Causes and Measures to Prevent Pet Abandonment - Research Paper Example

? English 110 30th April Pet abandonment Causes and measures to prevent pet abandonment Introduction A pet is any domestic animal that is not meant to be in the wild hence kept by people for companionship, beauty, rarity or for the sound they produce. They include cats, dogs, some species of birds, rabbits, and in some extents fish. Following a research in 2010 by the national council on pet population, pets were found to be prone to abandonment when their owners move out or get bored with them. “These pets are forced to face hard times because they do not have a way to care for themselves” (Everett 47). Although the United States government has put strict measures to prevent animals from being exposed to cruelty, these acts are still being perpetrated. The same research goes on to point out that 48% of the dogs and 30% of the cats found abandoned were of between 3months to three years. This shows how innocent and young pets are exposed to harsh weather and uncomfortable environment. The pets are supposed to be taken care off because they are of importance to human beings. Importance of pets Pets are a source of happiness for many American families. Apart from being companions of families and people leaving alone, they provide a source of happiness to the pet owners. Their playful nature is essential to the exercise of kids. In some instances, pets are helpful to their master; for example, some provide security while others like horses assist in movement and carrying goods. Moreover, some pets participate in shows, advertisements and pet competitions which generate a lot of cash to their owners. From a psychological point of view, studies have shown that people who own pets have a high self-esteem hence they live a happier life. Causes of pet abandonment Since 2008, the rate of pet abandonment has increased in the American society (Langbehn 56). This has caused uproar in the American animal protection agencies because the animal rights are not being respected in the society. Pet abandonment has been caused by:- Harsh economic times The current harsh economy is one of the reasons why pet owners cannot be able to sustain their pets. In 2006, the unemployment rate was at 4.9% but currently, more and more people remain unemployed. In the book understanding animal cruelty, Arlurke states that,” These people cannot be able to keep more pets because they have to feed themselves and their families” (Arlurke 77). These unemployed people are therefore forced to abandon their pets. Moreover, the inflation rates have forced people to have multiple jobs in order to finance their expenses. Some of these people find themselves working for more than 18 hours in a day. Hence, such people have no time to take care of their pets because are forced to abandon them. Death or sickness of the owner Death of the pets’ owner is one of the reasons that have led to pet abandonment. “Pets share a sentimental connection with their owners because the owners have a passion for keeping them” (Lockwood and Ascione 54). In the event of death of the owner, the pet is usually left with people who cannot take care of them or who have no passion about the pets. Such friends and family members care less about the pets hence abandon them after some time. In the event of a long term sickness of owners for example paralysis, the owner is in no condition to care for the pets. These pets are left with the servants or other family members who may not accord them the necessary attention and care they deserve. The pets are therefore abandoned till the owner recovers from the sickness. Restrictions against pets in some places Under special occasions, countries may impose curfew on certain types of pets. These may be due to an outbreak of a disease that is spread by the pets. For example, during the outbreak of swine flu, most people with bird pets such as parrots could not be allowed to enter into certain countries because of the risk of the virus. Therefore, those people travelling were forced to abandon their pets In addition, some residential places prohibit the presence of pets in people’s compounds. Such places includes exclusive estates and also in some hotels. In such places, they pets are not allowed because of hygiene requirements, security reasons or even noise pollution. Therefore, the people wishing to stay in such areas are forced to abandon their pets. Poor breeding of pets Unnecessary breeding of pets has contributed to the abandoning of pets. In the United States, some commercial pet firms which are involved with the breeding of these pets are forced to abandon or kill some of them. This is because some of these pets do not have sufficient markets hence are a loss to the breeding companies. Examples of breeds worst affected include Stafford bull terriers, Pit bull Terriers. In some instances, some owners do not control the breeding of their pets. These has resulted in many pet animals being raised by the owner. Since the owner cannot be able to effectively cater for all of them, he is forced to abandon some of them. Aging and medical requirements of the pet In the book veterinary forensics by Melinda Merck, “Aging has contributed to pet abandonment in many homes in the United States” (Merck 13). Since the pets do not remain young forever, they start to get old as the years progress. Aging results to the loss of their cute and appealing nature. Most of the aged pets are no longer playful and active hence they are dull and boring. Since pets are meant to provide comfort and keep the owner active, the boring pets are therefore abandoned and young active ones bought. Also, as these pets age, their immune system becomes fragile hence they are susceptible to some diseases. These diseases are sometimes expensive to treat because they ay need the services of a qualified and specialized veterinary officer. Such incidences of constant ill health of the pets prompt the pet owners to abandon them. Loss of interest in pets In some cases, the loss of interest by the pet owners may result into pet abandonment. For the case of married pet owners, they may lose interest in pets after the introduction of kids into the family. These couples find themselves focusing more on their children hence abandoning their pets. In addition, the growing kids may lose interest in their pets after they grow up. During their teenage life, teenagers undergo a lot of psychological changes hence find the once cool pet to be boring and annoying. The teenagers do not therefore have time to care for their long term pets hence resulting into pet abandonment. Problems faced by abandoned pets Pets are normally severely affected when they are abandoned by their owners. This is because the pets are used to be nurtured and cared for hence are not able to survive on their own. The abandoning of these pets exposes them to the following problems:- Diseases and pests The abandoning of pets exposes them to harsh weather conditions. They are subjected to strong heat from the sun, low temperatures, rainfall and even snow. These harsh weather conditions affect the animal’s health thus they may contact diseases. Since the owners are not there to treat them, these animals grow weak and sometimes die. Apart from weather conditions, these pets may contact diseases from the bites of other infected animals. For example, dogs can be infected after being bitten by wild dogs carrying a virus. Diseases in most cases affect the skin texture and the fur of these pets. The pets may develop rough patches which are contagious and may infect other animals and human beings. Apart from diseases, the skin and fur texture of the pets can be affected by the ticks and lice. These pests stay on the abandoned pets because of the improper hygiene and lack of fur treatment. These ticks and lies suck blood from the pets making them uncomfortable and unhealthy. In some severe situations, the ticks and lies may lead to the death of the pets. Starvation The pets kept at our homes are mostly provided for since their tender age. They therefore have no prior knowledge in hunting or looking for their own food. Abandoning these pets leaves them vulnerable to starvation. These pets takes time to adjust their meals from the once quality food to the foods dirty foods found in litter bins and dump sites. Since abandoned animals normally walk in parks, it becomes harder for the weaker ones to access food because the stronger ones are better off in competition for food. Therefore, abandoned animals are at risk of starvation. Accidents The pets kept at homes are mostly used to being given directions, or even carried in cars. When these pets are abandoned, they are left to walk in the streets alone. The moving vehicles may sometimes knock them hence killing them or giving them permanent injuries. These animals are left to suffer in the streets because no one would be willing to treat them. When moving around, the abandoned animals may get trapped in some places such as windows or even holes. Such animals cannot be rescued in time if such accidents occur. Hence they are subjected to a lot of pain due to the injuries caused by such accidents. Attacks by wild animals The abandoned animals in most cases find their way into forests in a bid to find the shelter. These animals are normally preyed upon by other wild animals in the forest, for example, pet birds usually do not survive long enough in forests because they are not fully adapted to such places. The wild animals may kill the pets or even my leave them with a lot of injuries hence such pets suffer because their owners are not present to defend them. Target practice by hunters Hunting is one of the leisure activities in some states. For one to be a proficient hunter, he/ she need to practice a lot. Since the hunting targets are usually moving, these abandoned pets provide a good resource for such a practice. The hunters therefore are compelled to chase these pets with their guns, bows and arrows as they practice. These pets either end up dead or are exposed to serious injuries. Measures put in place to curb pet abandonment Since animals deserve a fair and decent treatment, they should be given proper care and accorded maximum attention. The society should embrace methods which secure animals from any form of cruelty. The following methods are put forward to curb abandonment:- Strict legislation The government has put strict regulations to prevent pet owners from mistreating and abandoning pets. These laws are meant to prevent any form animal cruelty and abandonment by their owners. For example, in the state of Oregon, anti-animal cruelty law (ORS 167.340) was formulated to guard animals. It states that, “it is a CLASS B misdemeanor punished by a maximum of 6months (ORS 161.635) and a fine of up to 2500 dollars if found guilty of pet abandonment.” The crime description includes leaving animal to fend for itself and/ or letting it into another neighborhood. If convicted, the crime remains in police record for a minimum of 2 years. Other states like New York make the fine 1000 dollars if found guilty of such an offense. With such strict legislation, pet abandonment would be reduced. In the United States, about 18 states have joined the campaign of putting strict penalties against those guilty of abandoning pet animals. Integrating animal protection rights in the school curriculum The students at their younger age need to be informed of the animal protection rights hence they are made aware of animal rights from childhood. The school curriculum should be able to include lessons that educate students to be able to protect rights of animals. Doing these would help students to grow up knowing that they need to protect and care for the animals. These would play a big role in curbing abandonment of pets. Advocating for pet adoption Some non-governmental organizations have played an important role in adopting the lost and abandoned pets. Such organizations encourage people to adopt pets that would have been forced to stay in the cold streets without shelter. These organizations can carry out campaigns that educate the public about the importance of taking care of pets. With such campaigns, the streets would be free from idle and roaming around pets. Toll free centers numbers The government agencies that deal with animal protection can set aside toll free numbers so that the public can report any incidences of animal abandonment. With such toll free numbers, the agencies can move swiftly to prosecute the persons involved hence preventing further incidences of animal negligence. Creating more pet orphanages The government should create more pet rescue center where lost pets can find their new homes. These centers should have the mandate of ensuring that abandoned pets find a new home that is conducive. Creating more of these pet orphanages would ensure that the pets are taken care off. Strict pet adoption process The government should ensure that before a person adopts a pet, he/ she should be able to take care of the pet. Clifton Flynn in his book understanding animal abuse stated that “The financial background, the criminal record and the mental state of the person willing to buy a pet should be checked” (Flynn 85). Doing this would ensure that people who are able to take care of the pets only own pets hence the level of pet abandonment would reduce. Control breeding of pets In order to control unwanted breeding, the pet owners should ensure that there is controlled reproduction of the pets. With controlled breeding, the owners would be able to have a sizeable number of pets hence they would be able to take care of them. In addition, the federal government should ensure that licensees given to commercial breeders are regulated so that the numbers of breeds supplied to the market are not at surplus. Doing this would ensure that there is no abandoning of excess breeds by these companies. Conclusion In conclusion, though pets are important animals to the people in the society, they are subjected to a lot of suffering due to abandonment. Most often, they are abandoned because of harsh economic times, their old age, and loss of interest by pet owners, death of the owners and also due to poor breeding practices by commercial breeders. These abandoned pets suffer because they are being subjected to diseases, accidents, starvation; wild animals and are used as target practice. In order to prevent these pets from being subjected to these harsh environment; strict legislation should be enforced, the society should be educated on animal rights, the government should control the breeding of pets and also non-governmental organizations should advocate for adoption of abandoned animals. Doing this ensures that more and more pets are given good treatment hence an end to animal cruelty. The society should therefore join hands and cooperate so that animals are not abandoned by their owners thus giving them a comfortable life. Works cited Arlurke Arnold. Understanding animal cruelty. Philadelphia: Temple University press, 2006. Print. Ascione Frank R., and Lockwood Randall. Cruelty to animals and interpersonal violence: Readings in research and applications. Indiana: Purdue University Press, 2010. Print. Everett, E. Keeping pets. New York: Exerts Wheaton publishers, 1970. Print. Flynn Clifton, P. Understanding animal abuse- a sociological analysis. New York: Lantern Publishers, 2012. Print. Langbehn Jenny. 97 ways to make a dog smile. New York: Workman Publishing Company, Inc, 2012. Print. Merck Melinda D. Veterinary forensics: Animal cruelty forensics. Boston: Wiley Blackwell, 2010. Print. Read More