Open facebook and you’ll probably find a plea, asking people for help with abandoned animals found left by the road or in the woods. The assumption that abandoning helpless and defenseless animals is not abuse is false and outrageous. First of all, an animal is a responsibility. If any person assumes that responsibility, the animal is expected to be taken care of. The responsibilities of animal care include feeding, vaccinating, providing safe environments, socializing, and so on. Sound familiar?
The requirements for basic animal care sound a lot like the responsibility of a parent to a child. When a child is abandoned, the parent is stripped of the privilege to care for another child. However, more and more people are abandoning these defenseless animals without punishment and continue being allowed to own other animals.
Regardless if an animal is physically abused or not, once it is abandoned it is considered abuse in the form of neglect. Therefore, the argument of, “Well, at least I didn’t hurt it.” Or, “at least I didn’t kill it” is wrong. Neglecting responsibility by abandoning these animals still causes starvation, painful illness, and the possibility of physical abuse from people or other animals. Abuse, including neglect, is abuse. There is no grey area, and there is no excuse.
by Laurel Jones
