Circus Cruelty Essay Example

Circus Cruelty Essay Over the years circuses have been considered one of the most entertaining places of all time, but what happens when the show ends and everybody goes home? On the outside circuses seem magical and full of fun. People would think that they are harmless, but in reality they’re filled with abuse, fear, and neglect. While most famous shows claim that the animals are well kept and treated fairly, many sources seem to believe otherwise. Most of the performing animals belong in the wild where they can run free. Circuses are traveling constantly which means that the animals are too. The animals are kept in cages that aren’t even spacious enough for them. Most people would think that the trainers or workers would clean the cages, but they don’t. The cages are filthy and filled with the animals’ own feces and urine. Most of the time, the animals aren’t even provided with access to food or water. They must wait until the train stops to be fed (â€Å"Circuses†). Even after they have arrived to their destination they are still kept chained until it is their turn to perform. We will write a custom essay sample on Circus Cruelty specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Circus Cruelty specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Circus Cruelty specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The chains are kept short and don’t give the animals much room to move around (â€Å"Animal Defenders†). A traveling circus isn’t a suitable home for these animals. People would think that the animals would at least be treated with love and fairness, but they are treated quite opposite. Animals in the circus are beaten and abused. It has been reported that trainers use sharp hooks, pitch forks, and even blow torches to train the elephants. Video footage of this cruel nonsense has been released in the past. The videos include large cats being dragged, monkeys being kicked, and elephants being electrically shocked (â€Å"Circuses†). The circus is most certainly not a natural environment for the animals. They are taken from the wild by force. Most are even taken when they are just babies (â€Å"Animal Defenders†). Even though some would argue that the trainers would take care of the baby animals, they still need their mothers. Baby animals are in no condition to be trained to perform circus acts, especially because most of the acts performed in the circus wouldn’t be performed by the animals on their own. A tiger would never have to jump through a flaming hoop in their natural habitat and an elephant wouldn’t stand on its hind legs for its own excitement (â€Å"Enjoy the†). Animals should be left in the wild where they belong. Even though all circuses argue that they have their animals under control and that the circus is a safe place for everyone, many sources have proved them wrong. Most Circuses do not have frequent inspections to make sure that the environment is safe or that the animals are secured safely (â€Å"Enjoy the†). Over the years many animals have gotten loose and have injured or killed people. Human injuries lead to the animals being painfully put to death (â€Å"Big-Top Cruelty†). A lot of the animals in circuses carry diseases from the wild. They can also acquire disease through the filth that they live in. Statistics show that many circuses have allowed animals with various diseases to perform in their shows (â€Å"Enjoy the†). The majestic adventure the circus seems to be is only a false picture painted by the circus industry. The animals aren’t having fun while they’re performing. They only perform because they live in fear (â€Å"Circuses†). Even though the circus may seem like the most wonderful place on earth there are many other places that are just as great. There are many animal free circuses around the country. They include acts involving clowns, acrobats, jugglers, and many more. All of these are just as exciting and don’t involve cruel training or unsafe environments for the audience.

Medical Testing On Animals Essays - Laboratory Techniques

Medical Testing On Animals Essays - Laboratory Techniques Medical Testing on Animals Every year, nearly 100 million animals die in research laboratories at the hands of curious scientists who perform outdated and inaccurate tests that prove no benefit to humans or animals. Before these animals die, they are routinely burned, scalded, poisoned, starved, given electric shocks, addicted to drugs, subjected to near freezing temperatures, dosed with radioactive elements, driven insane, deliberately inflicted with diseases such as cancer, diabetes, oral infections, stomach ulcers, Syphilis, herpes, and AIDS. Their eyes are surgically removed; their brains and spinal cords damaged, and their bones broken. The usage of anesthesia is not mandated by law, and consequently, thus is rarely administered. Despite all of this cruelty, not a single disease has been cured through vivisection in this century. The overall adult cancer rate has risen in the past 40 years and a fatal heart attack strikes a person every 45 seconds. The Centers for Disease Control estimate that 70-80% of the common diseases killing Americans are preventable given a responsible diet and lifestyle. Drug testing on animals is inaccurate and does not benefit humans or animals at all. Animals including, but not limited to, dogs, cats, mice, rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, rhesus monkeys, imported primates, owls, deer, sheep, llama, and cattle are commonly used for vivisection. Vivisection is the medical term for the practice of experimenting on animals. Charles River Breeding Laboratories, a company owned by Bausch and Lomb, provides 40-50% of the animals used in experiments of laboratories. The other remainig misfortunate animals come from places a little closer to you and me. Some of them come from animal shelters, some come from the "free to good home" ads in the classified section of the newspaper, some from unsuspecting people who allow their companion animals to become pregnant, or even worse, some have been stolen directly from their own front yard. Imagine your pet one day being crammed into a cage with ten other animals waiting to die like approximately 20-100 million other animals do each year in numerous unreliable tests. More than 205,000 new drugs are marketed worldwide every year, most after undergoing the most common unreliable test method still in use: animal vivisection. The current system of drug testing places consumers in a dangerous predicament. According to the General Accounting Office, more than half of the prescription drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration between 1976 and 1985 caused serious side effects that later caused the drugs to be either re-labeled or removed from the market. The following drugs passed safe in animal experiments but proved tragic consequences in humans: Opren: 3500 people suffered serious side effects including damage to skin, eyes, liver, and kidneys. Thalidomide: Caused about 10,000 birth defects worldwide Clioquinol: Caused 30,000 cases of blindness and/or paralysis and thousands of deaths Conversely, many drugs that are beneficial to humans are dangerous or even fatal to animals: Penicillin: An antibiotic to humans, but kill's guinea pigs. Aspirin: Caused birth defects in rats, mice, monkeys, guinea pigs, cats and dogs, but not humans. This is obvious proof that testing on animals is unreliable, but sadistic tests still go on every day. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine reports that sophisticated non-animal research methods are more accurate, less expensive, and less-time consuming than traditional animal based research methods. Fewer accidental deaths caused by drugs and treatments would occur if stubborn bureaucrats and wealthy vivisectors would use the more accurate alternatives such as: 1. Cell and tissue culture in vitro. 2. Microorganisms and other species of little or no capacity for pain or suffering. 3. Computer models to answer questions and guide animal research. 4. Fewer animals used per study. 5. Less poorly planned work. If animal experimentation was eliminated, it would free up 6.8 billion dollars that could be used for education programs and medical assiezce programs for low-income individuals; helping the more than 30 million U.S. citizens who cannot afford health insurance, rather than making animals sick. There will be nearly 275,000 animals dead this time tomorrow that were not dead right now. The numbers are real and this happening in our world every day only because it is a multibillion dollar income for some people and is legal in the U.S. The National Institutes of

Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Exam - Essay Example However, bullying also takes other, more indirect forms, such as gossiping, spreading rumors and other psychological forms of harassment. It is this type of bullying which is common in colleges. It has to be accepted that â€Å"the sad reality is that bullying and harassment affect millions of students on college campuses† (Holt). Bullying now takes many forms on a college campus: intimidation, hazing, and even cyber-bullying. Anti-harassment laws are necessary in colleges because of the new wireless culture, to signal zero tolerance for bullying and to ensure a positive impact on all stakeholders. The spread of wireless technology has changed the culture on college campuses. It is no longer sufficient that â€Å"Virtually every college in the country is required by federal law to have strong rules banning discriminatory harassment† (Lukianoff). These federal laws largely belong to the last century. The very nature of college campuses has changed in the past decade due to wireless technology. It is clear that bullying and harassment no longer deal only â€Å"with stalking, vandalism, telephonic harassment and threats† (Lukianoff).  With the spread of wireless technology and students’ constant interaction on social networks, the problem of bullying and harassment has also taken on more serious dimensions. ... College campuses must reflect larger society in order to function as true environments of learning. Anti-harassment laws must keep pace with the changing times in order to remain effective. It is only when colleges are bound by clear anti-harassment laws that they can firmly signal their zero tolerance for bullying. Institutes of higher learning must be clearly seen to encourage a positive, supportive atmosphere where students know that bullying will not be tolerated, where students know they can go to adults for help, and where there are clear consequences for bullying. When it is made compulsory for colleges â€Å"to distribute their anti-harassment policy to all students, including instruction on what students and administrators should do if an incident of harassment occurs,† bullying will be controlled (Holt). Spelling out the college’s commitment to an anti-harassment position will stop bullying.   This can be done by making colleges â€Å"publicly recognize tha t bullying is a real problem and have a policy to deal with it† (Holt). Only a compulsory anti-bullying policy will move college authorities to being proactive on this issue. Otherwise, there will be a tendency for teachers to tolerate or ignore bullying and even to look down on victims as not being ‘man enough’ to take it in their stride. Authorities need to be active in preventing bullying on campus. An anti-harassment legislation will ensure that teachers and administrators make it a part of their duty to intervene in bullying. When colleges are required to prevent bullying and harassment, all the stakeholders will benefit. The victims of bullying often carry scars for life. This is