Non Domestic Animal Abuse

There are two kinds of animal abuse that can occur: Domestic versus non-domestic animal abuse. There are several laws that should be lifted to give non-domestic animals more rights and protective actions. To begin, Domestic abuse more so relates to “Companion animals” such as domestic dogs, domestic cats, small pet birds, and other non-livestock species. Though the rights of these breeds are extremely important, there are already numerous laws protecting them. These laws are fluid among states, however, the basic laws and penalties are relatively indifferent. For example, a “class one misdemeanor,” the least serious offense, is punishable by fine and/or jail time, averaging one year for all of the states and/or a $3500 fine. This
most commonly pertains to crimes of neglect. In contrast, “Livestock” such as: cattle, swine, sheep, goats, and such horses, mules, asses, and other animals used in the farm or ranch production of food, fiber, or other products, have little to no protection.
According to the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), a poll was recently taken that expressed that 94% of Americans think “animals raised for food deserve to live free from abuse and cruelty.” Yet the majority of the nearly 10 billion farm animals raised each year in the U.S. suffer in conditions that would be a horrifying sight to see. Most consumed meat, milk and eggs come from industrial farms where efficiency trumps welfare—and animals are paying the price. Factory farms are industrial operations that raise and sell livestock for food in large numbers. These corporations should be defined by the repeated patterns of disrespect to their animals. Many organizations like PETA (People for the ethical treatment of animals) and ASPCA among numerous others have both testimonial and video evidence of behaviours like the neglect of sick and suffering animals, often due to high ratio of animals to workers, rough or abusive handling by workers, Misuse of antibiotics to compensate for unsanitary conditions,
etc. Continuing, as a society, we hide behind the aesthetically pleasing packages and labels and shroud the background and process from which it came in secrecy. Labels and products like, “free-range,” “cage-free,” “humanely raised/humanely handled,” are often misleading. For example, “free-range” does not yet have a legal definition for poultry, beef, fish or eggs. “Cage-free” simply means that hens were not raised in battery cages. Instead they are crowded into large, open sheds. Currently there are three laws that “protect” these animals which relate to their transportation (federal), quick slaughters (federal) and extreme forms of confinement (state). The law that should be lifted to help gain awareness for animal rights is the "ag-gag," or anti-whistleblower bills”. Instead of making non-domestic animal abuse illegal, these bills instead make it illegal to document, film or report abuse in factories or other organizations of such. Surprisingly, there have been several cases in the last year where animal activists have been tried as a terrorist due to their filming decisions. If these laws are lifted then consumers would truly be exposed to the lies of the industry and would be able to make their food purchases based off of the truth.