't as large as that of an actual elephant, it is undoubtedly large enough for it be one of the largest birds that ever lived. I guess that was where it name "Elephant Bird" was coined from.
Elephant bird
You may ask, what made the elephant bird become extinct?
Here's an answer: Humans that lived very long ago, about more than 10,000 years ago-Prehistoric humans are suspected of wiping out these birds, because fossilized bones have been discovered. According to scientists, it is evident that the Elephant birds were hunted down and killed for food.
How about the Argentavis birds?
The Argentavis was the largest winged bird known to exist.
This bird, also called the Giant Teratorn, is an extinct species known from three sites from the late Miocene (about 6 million years before present) of control and northwestern Argentina, where a good sample of fossils have been obtained.
Argentavis bird
Moving on to the Dodo bird:
These Birds were first discovered by Portuguese sailors at about 1507 and were exterminated by humans and their introduced animals. The Dodo birds lived off nuts, tasty fruits and roots native to Mauritius, so their meat was found savory to humans. They became extinct by 1681.
Dodo bird
Having known all these things, let's now ask ourselves; why are people cruel to animals?
Some people who are cruel to animals see harming animals as a way of getting revenge against, or to threaten an offender or someone who cares about that animal.
Other people take out their cruel acts on animals as a way of retaliating what have been done to them.
Sometimes children are cruel to animals as a result of what they've seen other adults around them or children like them do to those animals.
Animals that have been abused usually give off signs like;
-Unexpected fractures or limping.
-Unprovoked aggression whining or whimpering.
-Flinches at human contact.
-Suddenly avoiding any physical contact.
-Overly submissive.
-Tucked tail
-Attempts to bite or scratch when petted.
How do we stop animal abuse and help animals who have been abused?
We can do so by reporting witnessed cases of abuse or cruelty to animals to the proper authorities so that investigations can be carried out and the necessary care and help the animal needs would be given to the affected animal.
I hope you enjoyed this read?
Cheerios! 😊
