According to PedPedia, over 10 million animals die from abuse in the US every year. This shows that so many animals suffered and died in such harsh circumstances. 

Though many laws are in place to prevent animal cruelty, it is still a frequent occurrence. According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, all 50 states have animal cruelty prevention laws in place, but these laws tend to ignore other popular methods by which animals are being abused. 

Places like aquariums, zoos, circuses, and movie production are often underemphasized in terms of animal cruelty.

 As young children, many students often go to zoos, aquariums,  and circuses, but many children don’t understand the troubles that these animals go through. Students are taken on field trips to places like a zoo. These entertainment venues often portray these animals to be happy, but the truth is not what it looks like.

Freshman Ashyln Dawson said “I think animals are fun but you shouldn’t get them for entertainment. Animals should be a new addition to the family not just for fun.” 

Animals in circuses have to perform cool tricks, like jumping through hoops, standing on their heads, etc. These animals don’t choose to do these activities. According to World Animal Protection, elephants are trained cruelly, just to perform tricks. These animals don’t have a choice, because if they don’t do these tricks, they would get a punishment. 

“Animal entertainment is oftentimes prolonged with animal cruelty towards the animals,” freshman Eleanor Baniak said.

In zoos, many animals are isolated from their family and are forced to live in small cages. Although these animals may look happy, oftentimes, they are uncomfortable.  According to the New York Times, many animals clearly show us that they do not enjoy captivity. For example, tigers pace back and forth, some animals pull their hair.

Another controversial topic is whether or not we should consume animal meat. According to PETA, many meat industries are cruel to the animals. Young animals are kept in filthy and severely crowded conditions. Many chickens get infectious diseases from pathogens such as salmonella, dermatitis, and heart failure.

PETA states that animals such as cows, have been put in extensive factory farms. They have been on an unnatural cereal-based diet, which causes them digestive pain which could lead to metabolic diseases. 

Factory farms use these diets because it allows the cows to get bigger, so more meat can be produced, which allows the factory farms to make a greater profit. and the factory farms can make more profit. 

Oftentimes, farmers use cruel methods to extract milk from cows. According to the New York Times, the typical dairy cow in the United States will spend its life inside a concrete-floored enclosure, and most cows are sent to slaughter after 4-5 years when their milk production slowly declines. 

Calves are taken from their mothers shortly after birth and are expected to live in tiny crates. These calves aren’t able to drink their mother’s milk because many factories usually take the milk for themselves. 

Animal cruelties happen in many ways: through the entertainment industry, through the meat industry, and the dairy. In order to stop these tragedies from happening, people should contact PETA and other organizations to demand change for better animal treatment.