animal cruelty

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Takes 2 Minutes: Add Your Voice End 24/7 Tethering of Dogs in Pennsylvania

A quick email, a phone call from you can facilitate passage of SB 373 in the PA House and end 24/7 inclement weather tethering for dogs.

article from http://www.humane-pa.org

Senator Richard Alloway + 18 co-sponsors introduced SB 373, which  overwhelmingly passed the Senate 45-4! Now it needs to pass the House. Please call, write, e-mail,  or use social media to contact your State Representative  to request their support of  SB 373.  Your message can be short, stating simply “I am a constituent – please support SB 373, the inclement weather/anti-tethering bill.”

Please follow up by making a call to Representative Ron Marsico, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, to ask him to move SB 373 from his committee: Rep. Marsico: (717) 783-2014 or rmarsico@pahousegop.com.

SB 373 will:

  • Ensure that a dog is removed from the tether in periods of inclement weather.
  • Provide minimum standards for length and type of tether.
  • Ban the use of poke, pinch, or pronged collars which pose a danger to the dog while tethered.
  • Ensure that the dog may only be tethered long enough for the owner to complete a temporary task and that the owner may not leave the dog unattended and tethered.

Facts about tethering:

What does “chaining” or “tethering” of dogs mean?                      

These terms refer to the practice of fastening a dog to a stationary object or stake, usually in the owner’s backyard, as a means of keeping the animal under control. These terms do not refer to the periods when an animal is walked on a leash.

Why is tethering dogs inhumane?

Dogs are naturally social animals who thrive on interaction with people and other animals. A dog kept chained in one spot for hours, days, months or even years suffers immense psychological damage. An otherwise friendly and docile dog, when kept continuously chained, becomes neurotic, unhappy, anxious and often aggressive.

In many cases, the necks of chained dogs become raw and covered with sores, the result of improperly fitted collars and the dogs’ constant yanking and straining to escape confinement. Dogs have even been found with collars embedded in their necks, the result of years of neglect at the end of a chain.

In addition to The ASPCA, The Humane Society of the United States and numerous animal experts, even the U. S. Department of Agriculture issued a statement in the July 2, 1996, Federal Register against tethering: “Our experience in enforcing the Animal Welfare Act has led us to conclude that continuous confinement of dogs by a tether is inhumane. A tether significantly restricts a dog’s movement. A tether can also become tangled around or hooked on the dog’s shelter structure or other objects, further restricting the dog’s movement and potentially causing injury.”

What effects does tethering have on the community?

Banning permanent tethering makes for safer neighborhoods and happier dogs all without adding burden to our animal control agency. – The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports chained dogs are three times more likely to bite resulting in greater incidences of dog attacks and bites to humans and animals. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) also concluded in a study that the dogs most likely to attack are male, un-neutered, and chained.

Find your State Legislators.

More articles/information on tethering:

Pa. bills would outlaw dog tethering, revenge pet cruelty

Tethering – on its Last Thread?

Table of State Tethering Laws.

Township Tethering Ordinance (sample language)

Philly Dawg York Co. borough approves landmark anti-tethering law.

Philly Dawg: Harrisburg Poised to be the first PA City with anti-tethering law

 

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The FBI Makes Animal Abuse a Top-Tier Felony

Recognizing the link between animal cruelty and acts of violence against humans, the FBI has started tracking animal abusers nationwide the way it tracks domestic violence, arson, assault, and homicide.  It has made animal cruelty a Group A felony, on par with homicide, arson, and assault. This new policy is likely to help protect both animals and people, and represents a shift toward humane treatment of animals.

Research has repeatedly demonstrated that animal cruelty is often a precursor to violence against humans. Tracking animal abuse perpetrators will help law enforcement to better understand and respond to animal abuse, and help prevent violence against people and animals. The majority of serial killers and school shooters, for example, abuse animals prior to turning on humans.

In the past, animal abuse records were thrown into a broader category with no ability to track the abusers. Now that incidents are tracked, police chiefs and law enforcement are given the data to identify abusers and change the way they police their community.

“Documented research is clear and long-standing, but most law enforcement agencies haven’t acted on it,” says John Thompson, Deputy Executive Director of the National Sheriffs’ Association, who worked to institute the new animal cruelty category. “The documented data is there, and it’s not just guesswork. The immediate benefit [of the new policy] is that it will be in front of law enforcement every month when they have to do their crime reports. That’s something we have never seen.”

Thompson said that translating the link between animal cruelty and violence against humans into enforcement is likely to be similar to the trajectory of domestic violence in the early 70s, when law enforcement was initially perplexed about why the abused woman didn’t just leave. “We didn’t understand the dynamics of domestic violence,” states Thompson, “and as that understanding changed, things got better. Animal abuse is going to follow the same timeline. For this problem to be solved you have to get the legislators to create the laws, law enforcement to enforce the laws, prosecutors to prosecute, and judges to convict.”

Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, states that there will be “a real incentive for law enforcement agencies to pay closer attention to [animal abuse],” and will allow those agencies to better “allocate officers and financial resources to handle these cases, track trends and deploy accordingly.”

While this new FBI policy is focused on tracking animal abusers and not on prosecuting them yet, it is a promising harbinger that stronger animal abuse laws and enforcement will come to pass.

Sources:

http://www.npr.org/2016/01/16/463094761/along-with-assault-and-arson-fbi-starts-to-track-animal-abuse

www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/01/fbi-animal-cruelty-felony_n_5913364.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fbi-animal-abuse-tracking_568fd1d9e4b0cad15e6468c8?section=green

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The Humane League

by guest blogger Olivia Jannuzzi

Hello there

Hello there

Giving a voice to the voiceless and a big hand to those with paws, Untold Animal Stories combines true and stylized storytelling with animal advocacy, resulting in an uncommon and inspiring blog. This website features articles with tips for pet owners, petitions and opportunities to help animals in need, and occasionally a video demonstrating an animal’s intelligence and importance. The main feature of the blog is the innovative short stories that are often told from an animal’s perspective, putting the reader on all fours, and allowing us to get a tiny feel of what these animals experience daily.

As you read the stories, you are seeing life through an animal’s eyes. We are put in the panther’s entrapment at the zoo as a crowd stares. We are rescued with a stray dog who finds a loving family and a warm bed. We experience peaceful life as a cow on a wide green pasture. Without forcing it, and without disgusting and shocking people with the harsh realities of what these animals go through, these creative stories are a subtle yet effective technique for people to build compassion for animals, and to help raise animal advocacy awareness.

Raising awareness for animals is important for several significant reasons. For starters, it is important for people to know where their food is coming from and what methods were used to get the meat from the animal to the plate. Currently factory farming dominates food production in the United States, with approximately 99% of farm animals subjected to these factories and about ten billion animals per year slaughtered for food. The animals are routinely mistreated and abused, and the practices used by the farmers are often cruel and horrendous. Not only that, but factory farms are one of the biggest polluters in the nation, putting humans’ health at risk as well.

Of course, factory farming is not the only option we have to put food on our plates. The Humane League* works to raise consciousness and alert the world on what is really going on with their food, and presents alternatives to eating factory farmed meat by encouraging healthy and tasty options like Meatless Monday, or the benefits of going vegan/vegetarian. The switch from factory farmed meat to cruelty-free alternatives can save hundreds of animals’ lives while also making the planet and you healthier.

When you see something destructive or dangerous happening, it is our nature and right to take action against it. Even the smallest efforts go a long way and can save a significant number of animals’ lives. Unfortunately, animals do not have the voice (or thumbs) to stop the horrible treatment that they are subjected to, which is why it is important we give them a voice and a chance to live better lives. Untold Animal Stories creates that voice to help open up people’s minds and see that animal’s lives are just as significant and meaningful as our own.

~ ~ ~* Since its founding in 2005, the Humane League’s mission has been to save the lives of as many animals as possible and to reduce animal cruelty. We want a world where all animals are treated with the same respect and compassion that we show to our beloved family dog or cat.

Originally founded in Philadelphia, the Humane League has grown to be a leading national presence for farm animals with offices in Philadelphia, Boston, Maryland, Dallas, Charlotte, Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Miami. Funding comes from our tens of thousands of supporters across the world.  For more information or to contribute, please visit: http://www.thehumaneleague.com/donate.html COW - APNOV (35 of 98)

PIG APNOV (50 of 98)Photo Credits: Stephanie Frankle

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The Noble, Gentle Greyhounds of Spain in the Wrong Hands

Lori Kalef
SPCA International

In the south of Spain, there is a form of hunting hares where the hunters use Spanish Greyhounds, or Galgos in Spanish, as weapons to find their prey. This form of hunting is forbidden in each of the European Union countries through their domestic animal protection laws, but unfortunately Spain still lacks these regulations.

Roy is one of the lucky ones. With your signature on the international petition (http://bit.ly/1egDtIr), we can make a difference and change the lives of many more greyhounds than only Roy and a handful of others.Roy3

Tens of thousands of Spanish Greyhounds have the misfortune to be born into the wrong hands of these hunters each year. These noble animals are used strictly as tools during the hunting season, which begins in the early fall and ends in February. They are then discarded in the most barbaric manner, which many hunters believe will bring prosperity for the following season’s hunt. The dogs are often beaten, burned, buried alive, doused with acid, thrown into wells, or tortured in other ways. Some die slowly by a method the hunters refer to as ‘the pianist’ method—tying the neck of the dog to a tree and allowing the back feet to barely touch the ground. The dogs move and jump for days struggling to stay alive, their front paws swaying back and forth resembling the playing of a piano. It is estimated that 60,000 Spanish Greyhounds are killed each year.

During the training season, Spanish Greyhounds are forced to run for hours and miles in the hot sun, their leashes tied to moving trucks. They are kept with the most minimal amount of shelter, food, and hygiene to survive. Many hunters believe starving their hunting dogs keeps them hungry for the hunt and more effective.

Behind every Greyhound’s life in Spain, there is a story of cruelty. When Roy was found on a roadside, he was barely alive. His lifeless body, covered in scars and lacerations.Roy had given up, his eyes remained closed, his body limp as his rescuers examined him. His rescuers brought him to SPCA International’s partner shelter in Spain, SOS Galgos, where he received emergency life-saving treatment and care.

Roy’s history is not uncommon, and he was fortunate to be found when he was. Thanks to organizations like SOS Galgos, a non-profit organization fighting to defend the rights of Spanish Greyhounds like Roy, and SPCA International, the plight of the Greyhounds of Spain will one day improve.

SPCA International– http://www.spcai.org/ — and SOS Galgos — http://sosgalgos.com/?lang=en –are working to improve animal welfare legislation and promote education and awareness sensitizing people to the warm and gentle nature of the Spanish Greyhound. This past March marked a memorable time in history for the Spanish Greyhounds. SPCA International and SOS Galgos, along with other animal protection organizations in Europe, met with the Spanish Congress of Deputies in Madrid to lobby on behalf of all the voiceless Greyhounds. Two hours were dedicated to the welfare of the hunting dogs in Spain in hopes of one day passing laws forbidding this torture.

Please help support the fight to eradicate this appalling tradition by signing SPCA International’s petition.  http://spcai.org/help-us-stop-the-horrific-torture-of-greyhounds-galgos-in-spain.html  Together we can create change! Roy2

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Part IV … in the middle of winter

Gracie in windowFor part I:   https://untoldanimalstories.org/2013/09/13/i-was-born-in-the-middle-of-winter/
Part II: https://untoldanimalstories.org/2013/09/20/part-ii-i-was-born-on-an-amish-farm-in-the-middle-of-winter/
Part III: https://untoldanimalstories.org/2013/09/27/part-iii-i-was-born-on-an-amish-farm-in-the-middle-of-winter/

I was not born on an Amish farm in the middle of winter, but I live with the one who was.  I was born in the middle of summer in Peachbottom, PA, near a chain link fence.  By the time I was six months old I’d had a litter of kittens.  At eight months, someone tossed me from a car window by my forearm.  I walked with a limp like Quasimodo for a long time.  I landed in a soft place eventually, but that’s another story for another time.

This part of my story is about Mr. Bean, who blasted into my life after we lost our dog, Beez.  Beez and I were best of friends, and now he’s gone.  Beezel & Gracie 2009My people adopted this wiry, wild-eyed kitten who lacks manners.  Though our pasts have similarities—each of us was neglected and suffered from hunger—I’m more philosophic than Bean is.  I see things as they are, and I soften into them.  Despite Mr. Bean’s behavior toward me, I conduct myself exactly as I chose to be.  I never bite.  I am kind, always.  I live peacefully.  It’s my hope that by walking my path, I will teach this young one.  In the meantime, I’m chased, pounced upon, and chewed on.  If I could sigh, I would.  But things are exactly as they are, and I move through my world in relative serenity, sometimes better than others.

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