User:Mydigitalvoice

Animal abuse in Detroit, Michigan is a prominent, reoccurring issue that has grown exponentially over the past decade. According to the Michigan Humane Society there are over 5000 accounts of animal abuse annually in Detroit alone. This number is projected to grow well over 8000 by the end of 2012. While city officials have been working adamantly to decrease acts of animal cruelty, there have been little signs of improvement.

Abuse
Animal cruelty is an ambiguous term used to describe the unwarranted treatment of animals. Because of its broad terminology, many variations of abuse have occurred over time and is subject to change as society continues to grow and different accounts of abuse arise. The most obvious form of abuse is physical. Physical cruelty ranges anywhere from cuts, gashes, and bite marks to rope and/or collar/chain burn. It is important to note that animals, especially dogs, are aggressive with one another by nature and certain wear and tear is expected among animals. However, this does not constitute the physical beating of animals from humans.

Neglect as abuse
Neglect is a form of abuse that often goes the most unseen. Neglect ranges anywhere from lacking proper shelter, food, and water to unfit living conditions. The Michigan Humane Society states that of the 5000 animal cruelty complaints it receives each year from Detroit, Michigan, 52% are related to lack of food, water, and shelter. Research studies have been done among therapists to determine whether or not animal abuse is a form of mental health illness and whether or not an abusers’ past can be linked to the present. Robert L. Steiner of New Mexico State University recently addressed this issue when he proposed a case study among various therapy clients. Steiner concludes, “Animal abuse issues can have implications for therapy as a possible predictor of future violence toward humans, as a diagnostic indicator, and sometimes as a feature of client’s abuse history. Research has found that 28% of surveyed clients encountered animal abuse in the past 5 years.”   The case studies are no implication as to why the numbers of reported abuse has increased in Detroit, Michigan over the past decade, however they do offer insight as to why an abuser may choose to abuse animals.

Dog fighting
Dog fighting has become a popular sport among inner cities across the United States and has become an increasingly difficult activity to resolve in Detroit. Because of its many empty or abandoned buildings, warehouses, and houses, the inner city of Detroit is ample playground to the vicious acts of dog fights. By definition, dog fighting is an illegal practice in which two dogs, usually of a Pit Bull breed, are put into an enclosed area for the purpose of attacking and quite frequently, killing each other. Spectators bet on which dog will win. On average, fights last about one hour, but sometimes last two hours or longer. The fight does not end until one of the dogs is no longer able or willing to continue fighting. Dog fights usually end in serious injury or death for one or both dogs involved. Channel 7, a local news station of Detroit, reported stories in 2009 regarding the illegal theft of dogs and how they are used and/or trained for bait or as carriers in dog fighting rings throughout the city. Channel 7 commented that Dog fighting in Detroit not only involves animal cruelty – drugs, illegal weapons, and organized crime are all part of this dark under-world. The Michigan Humane Society released information stating that 125 cases of dog fighting are investigated each year in Detroit.

Dog fighting in the media
Not obtrusive to Detroit alone, dog fighting has gained national attention in the United States particularly due to most notably, now Philadelphia Eagles football player, Michael Vick. Vick was charged with felony accounts of dog fighting once an illegal dog fighting ring was discovered on the premises of his home. According to an article released from the LA Times, Vick served 23 months in federal prison for his legal apertures involved with dog fighting and vicious animal cruelty. Dog fighting has become eminent among the United States’ youth. In an article from USA Today, “A Fight to save urban youth from dog fighting,” experts say that there are an estimated 100,000 kids fighting their dogs under the radar in America. As the numbers and accounts of dog fighting continue to soar, Detroit follows as one of the leading cities in the country with some of the highest degrees of animal cruelty.

Michigan law
Michigan law has tried to deter crimes of animal abuse as the legal statures have gotten increasingly strict over the past decade. According to Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated Currentness, Chapter 750, Michigan Penal Code Chapter IX 750.49, the law extends to not only those in direct contact with animal cruelty, but those who act as spectators as well. The law in full states: Sec. 49. (1) “Animal” means a vertebrate other than a human, (2) A person shall not knowingly do any of the following: (a) Own, possess, use, buy, sell, offer to buy or sell, import, or export an animal for fighting or baiting, or as a target to be shot at as a test of skill in marksmanship. The law continues to state: A person shall not knowingly do any of the following: (c) Rent or otherwise obtain the use of a building, shed, room, yard, ground, or premises for fighting, baiting, or shooting an animal as described in subdivision (a). The Michigan Compiled Laws also digress into the consequences of being charged with illicit crimes pertaining animal abuse, cruelty, and dog fighting which could lead to a felony charge that could be taken to the local judiciary, appellate court, or even supreme court justices of the United States. According to the Animal Legal and Historical Center, "The Michigan Legislature has deigned three primary provisions related to cruelty to animals: intentional infliction of pain and suffering, duty to provide care, and anti-animal fighting."

Animals and the constitution
While the issue of whether or not animals are protected under the United States constitution, there are many specialists in the fields of psychology and law who argue that animals should be considered property of the owner and that all abiding laws must follow. Dr. Shapiro, a psychologist, recently gave a speech at Thomoas M. Cooley Law School on the legal policy implications of animal abuse. Shapiro discussed, "elevating an animal's legal status could bolster the protections provided for in animal abuse laws by giving animals' owners a meaningful civil remedy when a pet is injured, abused, or killed." While current Michigan law provides some amount of protection and legal safety in regards to animal abuse and cruelty, Detroit is still a hubbub for accounts of cruelty.

Related Content
ASPCA

http://www.macsshelter.org/

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/animal-cops/detroit/

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/abuse_neglect/

http://www.pet-abuse.com/

http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/