What is Animal Welfare?
Animal Welfare, as defined by the American Veterinary Medical Association, is a human responsibility that encompasses all aspects of animal well-being, including proper housing, management, disease prevention and treatment, responsible care, and humane handling. There are many examples of animal welfare being violated, for example, in many pounds around the U.S. treat animals like dogs and cats inhumanly. A lot of pounds are over crowded. when they get too over crowded the animals could be neglected. The caregivers could be taking care of one animal as another one gets sick or gets into a fight. There are shelters that kill the animals mostly dogs if they don’t get adopted because they need more space for other animals called kill shelters. All these examples show how animal welfare rights get violated. A puppy mill is a huge example of animal welfare rights getting violated.
What Are Puppy Mills And How Do They Violate Animal Welfare Rights?
A puppy mill is an inhumane high-volume dog breeding facility that churns out puppies for profit, ignoring the needs of the pups and their mothers. Dogs from puppy mills are often sick and unsocialized. Mother dogs spend their entire lives in cramped cages with little to no personal attention. When the mother and father dogs can no longer breed, they are abandoned or killed. Due to poor sanitation and a lack of preventive veterinary care, the puppies from puppy mills frequently suffer from a variety of health issues, creating challenges for families.
This is an image of a puppy mill survivor.
How Do Circuses Violate Animal Welfare Rights?
Circuses travel nearly year-round, in all weather extremes, sometimes for days at a time. While in transit, the animals are confined to trailers or trucks, where they may not have access to basic necessities, such as food, water, and veterinary care. Elephants are chained, and big cats are imprisoned in cramped, filthy cages, in which they eat, drink, sleep, defecate, and urinate—all in the same place. And there’s no relief once the animals reach a venue, where they remain caged and are chained in arena basements and parking lots. To force animals to perform, circus trainers abuse them with whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, and bullhooks.
This image shows people using bullhooks on a baby elephant to train him.
Animal Welfare 