The impact of animal cruelty

American University

Dog crying inside a cage.

My purpose for writing about animal cruelty is that it’s rarely talked about, and is not talked about anywhere near as much as abuse between people. Animal cruelty often gets ignored or people just look away when animals are hit or put in cages.

Three types of abuse

Physical abuse is when you injure your dog’s body, kill or sexually assault them. This will lead the animal to adapt to the abuse with fear, aggression, and anxiety, which will make it hard for the animal to adapt to society. This is the most common type of abuse.

Neglect is another form of abuse, though it’s hard to notice it exists. Animal neglect is when the animal isn’t properly cared for: this includes food and water, medical attention, and staying outside without proper shelter. Neglect doesn’t only include that but it also involves breeding animals in puppy mills, tying them up, or having so many animals you can’t care for.

Mental and psychological abuse can harm animals emotionally. This will lead the animal to get aggressive with people and other animals, and leads an animal to experience anxiety and fear. 

Signs of cruelty

Here are some signs of abuse or neglect: Animal abuse can often be seen when an animal tucks their tail, flinches, and tries biting or scratching at any human contact. Other signs include unexplained limping, bruises and fractures. Animals might also display unprovoked aggression, whining and whimpering. The animal might be overly submissive, like rolling onto their back or having their tail tucked.

Signs of neglect might be an animal being skinny or sickly looking, having a difference in appearance such as fur loss, dull texture, or skin infection, as well as visible marks from abuse and untreated injuries. 

Gallery • 3 Photos

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Puppy Mill