Aspects of Animals Rights and Michael Vick Case - Coursework Example

591304 Animal Rights Introduction It is not unusual that man and other animals would be seen together, or even be living together, if one explores evolution or creation. Throughout history, animals have been known to have attended man’s existence as co-inhabitants of the world, both as friend or as prey on either side, with friendly co-existence as the more natural relationship that would persist. History would provide some evidence even of man being buried together with his pet animal as revealed in some archaeological studies, indicating man’s closeness to animals, particularly dogs. In fact, even to the present day, dogs, among other animals, have proven themselves to have great utility value to men, after having shown that they can herd, they can hunt, they can track, they can sled, they can police, they can identify, they can sniff and entertain and do a host of other special skills that men would be less capable of doing. Which is why for all the valuable things animals could do for mankind, man or at least a great majority of human beings, have thought to also accord animals similar rights as human beings. In the United States, these animal rights are enshrined in a number of laws and statutes that ensure protection to animals and that prosecute individuals who are involved in animal abuse. The Michael Vick Case Michael Vick was a football quarterback playing for Virginia Tech when he was sighted for his prowess in the football field and eventually awarded a crack at the National Football League via the Atlanta Falcons. It was during his stay with the Atlanta Falcons that Vick had the best time in his life as a league contract athlete when he led the Falcons in their bid for the NFC championship against the Philadelphia Eagles. Ironically, it was also during this time that Vick probably had the worst time in his life when it was discovered that he engaged in drugs and professional dog-fighting. While Vick had denied these allegations attributed to him, evidences linking him to the illegal activities had surfaced. In August 2007, Vick admitted to the NFL Commission that he had bankrolled and participated in the dog-fighting operation. He was promptly suspended by the NFL. And sooner after that, following an intense investigation by the FBI, Vick admitted to killing dogs himself, and was sentenced to 23 months in prison and pay a substantial fine for running a “cruel and inhumane” dog-fighting ring. He spent 21 months in jail and was committed on his last two months to house arrest. During this last part of his sentence, Vick thought of going back to professional play. After some negotiations that included professional monitoring by his probation officers, he signed up with the Philadelphia Eagles that signaled his re-entry to normal professional football. Lessons from Vick’s Case The Vick’s case offers a lot of insights and lessons that people could learn much from. One such insight is the observation that there are people, or groups of people, who would look at animals as objects of passion or consumption or prey and would not share a bit of humanity towards them. They would ignore that there is value in seeing animals, particularly pet animals, as capable of returning a caring gesture or a training effort as have been documented in many cases involving particularly pet dogs which grew under the protective and loving care of their owners. Jennifer Leonard, a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of Natural History (Reilly) writes: “We know that dogs were useful for lots of things in Stone Age culture as draft animals, in hunting, for warmth, and for protection.” In many cases, pet animals have proven themselves indispensable to human beings in providing company, care, assistance and many more valuable roles. An example of such an instance was the baby abandoned by her mother deep in the forest in Kenya sometime in 2005. A stray dog, which must just have given birth to her baby pups, heard the cries of the baby and dragged her to be with her own litter, caring and nursing her like she was her own. The baby was recovered soon with the dog still watching over her, was taken to a hospital and grew up to become a healthy little girl (Reilly). Another lesson that could be learned from the Vick’s case is that animal abuse is now in the public’s consciousness and enough laws are in place to deal with violators of animal cruelty laws. It is said that every state in the United States and the District of Columbia has a law prohibiting cruelty to animals. The laws may not entitle animals to rights like humans, for only humans have rights by virtue of their free will, but the laws afford animals some protection against violence, maltreatment and cruelty by humans in any form. The penal provisions range from fines to imprisonment of up to five years (Cruelty Law). Another insight that could be drawn from the Vick’s case is that it would seem relatively easy to serve a judgment for violations of the laws on cruelty to animals, which penalties may not truly deter the commission of such abuses, as shown in the way Vick got his life back with little difficulty and seemingly less remorse. The Vick’s case shows that maybe dog-fighting and other animal games for entertainment that are accompanied with cruel treatment of the animals are still prevalent and may in fact be allowed in some areas, indicating there are not enough teeth in the laws to prevent their continued operation. Animal Welfare Act of 1966 Following these observations and insights on the Vick’s case, it would be relevant to take a look at the Animal Welfare Act which is the federal law approved in 1966 to provide regulation for animal research facilities, state-run shelters and pounds and transport of stolen animals. While it has been amended several times, it would seem to be lacking in substance to truly protect animals from human cruelty since its purpose and those of other laws subsequently promulgated were not to protect animals but to ensure that humans behaved in a certain civilized manner. It would seem that for these laws to be effective and act as deterrents, they need to be focused more on providing for the welfare of the animals than on the moral conduct of humans. What Should Be Done Animals, of course, have no rights, as rights are exclusive domains of humans because of their free will. While this position may be opposed by animal rights advocates who fight to give animals the same right to life as humans, what is important is the recognition that animals can be very useful and valuable to society in many respects and therefore they need to be cared for and protected if only to get their maximum value to society. Dogs, in particular, have lived with man for centuries as friend and playmate, and the representation taken by dogs in talks about animal welfare is just about fitting and appropriate. What needs to be done is mainly to make sure that animals are treated with compassion where it is needed. Laws against animal cruelty have to be strengthened and strictly implemented to stem the prevalence of inhuman practices involving animals, not only of dogs as in dog-fights, but even other animals such as fowls as in cockfights and bulls as in bullfights, and such other activities as using them as objects in medical research without regard to their capacities for pain during testing. Some rules must be observed to ensure that animals serve their purpose in life for the greater benefit of man and not for man’s folly or entertainment. What needs to be done is to make the penalties and punishments for cruelty and other inhuman treatment of animals stiff and severe enough to deter the practice of such cruelty. Perhaps, a continuing crusade to keep the awareness of the public alive on such advocacy as animal rights should be waged by civic and civil society groups. What needs to be done is to make such organizations as the PETA or the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals very relevant by heralding its accomplishments and its activities and continually encouraging more people to support its cause by being PETA members and become watchdogs in their own locations (PETA). Conclusion The case of Michael Vick is just one case that was brought to the limelight and gave justice to animals. It is possible that there are more such cases that are not reported and kept away from public knowledge. The Vick’s case underlines the fact that animal abuse is not always committed among the lowly elements of society who make dog meat their staple food but in another social level where the disorder is perpetrated by the affluent. Both conditions are unconscionable considering that animals, particularly dogs, have served man truly as their master. What finally needs to be done is to cultivate this bond between man and animals in what Milan Kundera (Reilly) describes about dogs as some piece to paradise: “Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent.” Come to think of it: if one has a pet he cares for and who cares for him in return to understand his feelings when he is tired or happy or sad or grieving or joyful, this pet, whatever it may be, may just be his true best friend. Works Cited: Vick, M. Michael Vick Biography, Biography.com, Accessed November 7, 2011: http://www.biography.com/people/michael-vick-241100 PETA: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Accessed November 7, 2011: http://www.peta.org/ Cruelty Law: Stray Pet Advocacy, Accessed November 7, 2011: http://www.straypetadvocacy.org/cruelty_laws.html Reilly, C. , Evolving with Dogs, Accessed November 7, 2011: http://christophreilly.hubpages.com/hub/Why-Are-Dogs-Mans-Best-Friend-14-000-Years-of-Companionship Read More