Speech- Olivia McCrary

Speech- Olivia McCrary

It is difficult to write a persuasive speech about animal abuse because it is simply not possible to prove that animals are important. No matter how hard you try to tell people that it’s wrong to harm animals, some people will always disagree. That’s why animal abuse exists.  

It seems pointless and silly to talk about the violence against animals when I could have chosen to talk about one of the many important problems that actually affect humans. But that’s exactly why I’m talking about this. Because it doesn’t affect us directly, we don’t care.  The rights and feelings of animals have been forgotten. Animal abuse may not be the worst issue the world is faced with today, but it is important nonetheless. Maybe it’s not a priority, but it should be.  When was the last time you saw anything about endangered species or animal testing on the news? People have simply forgotten that this is a real problem too. Everyone knows about animal abuse but not too people bother to do anything about it.  I’m not trying to claim that this is the most significant thing to worrying about, but imagine how bad it will get if the issue continues to be neglected for decades to come.  

I realize the deaths of animals aren’t a big deal compared to the countless deaths of people that are victims of violence across the globe and that are starving. People want to save people before they save animals. I completely understand this. But we shouldn’t wait until after every other problem is solved before we worry about animals because solving all the world’s problems will never happen.  We should start caring now. Sure, this particular problem doesn’t have an easy solution. But that’s because the solution is for all animal cruelty to stop completely.  Putting an end to all violence against animals isn’t going to happen immediately- it will take time.  

If you don’t see anything wrong with the abuse of animals, I don’t think I would be able to convince you otherwise. If it were that easy to prove to people the value of animals then animal abuse wouldn’t exist. So, I will not attempt to convince you of the value of animals but instead of the severity of the issue.

The animal cruelty that is present in our society today appears in many forms- some direct like poaching, animal testing, and the abuse of household pets. Some are indirect but equally harmful such as habitat destruction and pollution. Some forms of animal cruelty are things you wouldn’t really expect, like animals being kept in zoos.   

Other than lead to the deaths of innocent creatures, the cruelty has had a serious effect on certain species- some that are endangered and some that have just become endangered because of it. The current total of endangered species is 16,306. 16,306 species are nearing extinction. This number has increased since last year and will increase next year and the year after that. In addition, another 25,109 species are highly threatened and could easily become endangered.

Whether you value animals or despise them, facts are facts. Animal cruelty exists. It has existed for hundreds of years and, like a disease, it will continue to exist and cause harm unless a cure is found, unless the cruelty stops.

The best way that you can help this situation is to spread awareness about animal abuse. The people responsible for the cruelty are not going to stop what they’re doing because they don’t care about animals. But other people can stop them. By spreading awareness, people will start to think about this issue for once. The first step in ending animal cruelty altogether is making it a priority. Actually putting an end to all the abuse is out of most people’s control, but talking about it is definitely not.

Now that I’ve provided you with the facts- now that you know the truth- let it motivate you. The severity of the issue is undeniable, but it’s up to you to determine its importance and place in your life, your thoughts and your actions. Even if you completely disagree and you couldn’t care less about spreading awareness of animal cruelty, I hope that I have at least informed you about an issue that you wouldn’t have cared to learn about on your own. Even if you never think about this ever again, at least you thought about it for 4 minutes.

 

 

Kasnoff, Craig. "Endangered Earth – Promoting the Plight of Endangered Species and the Efforts to Save Them." Endangered Earth. N.p., 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014. <http://www.endangeredearth.com/>.

Linzey, Andrew. Why Animal Suffering Matters. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.

Lowson, Kathleen. “I Want to Live.” All-Creatures.org. The Mary T. and Frank L. Hoffman Family Foundation, n.d. Web. 23 June 2014.

Rudy, Kathy. Loving Animals. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2011. Print.

Scully, Matthew. Dominion. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2002. Print.