Victories for the Animal Rights Movement

In the past few years, a few events have brought more attention to animal rights. These incidents range from the abandonment of pets during Hurricane Katrina and widespread pet food contamination to Michael Vick’s dog-fighting and Oprah’s recent show about puppy mills.

According to USA Today, PETA’s membership has risen to 1.8 million and the Humane Society’s to 10.5 million.

This year, 28 state legislatures are expected to strengthen bans on dog/cock-fighting and 13 states are considering bills to regulate puppy mills.

The book and movie Fast Food Nation (Google Books) educated millions of Americans about the horrors of the industry. Since then, 330 colleges have stopped or reduced the use of eggs from hens housed in battery cages. Mass retailers are also following the trend- examples include Burger King and Hardee’s. Grocery stores display more meat and eggs labeled “free-range” or “grass-fed,” and sales of organic agricultural products have sky-rocketed.

Additionally, there is a campaign in Massachusetts to ban commercial greyhound racing by 2010.

Many other reforms have happened and are in the process of being passed. In fact, some people compare this burst of animal activism to the civil rights activism in the 1960s and the environmentalism in the 1970s.

However, it is important to realize that even with these successes, there are still many other concerns in the world today. Destruction of natural habitats, horrifying agriculture practices, and domestic animal abuse are some of the many problems that must be addressed. Sadly, most issues are not acted upon by the general public until a tragedy strikes.

Of course, awareness is the first step, and it is a great sign that people are reacting to the recent news.

For more information, visit
USA Today

The adorable picture is from www.kloudiia.com