Recently, the FBI released the Preliminary Semi-Annual Uniform Crime Report, which covers the months of January through June, 2011. A glance at Table 4, which details rates of specific crimes committed by state, shows data for murder, forcible rape (isn't that redundant?), and robbery, among other crimes. But not one category details crimes against animals.
This may be in part because crime against animals is not taken seriously. Michael Vick, for example, is a football player who made a hobby of torturing and killing dogs (including throwing family pets into dog-fighting rings, hanging them, and drowning them) for pleasure and personal gain. After confessing to brutally killing eight dogs and injuring many more, he was charged with six felonies, each carrying a maximum five-year sentence. He was released after only eighteen months. Upon his release, he was offered deals with Nike and was sought after by several NFL teams, and now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles. To add insult to injury, the terms of his probation are being wholly ignored: According to his sentence, he is forbidden to own any dogs for three years from his July 2009 prison release date. In early December 2011, Vick adopted a beagle. The judge who overturned his probation based his decision on the fact that Vick is a good football player and his daughters really want a dog. This, apparently, outweighs confession to gruesome torture of helpless animals.
It's no wonder why people throw plastic bags full of kittens into lakes and tie dogs up to telephone poles in the middle of nowhere and leave them to die. They can get away with it.
Crimes against animals in Florida are nothing short of horrendous. The Interactive Animal Cruelty Map of Florida has documented 958 of 1,349 known cases of animal cruelty, including animals who have suffered beating, burning, acts of bestiality, strangulation, and fighting. Hundreds of cases go unreported every year.
Of all of the animal cruelty crimes in Florida, neglect and abandonment are the most common, with 534 cases documented on the animal cruelty map. According to the Animal Abuse Database, Tampa area cases include tethering animals and leaving them to die, caging them and allowing them to die, throwing puppies into canals, and abandoning cats in boxes -- just to name a few.
Dr. Dave and Stacy Wempe, veterinarians of Spring Hill Animal Clinic, recently found an abandoned pit bull tethered to a pole. Although they are not a rescue or adoption service, they took her in, rehabilitated her, treated her ailments, and trained her to walk on a leash. They also spayed and vaccinated her, and despite her life of abuse, she is a very sweet and loving dog. They are now seeking a loving forever-family for Roxy. (Interested parties, please call 352-797-0033 for more information.)
Roxy is one of the lucky ones. Too many animals suffer abuse and rescue never comes.
What can you do?
- Adopt responsibly. Spay, neuter, vaccinate, and care for your pet. Never leave your pet outdoors in extreme weather.
- If you suspect abuse, call a sheriff or animal control immediately. Don't wait until it's too late to speak up. Animals can't speak for themselves.
- Support organizations such as the ASPCA, Humane Society, or Pet-Abuse.com. These organizations seek to prevent animal abuse and rehabilitate and adopt out abused animals.
- If you find yourself in a desperate situation -- maybe you can't afford your pet any more, for example -- do NOT resort to abandonment. If a suitable home cannot be found for your pet, call an animal rescue service to give your pet the second chance he or she deserves.
Abandoned Dog Poem (author unknown)
He's been here for days now with nothing to do, but sit by the road waiting for you.
He can't understand why you left him that day; he thought you were stopping to play.
He's sure you'll come back and that's why he stays, waiting in the cold, waiting in the sun, too faithful to leave, too frightened to run.
His legs have grown weak, he's throat's parched and dry, he's sick now from hunger and falls with a sigh.
He lays down his head and closes his eyes; I wish you could see how a waiting dog dies.
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