Animal Abandonment

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Animal shelters help abandoned animals, however they are becoming overwhelmed with the amount of animals being left behind.&nbsp; According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), 6.3 million pets go to animal shelters per year across the United States.&nbsp; One reason that an animal may go to a shelter is because it may have bit someone.&nbsp; Sometimes a pet owner has to surrender their cat or dog because it has behavioral issues or the owner is facing financial issues.&nbsp; Another reason animals wind up in shelters is because they are rescued from a cruel situation, such as dog fighting rings.&nbsp; Lastly, some animals go to shelters because they are stray and someone brings them to the shelter so they will have a safe place to stay.&nbsp; According to the ASPCA, of the dogs that go to an animal shelter, 65% get adopted and 13% are euthanized, which means they are put to sleep (killed).&nbsp; Of the cats that go to animal shelters, 66% get adopted and 17% are euthanized.&nbsp; There are so many dogs and cats in animal shelters in the United States and not all of them can be adopted.

Animal Shelters

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put (a living being, especially a dog or cat) to death&nbsp;humanely

an event, performance, or activity designed to&nbsp;entertain&nbsp;others.

an establishment that&nbsp;breeds&nbsp;puppies&nbsp;for sale, typically on an intensive basis and in conditions regarded as&nbsp;inhumane.

Organization

an organized body of people with a particular purpose, especially a business, society, association, etc.

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A 2021-2022 survey conducted by American Pets Products Association (APPA) found that seventy percent of U.S. households own a pet. Among the seventy percent, there are 69 million U.S. households that own a dog compared to 43.3 million households that own a cat. This piece of information shows that less people desire cats since there are more people with dogs than cats and thirty percent of the country’s population doesn't want a pet at all. As you can see dog and cat overpopulation is a very serious problem so I hope you can if you want a dog there is a dog out there waiting for you to adopt a dog there starving. If you want to learn more please contact <a href="https://www.aspca.org/">https://www.aspca.org/</a>.

Dog and cat overpopulation is a very serious problem. One reason is that there are more pets than families that want pets. The highest amount of puppies a dog can have is fifteen per litter. This shows that two dogs can make fifteen puppies in one reproduction. Also, dogs can breed two times a year - that's thirty dogs in two breeding cycles! A dog can breed thirty times in their entire life cycle, that is 900 puppies in one lifetime!

Cats are also a huge problem for overpopulation. The highest amount a cat can have in one litter is ten kittens in one year. They can also breed twice a year, so that's twenty kittens in one year. Cats can live for twelve to eighteen years and can have 100 to 400 kittens in the seven years they’re able to reproduce.

There are a lot of&nbsp;organizations that help abandoned animals. One organization the ASPCA (which stands for American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). Another organization is the Humane Society. There are a lot of other organizations all working towards the same goal - ending animal abandonment and abuse. 

Animal abandonment is a problem that affects millions of animals each year. There are a lot of reasons people abandonment their pets, but also lots of organizations that help abandoned animals.

Animal abandonment is when people abandon their animals and they are left to survive on their own. Animal abandonment is a problem that affects millions of animals each year.&nbsp; Each year 6.3 million dogs and cats go to a shelter in the United States alone.&nbsp; 65% of shelter dogs get adopted and 66% of shelter cats get adopted.&nbsp; However, 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized each year.&nbsp;&nbsp;

There are a lot of reasons why animals are abandoned.&nbsp; Sometimes animals are abandoned&nbsp;because their owner may not be able&nbsp;to provide food and other essentials.&nbsp; Another reason is because their owner does not have the time to take care&nbsp;of them.&nbsp; Another reason is&nbsp;an animal's owner might not want to take care of them, so they abandon their animals. In some cases, people have to give up their animals to an animal shelter due to things like hoarding, animal fighting, or other bad living conditions.

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Published 2023 Plymouth, Massachusetts

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Have you ever wondered what animal abuse is? Well, everybody says “a dog is a man's best friend.” But animals are dying because nobody helps some of them. Animal abuse is a big problem because sometimes animals get abandoned or even get abused by not feeding them or giving them homes. Additionally, some shelters are trying to save animals and do not have enough space to keep them.&nbsp;

People abandon their dogs and cats which is a form of animal abuse. Also, people abuse animals when they either can’t take care of them or they are trying to generally hurt their dogs or cats. Also, dog and cat owners sometimes can’t pay for their safety or can’t pay for their vet costs. This is a pretty big problem because then the owners would abandon their cats and dogs or let them run away and become stray animals.

In Chicago, Pitbulls makeup ⅓ of dogs that come to animal shelters&nbsp;as well as ⅔ of dogs euthanized. Types of Pitbulls&nbsp;include American Pitbull Terriers, American Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, plus various mixed others. Pitbulls are not a breed but a group of dogs. In Chicago, Pitbulls are blamed for most dog bites. People get them for protection and some for dog fighting.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;Sali Gear, who owns Island Dog Rescue in Virginia, planned to rescue dogs from St. Thomas to St. Croix after hurricane Irma. She rented a plane to rescue 300 animals in two days.

In December 2022, the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem, Massachusetts took in dozens of cats and dogs from overcrowded animal shelters in Tennessee, Texas, and Kentucky.

By: Benett Brodeur Zachary Corfey Felipe Leandro Mylah Powers Max sourielle

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According to PETA, every 60 seconds one animal suffers abuse.&nbsp; Everything from puppy mills, to dog fighting rings, to drugs have resulted in animal abuse and abandonment. There should be more laws that forbid and punish animal cruelty and abandonment.&nbsp; One of the first laws related to animal abuse was passed in 1822 in England.&nbsp; That law is called the Martins Act.&nbsp; It made it illegal to treat animals cruelly.&nbsp; If you abused an animal you would have to spent five years in jail&nbsp; Animal rights laws are helping animals get out of dangerous situations. In 2010 a law was passed in the United States making it illegal to create or sell a video of animals fighting.&nbsp; According to Today’s Veterinary Nurse, now there is a new bill trying to be passed that would make the cruelty of animals illegal, not just making a video of the cruelty illegal. There is a bill that the United States is trying to pass (both Democrats and Republicans) called the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture&nbsp;Act (PACT). Animal cruelty is when someone hurts an animal or does not take good care&nbsp; of it. If the bill passes you could face up to 7 years in prison and a fine.

There are many groups today that focus on helping animals. At first these groups had a very specific goal to help abused and abandoned pets. Over time, these groups expanded their reach. The Alliance for Humane Action (AHA) tries to protect farm animals from poor treatment. While the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) runs animal shelters.&nbsp; The ASPCA was founded in 1866 to prevent the of cruelty to animals throughout the U.S. The AHA is a national organization that represents and serves all types of hospitals, health care networks, and their patients and communities.

Animal abuse is a problem that the world needs to start thinking more about and try to change. If we all took better care of animals, the world would be a better place to live.

How Could Animal Abuse Affect Things?

According to the World Animal Foundation, there are over 10 million abused animals that die every year in the United States. Shelters are trying to save these animals from roaming around streets looking for food and safety. However, some shelters can’t fit the amount of animals that need their help, so then they have to put down the dogs and cats.

Why would people abuse animals?

A lot of animals were used in the past for entertainment.&nbsp; For example, zoos used animals for people's enjoyment and were used for money. Also, animals were used for food, and clothes. For instance, chickens are the world's most abused animal. There are 50 billion chickens that are being used for food and clothes. Initially, chickens were used for fighting for entertainment. People would have chickens fight and enjoy watching them hurt each other and possibly die.&nbsp;

What is Animal Abandonment page 4-5 Animal Abuse and What It Is page 6-8 Animal Laws page 9-10 Dog and Cat Overpopulation page 11-13 Animal Shelter page 14-15 Glossary page 16