Annotated Bibliography

Lee, Meredith. "Animal Cruelty Facts and Statistics : The Humane Society of the United
States." RSS. The Humane Society of the United States, 31 Aug. 2015. Web. 17 Sept.
2015.

This resource gives factual information about animal cruelty. It gives exact statistics such as the
most reported animal abuse cases are cats, dogs, horses and livestock. 64.4 percent are dogs,
(25% of those were classified as pit bulls), 18 % are cats and 25% are other animals. They did a
survey on animal abuse and the results came out of males under 30 or females over the age of 60.
All 50 states have felony laws against animal cruelty. Some state laws only allow felony charges
if the perpetrator has a previous animal cruelty conviction. 43 out of the 50 state felony
provisions are first offense provisions. This site is very beneficial to my next paper because I am
going to be talking about the specific laws of animal cruelty and how the states handle it.
Fuller, Ruth. "Animal Cruelty." Articles about. Chicago Tribune. Web. 26 Sept.
2015
This reference helps me to understand how harsh people are to animals. There are all kinds of
stories and article to look at. These can be very good to reference back to my paper. One of the
article is about a lady who left her dog out in subzero weather and the dog died. She got charged
because the weather was below zero and she did not bother to give the dog blankets or put him in
the warmth so when she found the dogs body the next day she just left the dog outside even
when she knew it was dead. A lot of people get away with animal cruelty, but thankfully she
didnt because this was horrible abuse.

Britt, Darice. "Animal Cruelty and Neglect Exposed." Animal Cruelty and Neglect Exposed.
Southern University, 24 Dec. 2012. Web. 26 Sept. 2015.
This article information is useful in my paper because it is important to understand what animal
cruelty consist of and to gain knowledge about the agencies that govern and define animal
cruelty. Animals are victims without a voice. Each year, thousands of animals are victims of
cruelty. Animal cruelty incudes a broad range of behaviors harmful to animals. There are no
federal cruelty laws that exist at this time. The Animal Welfare Act is only federal law that exist
to govern the humane care, handling, treatment, and transportation of some animals in certain
situations. State definitions of animal cruelty vary from state to state.
There is no simple answer to the question, what is animal cruelty because the definition differs
from state to state. Cruelty is often used as a catch-all for offenses against animals, including e,
neglect, abuse, animal fighting, abandonment, and includes practicing veterinary medicine
without a license. However animal cruelty is recognized as a crime throughout this country as
exemplified in state and federal laws regulating that activity. It is vital we all be concerned with
the neighbor that takes pet care responsibilities lightly and report them to the appropriate
agencies. Punishments may range from misdemeanor to felony sanctions, depending on the case
and the perpetrators mental intent regarding the abuse. Sometimes many people witness and
report acts of cruelty, there are cases that go unreported. Animal cruelty can take on many
different forms. It is important people should know what to look for. Animal cruelty falls into
two categories: intentional cruelty and unintentional cruelty or neglect. Intentional cruelty means
someone has on purposely inflicted physical harm or injury on an animal. Unintentional cruelty,
or neglect, may mean an animal has been denied the basic necessities of care, including water,
food, shelter, or veterinary care. It could also mean that the pet owner is unaware they are doing
anything wrong and needs to be educated on how to properly care for the animal. According to
the Humane Society, signs of neglect include: Animals without shelter in extreme heat or cold.
Clearly emaciated animals. Visible bones and lethargy can be a sign of an untreated, lifethreatening medical condition or imminent starvation. Untreated wounds or other medical
conditions. This includes limping, multiple patches of missing fur, and open sores. Dogs or cats
living inside abandoned homes. Also too many animals living in one property might be a sign of
animal hoarding.
"Animal Abuse and Neglect: The Humane Society of the United States." RSS. The Humane
Society. Web. 27 Sept. 2015.
It is important to be knowledgeable about who abuses animals. Most common victims reported
consist of dogs, cats, horses and livestock. The new has shown recently undercover
investigations that revealed that animal abuse is high in the factory farm industry. Due to weak
protections that are lacking under state cruelty laws only the most shocking cases are reported
and seldom are they ever prosecuted. Cruelty and neglect cross socio-economic boundaries, and
according to media reports animal abuse is common in both rural and urban areas. Intentional

cruelty to animals is strongly related including violence against people. Serious animal neglect
such as for example cases of animal hoarding. It is a reported this can possibly be an indicator of
people in need of social or mental health services.

Boyd, Craig. "Animal Fighting Facts - Animal Legal Defense Fund." Animal Legal Defense
Fund Animal Fighting Facts Comments. 1 Feb. 2009. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.
This reference is very useful in my argument against animal cruelty because I go into a broader
look at animal cruelty. Animal cruelty could be dog fighting as well and so this reference is facts
and law on dog fighting. Dog fighting is for entertainment for people who participate in the
activity. In the United States there are 3 different kinds of animal fighting. Dogfighting,
cockfighting and hog-dog fighting. Dogfighting is two dogs get put into a ring until one cannot
fight anymore or dies. Cockfighting is handlers attach a razor to each animals leg (usually the
left) and puts them into a ring to fight until death. Hog-dog fighting is how quickly a dog which
is usually a pit can corner a hog whose tucks have been cut off. These fights with the dogs are
illegal and it is hard for the law to catch them because it is usually private and law enforcement
can never catch a fight in progress. Once law enforcement tries to help the animals they have to
almost kill them because the dogs have been trained to be so aggressive that they dont know
when to stop. It is animal abuse because the owners that put these dogs through training have
them on a strict diet and they make them wear heavy chains and run on tread mills. They give
them steroids to gain muscle mass and fed narcotics to not feel pain. This is so cruel and n
humane.

"Top 10 Ways to Prevent Animal Cruelty." ASPCA. Web. 28 Sept. 2015

This reference is very beneficial to my article because it helps us understand how we can help
animal and what to looks for if they are being abused. Some examples are wounds on the body,
patches of a loss of hair, extremely thin or starving animals, an owner striking or physically
hitting the animal, limping, an animal left alone often without food or water, kept outside without
shelter, tick or fleas and the most important one is animals who cower in fear. These are very
helpful hints and important facts to know. Know who to call and look out where you live and
make sure it is not going on and if it is do something about it. Dont just watch it happen because
it is not the poor animals fault. This is really good to use in my paper I think it is one of the most
important references.