ANIMAL CRUELTYSOME FACTS about the USA

Animals are tortured and sacrificed for many purposes

Based on information from cruelty.com

1. Animal experimentation

medical

cosmetic

At least 5 billions of US tax dollars are poured into animal experiments every year.

Over 70 million animals a year are tortured and killed in laboratories.

Rabbits are routinely blinded by having various products forced into their eyes by many companies today. This is called the Draize test and it doesn’t guarantee human safety but protects companies from potential lawsuits by their customers.

2. Factory farming

Meat

Dairy

Over 10 billion animals are slaughtered for human consumption annually. Of that at least 6 billion is derived from ‘broiler’ chickens which are killed after 9 short weeks of life.

Laying hens are usually kept 5 or 6 to a 14 inch square cage and as many as 20% die of stress or disease from these living conditions.

Tens of thousands of wild and domesticated horses from the United States are cruelly slaughtered every year to be used for horse meat in Europe and Asia. Since the last horse slaughter plants in the U.S. were closed in 2007, thousands of horses have been shipped to Canada and Mexico for slaughter.

At least half of the 10 million cows kept for milk in the United States live on factory farms in conditions that cause tremendous suffering to the animals. To keep the animals at high level of productivity, cows are kept pregnant constantly through the use of artificial insemination. As a result, cows live only about 4 to 5 years as opposed to the normal life expectancy of 20-25 years.

3. The fur trade

Trapping

Farming

Approximately 35 million fur bearing animals – raccoons, coyotes, bobcats, lynxes, opossum, nutria, beavers, otters etc- are killed annually by trappers in the US. More than half of all fur garments come from trapped animals.

Eighteen red foxes are killed to make one fox-fur coat, 55 minks to make a mink coat.

2.7 million animals are harvested on fur “farms”.

4. Hunting and harvesting

Land

Exotic

Fishing

On federal land (more than half a billion acres) more than 200 million animals are killed every year. Hunting is permitted on 60% of US wildlife refuges and in many national forests and state parks. 45% of hunters do their killing in public lands.

Thousands of animals like elephants, tigers, rhinos and other endangered species are killed by poachers to sell on black markets. Additionally, “canned hunts” buy exotic animals from a variety of sources including zoos to allow rich hunters the thrill of killing them.

Overharvesting of the oceans and seas has led to threatened populations of many fish and marine mammals. More than half a million seals are killed annually because of competition with humans for remaining fish.

5. Entertainment animals

The circus

Bullfights

Marine parks

In many circuses, wild and exotic animals are trained through the use of intimidation and physical abuse. Former circus employees have reported seeing animals beaten, whipped, poked with sharp objects and even burned to force them to learn their routines! Elephants who perform in circuses are often kept in chains for as long as 23 hours a day from the time they are babies.

More than 40,000 bulls are killed annually in bloody bullfights around the world. For “entertainment” the animals are tortured over the course of an hour speared in their backs before finally dying from blood loss and/or exhaustion.

Killer whales and dolphins live only 25% of their natural life expectancy when captive. Normally they swim dozens of miles in the wild and suffer stress-induced disease and ailments when kept in small pools and forced to perform tricks.

5. Entertainment Dog races

Horse races

Cockfighting

Up to 50,000 greyhounds are killed a year or sent to experimentation when they are no longer profitable for the racing industry.

400 horses are killed annually in the horse racing industry. Because the intention is not to kill the horses, the deaths merely being a side effect of racing, the industry seems to consider it as acceptable collateral damage.

In a cockfight, two roosters fight each other to the death while people place bets. Cockfighters let the birds suffer untreated injuries or throw the birds away like trash afterwards. Besides being cruel, cockfighting often goes hand in hand with gambling, drug dealing, illegal gun sales and murder.

Left to themselves, roosters almost never hurt each other badly. In cockfights, on the other hand, the birds often wear razor-sharp blades on their legs and get injuries like punctured lungs, broken bones and pierced eyes—when they even survive.

Sadly, people often bring young children to cockfights. Seeing adults relish such brutality can teach kids to enjoy violence and think that animal suffering is okay.

Cockfighting happens in many kinds of neighborhoods and in states around the country. It is illegal in all states and a felony in 39 PDF, which means that many states need to toughen up their laws.

Now that you know, will you go

on pretending that everything is

OK?

Don’t you think you should do something about it?