Animals have been domesticated since as long as history has been recorded. But as modern times came around people began to realize that animals deserve to be treated humanly as well. Cruelty to animals is the infliction of suffering or harm upon animals, other than humans, for purposes other than self-defense. More narrowly, it can be harm for specific gain, such as killing animals for food or for their fur. Diverging viewpoints are held by jurisdictions throughout the world.
why is it important?
It is important because people believe that animals should be treated morally just as humans. They animal activists believe animals have feelings just like we do and that being treated wrong and being punished should be against the law and therefore become a crime.
Some major causes of cruelty and neglect?
Some major causes of these are quite simple but huge issues.Passive cruelty is typified by cases of neglect, where the crime is a lack of action rather than the action itself - however do not let the terminology fool you. Severe animal neglect can cause incredible pain and suffering to an animal.
Examples of neglect are starvation, dehydration, parasite infestations, allowing a collar to grow into an animal's skin, inadequate shelter in extreme weather conditions, and failure to seek veterinary care when an animal needs medical attention
Active cruelty implies malicious intent, where a person has deliberately and intentionally caused harm to an animal, and is sometimes referred to as NAI (Non-Accidental Injury). Acts of intentional cruelty are often some of the most disturbing and should be considered signs of serious psychological problems. This type of behavior is often associated with sociopathic behavior and should be taken very seriously.
Animal abuse in violent homes can take many forms and can occur for many reasons. Many times a parent or domestic partner who is abusive may kill, or threaten to kill, the household pets to intimidate family members into sexual abuse, to remain silent about previous or current abuse, or simply to psychologically torture the the victims, flexing their "power".
http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/animal_cruelty.php
Other issues surrounding this topic is the issue of strays. Strays are animals that have either gotten loose from their owner or set free due to amount of pay used to keep the animal safe. In big cities this is a major problem because there is a huge selection of strays that are potentially dangerous and may cause harm to humans and other animals.
animal cruelty and rights groups
Friends of Animals (FoA) is an animal rights group based in Darien, Connecticut in the United States.[1] It was founded by Alice Herrington in 1957 in Manhattan, New York, with an aim of reducing the number of stray cats and dogs by offering low cost spay and neutering
WSPA is against the cruel treatment and abuse of animals in general, they also campaign against specific kinds of cruel treatment and abuse, such as bullfighting, bear baiting[1] and dancing, whaling, the capturing and keeping of dolphins, intensive farming of animals, and the treatment of working equines and companion animals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_animal_rights_groups
