Ian Joslin

ERWC Period 4
5 October 2016
Duck Bill of Rights

Animals do not need a bill of rights, they just need protection from unnecessary harm or
abuse. They dont need rights so that they can sue people or buy a house, or legally drive a car.
They should not be put into jail with other human beings for harming someone or each other.
We do however need to treat every form of life with respect. The rights they need is more
protection. Dogs are killed weekly because of cruel conditions just from race tracks. Because of
genetic manipulation, chickens bred specifically for meat production causes health problems
and other suffering, such as having trouble walking.
The animal welfare act signed into U.S. law in 1966 regulates the treatment of animals in
research, exhibition, transport, and by dealers. Surprisingly though this is not enough, animal
cruelty is still extremely prevalent. For example, DoSomething.org explains that thousands of
greyhounds die each year, some before they ever touch a racetrack. Many dogs do not make it
to the nominal retirement age of 4 or 5. Peta.org shows that in just Florida alone, a
greyhound used for racing dies every three days. There are many examples of abuse that
explain these statistics. Because of greyhounds lack of body fat and their thin coats, theyre
extremely sensitive to heat and cold, but greyhounds are forced to race in extreme conditions
ranging from subzero temperatures to sweltering heat of more than 100 degrees. Peta.org
also explains that people also pack 60 greyhounds in one truck, with two or three dogs per
crate, and the back of these trucks reach temperatures in excess of 100 degrees on a summer
day. Dogs cannot sweat to cool themselves down, therefore many dogs die of heat exhaustion
in these conditions. It gets worse, Greyhounds may be drugged in order to improve
performance. Since 2008, 16 dogs in Florida and Alabama have tested positive for cocaine.

Laws need to be put in place to protect life. Currently, dog racing is illegal in 39 states, we need
to educate and bring awareness in order to create laws that make it illegal in all states.
Thousands of dogs die every year do to cruelty, ending dog racing will bring that number down
significantly.
The suffering of animals does not stop there. Chickens which are bred specifically for
meat production are genetically modified, this causes many disabilities and pain for them.
Onegreenplanet.org describes chickens bred for meat, known as boiler chickens, having 80%
larger breasts than a chicken from 60 years ago. They also manage to reach this size in six
weeks, whereas it took a bird in the 50s up to 15 weeks to reach its fully grown (but much
smaller) size. Because of these factors, these birds are now front heavy, this adds to the
strain on their legs. Micro fractures and degenerative bone disease causes their lameness
too.
In 2008, a study, provided by Onegreenplanet.org, was done on 50,000 chickens, It
found that over 27 percent of the birds had impaired locomotion capabilities and 3.3 percent
were almost unable to walk. An additional study discovered that if lame birds received
painkillers in their feed, they would become more mobile. This is a huge indicator that a large
percentage of meat chickens are in pain for at least a portion of their lives.
This website describes more cruel issues that these chickens face. Some problems are
cardiopulmonary problems and sudden death syndrome. Other chickens kept for breeding
purposes suffer due to their design for rapid weight gain. These chickens, which are kept for
breeding, experience fertility problems so their food intake is typically restricted to keep them
underweight. This means they will always be in a perpetual state of hunger.
Although these animals are getting slaughtered anyway, there are still more human ways
of supplying meat that is more cruelty free. Meat is too involved in an everyday society and
economy that we simply can not replace it, but there is no excuse for letting animals suffer more

than they need to because of our involvement in selective breeding and genetic modification.
They simply just dont need to suffer anymore.
Life is sacred and every form must be treated with respect. These are only two examples
of animal cruelty of a long, long list. It is people who are causing this harm and cruelty to
animals, so it is up to people to put an end to it. Animals can not stand up for themselves
because of the power and intelligence humans have, and with great power comes great
responsibility. So lets change the world for better and stand up for animal rights.