ANIMAL RIGHTS

FACTS ON ANIMAL CRUELTY & LAWS

• 5% of animal abuse cases involve dogs.
• Many states do not consider livestock in their cruelty laws.
• Federal cruelty laws are limited when it comes to animals. Instead, most cases are handled on a state by state basis.
• There is no truth to the idea that the U.S. Government requires cosmetic testing on animals.
• It’s not just rats used in product testing. Rabbits, mice, birds, amphibians, as well as dogs and cats, can all be test subjects.
• 66,000 dogs and 21,000 cats are subjected to testing every year.
• It’s not just makeup. Testing includes subjecting animals to pharmaceutical drugs, carcinogens and even killing pregnant animals and conducting tests on fetuses.
• Puppy mills are large-scale commercial dog breeding operations that put greater priority on profits than the health of the puppies. Many dogs are plagued with illnesses like kidney or heart disease as a result of the conditions they’re kept in.^[1]
• Thousands of greyhounds die each year—some in the name of “selective breeding”—before they ever touch a racetrack. Many dogs do not make it to the nominal “retirement” age of 4 or 5.^[2]
• Due to genetic manipulation, 90% of broiler chickens (chicken bred specifically for meat production) have trouble walking. Encourage your school cafeteria to go meatless on Mondays to protest. Sign up for Meatless Mondays.^[3]
• Dogfighting became prevalent in the US after the Civil War, with professional pits proliferating in the 1860s. And was a source of entertainment for police officers and firemen.^[4]
• Today dogfighting has been reported in urban, suburban, and rural settings in all regions of the country.^[5]
• More than 50% the fur in the US comes from China, where millions of dogs and cats are often bled to death and skinned alive for their fur. Chinese fur is often mislabeled, so if you wear any fur, there’s no sure way of knowing whose skin you’re in.^[6]
• It’s been estimated that there are 900 to 2,000 new cases every year of animal hoarding in the US, with 250,000 animals falling victim.^[7]
• Over 115 million animals – mice, rats, dogs, cats, rabbits, monkeys, birds, among others – are killed in laboratory experiments worldwide for chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics testing every year.^[8]
• Every major circus that uses animals has been cited for violating the minimal standards of care set by the United States Animal Welfare (AWA).^[9]
• Most rodeo events rely on creating a stressful environment for the domesticated and often docile animals involved. Participants rely on harsh handling practices (i.e. twisting calves’ tails or painful electric shocks) to make animals perform.^[10]
• The exotic pet trade is a multi-billion dollar industry in the US and while some wild pets are bred in captivity, many are taken from their native habitats. The stress of being violently removed from their homes causes a number to die prematurely.^[11]