Combat Animal Abuse!

Writer: Yuna Kim

Visual: Thalia Rowse

Animal abuse is the act of executing hurtful behaviors towards animals. These acts can be intentional or unintentional from depriving an animal of food, water, shelter, socialization or veterinary care to maliciously testing, torturing, maiming, or killing an animal. So, how can we help rectify the issue? Here are some tips!

1. Ending cosmetics animal testing

Animals are still suffering and dying to test shampoo, mascara, and other cosmetic products. Terrified rabbits, rats, guinea pigs and mice have substances forced down their throats, dripped into their eyes or smeared onto their skin before they are killed.

2. Stopping puppy mills

A puppy mill is an inhumane high-volume dog breeding facility that churns out puppies for profit, ignoring the needs of the pups and their mothers. Dogs from puppy mills are often sick and unsocialized. Puppy mills commonly sell through internet sales, online classified ads, flea markets and pet stores. In fact, the majority of puppies sold in pet stores and online are from puppy mills.

3. Helping captive wild animals

We should work harder to end "entertainment" that abuses animals. From roadside zoos and elephant rides to posing with baby tigers and swimming with dolphins, interactions with wild animals are both cruel and dangerous.

4. Protecting marine wildlife

Together, we are making the ocean safer for those who call it home. Marine wildlife faces threats to their habitat from chemicals, overfishing, hunting and pollution—even noise can put some species at risk. Whales, dolphins, sharks, sea lions and seals, manatees—all these species and many more suffer due to human exploitation of the ocean and its resources. It is up to us to protect them.