Cruelty Hidden Behind A Mask

[wolfdog01]

[Spottedbears]

horses don't mate unnaturally; after the foal is born they are able to breed quite soon after.

also, foals are taken from their mothers at six months because that is when they are weaned. weaning a foal means that it no longer drinks its mother's milk and instead goes to other types of food! if they stay with their mothers for too long, they will get too attached. they are trained early, just like dogs! the younger mind has more space for things to rub off on them and sink in. as my mom says, a baby's mind is like a sponge and they will absorb what they are raised as.

the jockey's whip? that's known as a crop. it is simple leather and i use them when i ride horses as well. a horse barely feels it, so you have to hit them really hard and all they will feel is just a slight tap. sometimes though, they don't respond! so really, it doesn't hurt and most horses ignore it. i've never heard of such drugs that affect the mare, but it's possible they can be there.

when a horse's leg is broken, they HAVE to be put down. this isn't because they are injured -- well it's not that sole reason, but: when their leg is broken beyond repair, they must be put down because they cannot walk anymore. but! they are usually put in slings that hopefully help them before they are put down. barbaro, for example, was put down because his leg was broken beyond repair.

thoroughbreds are NOT run for cruelty reasons. they love to run! if a racehorse is next to another in a pasture, they usually run the fence together, and have friendly races.

now to zoos!! zoos do NOT have confined spaces! have you ever been to the Bronx zoo? we went to see the zebras, and they were completely gone! we couldn't even find a trace of them! i went to see the snow leopards, and they were so happy. they were laying out, stretched on the rocks. and one of them started running away! we couldn't find any after that, because they all started playing.

we went to see the polar bears, and they were in a huge enclosure as well! it was actually quite cold near it, they are perfectly fine! same with the penguins -- they had a private place the visitors couldn't even see them.


on everything else? i'm not sure what to say. but these are my experiences.

[wolfdog01]

Well I can understand where you're coming from but that's why I said it doesn't apply to some people, just places that I've researched. And I have seen zoos like about what you're talking about but you never know what goes on behind the scenes. Some shadddyyyy sturf <.<...>.>

Oh, and quick question, since you do ride horses, why is it that they foam at the mouth, like in racing and such. Plus Jockeying just looks sooo painful to the horse!  >.< But I could be wrong, that's just me, I flip out when I see even a scratch on a animal.

[Spottedbears]

well, horses usually chew on the bits in their mouths and they also get tired -- they're not sweating, but they've accepted the bit in their mouth and they're just working hard. racing a horse isn't painful at all unless they're racing with a bad or broken foot, or some other defect.

BUT! they can also be anxious, or non-accepting of the bit and such. not to mention, they might need their teeth floated! (it's like a dentist appointment)

thanks for understanding c; it's fine that you believe in the shady things that happen, as long as you're not threatening or hurting anyone.

[Ingredient]

Yes, these acts are truly horrible. My mother does a lot of research into these topics and so I know a fair bit about what goes on in these areas, plus I've seen some horrible things myself in person.

Cosmetic testing is sickening, complete torture. Animals such as rabbits, kittens, mice and so on are force fed through a tube, most up to the point where they're choking. They have creams and other products put in their eyes and all over their skin which obviously stings and irritates horribly. I saw an image of a kitten with a bolt drilled or pushed through it's mouth to keep it open so it could be fed, I felt like crying ;_;

Where I used to live cock fighting was a popular "sport", it wasn't illegal at all and many of the locals were into it including the kids. Roosters have their crown (the red spiky thing on top of their head) cut off so it won't bleed and get in their eyes when they're fighting. They also have their spur (a claw at the back of their foot) cut off to fit the gloves with the razors on. Not all people use these gloves though but just let the roosters fight with their own claws. They usually hold the two in front of each other or "throw one" at the other.

My pet rooster, Disco, was such a lovely and friendly bird. He always wanted to be next to you and he would do a little "dance" when you click your fingers, he loved attention and liked sitting on your lap. We found him with his crown half cut off and blood all over his face. Later on he was stolen along with the neighbour's chickens as well, we have a fair idea what was to happen to him.

Horse racing, personally I've never been a fan of it from the start. The races that use the jumps and hurdles result in broken necks and leg injuries, and of course these injuries cannot be fixed and the horse is put down sadly. Not sure how many years ago I saw some horse racing footage, the horse flipped over and broke it's neck as well as colliding with another horse. Both the jockeys were okay in the end of course, same can't be said for the horses. The "whip" the jockeys use are often misused and 64% of the non-padded part actually ends up hitting the horse. After foals are taken away from their mothers they are to trained as soon as possible. Considering their skeletal system is still immature it causes the risk of injury, they are not ready for hard training. Any horse that is not suitable to the racing industry is sent to the slaughter house, same goes for horses that are no longer fit for racing and of no use to the money making scheme.

As for zoos, some do not have confined spaces while others do. I've been to a lot of different zoos, one had a large paddock for zebra and rhinos with some enclosures that were a bit smaller than the average house. One zoo though had concrete "rooms" for some of the animals. This was in a tropical climate and two tigers were in this concrete room with empty water bowls while some of the other tigers had an enclosure with grass, trees and a small pond. No this wasn't one of the indoor rooms they keep them in for surveillance stuff it was a concrete room with no roof and bars, it was outside for visitors to walk past and observe.

I understand the part about how the animals are taken from their natural habitat but that can be considered a good thing. Many of the animals in captivity are endangered and are killed in their natural habitat. There are more tigers living in captivity than in the wild. Habitat loss, poaching, hunting and loss of food would be something these animals would have to experience in the wild. While they are lucky to be avoiding these issues some have to live in the cramped and horrible conditions you mention, not all zoos are like that but there are many that are.

Also I want to bring up the point about water parks that keep dolphins in swimming pools such as in water parks and zoos. As cool as it would be to see dolphins doing tricks and maybe swimming with them in the same pool it is harming them. Dolphins do not naturally live in chlorinated water, it can cause their skin to peel, hurt their eyes as well as make them sick. They use echolocation to navigate but living in tanks cause their sonar waves to bounce off walls which can make them insane. Dolphins in the wild can live up to 90 years old but in captivity their lifespan is shortened and live just over 10 years. Being forced to perform tricks for food day after day is just cruel. During dolphin catching many drown in exhaustion trying to escape nets. There is also the issue of loss of family connections after being captured from the wild. By taking one dolphin from the pod it will disrupt the whole group. Any that escape capture will be become frantic if they see one of their companions captured and will even try to save them.

Ehh, long post, I'm so tired x_x

Thank you for sharing Thyme, I personally think more people need to know more about the cruelty that goes on.

[wolfdog01]

That was very saddening but eye opening Ingredient....glad to see your mom does research and maybe one day, all of this will stop. I also had done a research paper on lab tests as well a few years ago and it was horrifying...
I'm sorry to hear about Disco ;-; it's so messed up about what some people think they can do to animals just because they need the money or just want to get a good laugh. It's sickening, it's because of this that I plan on being a vet.

[Spottedbears]

i'm very curious as to where in the world these places are that send horses to slaughter houses. i live, like literally right next to saratoga race track, a really famous one. they never send the horses to slaughter! in fact, most of them if not all are sent to places like old friends: a racehorse retirement home! they stay there and live out the rest of their lives there.

the reason they are trained so young , like i said already, is because they won't learn anything if they're older: you really get a feel for the horse's personality as they grow up. if you don't train them early, nothing will work.

[Ingredient]

[Jane-Doe]

My father was a jockey, and I've lived around horses since I was practically born- especially race horses.

Racing a horse in no way hurts the animal- unless it were to fall and break a leg. It's actually a pretty good exercise.
Quick fact, horse racing is about ten times more dangerous for the human riding, than the horse itself.

That does not mean that there arent cruel people that corrupt the racing industry- because there are plenty of them. Once a horse has no value of them, say they become lame or anything of that sorts, their sold to crummy homes- or worse [as stated in the response above].

This is a sad subject, though, and yes- animal cruelty is..well, cruel- to be put lightly.
There are a few organizations that try to end animal cruelty and animal testing- but I assume it will take a lot more to exterminate this cruel animal treatment.

Also, thanks for taking the time for writing this post- it can bring awareness to others!

[NeverFearTheFall2468]

That's a rather heart-breaking story Ingredient.

It is so unnecessary to torture the animal like that! I makes me so mad!
It's bad enough that they have to shoot an animal, which may be quick, but there is a brief moment where the animal feels pain. Putting the animal down is a more formal and acceptable way, the such which is used in vets. The reasons for putting these animals down is RIDICULOUS! How would they like it if there were a series of races, and if you were deemed slow or never to really get anywhere, people would drag you. By your hair, to a place, where they would one by one, cut offyour hair, your limbs, and last but not least, slit your throat. Think about that, I mean how does a person label an animal 'useless'. Many humans in society, around the world, are practically useless and only making the world worse. Yet, you don't see people dragging them to a slaughter room, slitting their throats and shooting them, do we?

End of my rage rant. .-.'