Persuasive Essay On Pit Bulls

Many people are deeply afraid of Pit Bulls. This breed repeatedly appears on the news mostly because the dog has attacked another dog or a human being. Some of the attacks have been severe enough to cause harm and even death. Many believe that Pit Bulls are born aggressive since it is known that breeders have bred them over the years to become more muscular in comparison to other breeds like the Golden Retriever. The more muscular the dog is the better it will do when it is introduced to dog fighting. Knowing this, it is very easy to believe that because the dog has been bred to be stronger and has been used for dogfighting, it has inherited the aggressive trait and is more likely act on it, however studies have shown otherwise. A study by the University of Pennsylvania states “the top three biters of humans were actually smaller dogs: Dachshunds, Chihuahuas and Jack Russell terriers” (Viegas).
These dog breeds have not been bred to be
stronger and are not used for destructive sports, such as dogfighting, because of their size. People don’t feel like smaller dogs can be threatening because of their smaller size which many believe to be an indicator to a more docile dog compared to a bigger one, correlating it between the dog breed and the aggression level. Every dog breed seems to have the ability to become harmful towards humans but some do it more than others. What causes animals to become increasingly aggressive towards other animals and humans over time?
Because of the popular reoccurring news of the same type of animal or breed doing similar acts of violence, the general idea as to why animals become a threat towards others is because the aggression is inherited or passed down from generation to generation. People conclude that the animal is inheritably dangerous and that this is the way it has been all of its life, also meaning that that is how its offspring will come out to be in the future. Additionally there is a believe that not much can be done since this is part of the animal’s nature and instinct. “
“There are the sensible people who honestly feel that Pit Bulls, and any dog that resembles one, are a danger to society. Often, these folks don't know much about dogs and certainly not much about Pits”(10) .In contrary to just observing the animals’ physical appearance and aggressive history to determine why it behaves a certain way, it is important to pay attention to the animal’s owner when it comes to finding out why it starts to behave differently. For example, some Pit Bull dogs’ change in behavior came to be when they started being used in aggressive sports. “Bear baiting and bull baiting became illegal in the United States in the 19th century… events still take place in other countries…men and women gather to find pleasure in watching animals suffer” (Pitbull). The different types of actions done towards an animal has an enormous effect on how it will react towards its surroundings.
An angry animal is a scared animal.
There are many ways in which people tend to abuse of animals. An example is neglect, meaning that between a pet and the owner there is a “failure to provide an animal with the most basic of requirements of food, water, shelter and veterinary care” (What). Dogfighting is another example. Dogfights are events when two dogs are put inside a fighting pit and are forced to fight until the other one is dead or is too weak to fight back. The fights are brutal and the owners abandon the loosing dogs with only a couple more hours to live because of its deadly injuries or inhumanly kill the dogs themselves. The winning dog owner gets a money price. Most of the dogs that are considered to not be good enough to be entered in the pit and be victorious are used as bait to train other dogs or as breeding dogs where they are constantly exploited. All of these actions that people inflict on the animals can make them become very scared of humans, other dogs and their surroundings causing them to be very
defensive.
The reason why some animals become increasingly aggressive towards other animals and humans over time is because of the constant exploitation done to them by abusive people. More and more people are neglecting their animals. “Deliberate cruelty to animals is on the increase in Britain” (Dilley). There is a tremendous need to decrease animal cruelty. The reasons as to why animal abuse is such an important subject are because animals are beings with the capability of feeling love and giving love, as well as the fact that animal abusers usually have a difficult past and their current actions are their way of releasing their psychological problems.
Domestic abuse sadly occurs in many households all around the world. Many times when domestic abuse occurs the children of the family watch the destructive behavior and are greatly affected by it. The kids watch their parents or family member beat each other up messing up their perception of what healthy behavior is supposed to look like. The children grow up believing that that is the correct way of behaving around others. People that have grown experiencing domestic violence many times decide to go towards animals since they are helpless compared to a human. Later as they feel that abusing animals is not good enough for them anymore they target other people. They then continue the abusive cycle that started at home with their parents and pass it on to others. People that are this way are very likely to be convicted later in life for convicting bigger crimes. Putting more surveillance on people that abuse animals can help decrease the number of animals being neglected as well as punishing those who are capable of committing bigger crimes and passing down the negative actions. The decrease of animal abuse would mean the increase of everyone’s wellbeing.