I Dream an America Where Humans Care About Animals

By Erinda, Age 11, New Jersey

I dream an America where animals are not abused in shelters.  I dream an America where we use products that aren’t tested on animals, which can cause harm to them, and an America where animals aren’t abused for their skins. 

Animals are so important for the world’s wellbeing, as they help in the ecosystem. For example, bees are one of the world’s most important animals. They make honey and they pollinate agriculture. Without pollination, there will be no food and we will die! One of the most ironic sayings attributed to dogs is, “a dog is a man’s best friend”. Every year about 1.2 million dogs are euthanized by shelters across the U.S.  This happens because these shelters take in too many dogs that can be adopted. The shelters do not conduct adequate and effective marketing to get people to adopt as many dogs as possible. Dodo’s article, (If Everyone Read This, The Shelters Would Be Empty by Christian Cotroneo) states: “Those days can be some of the most stressful, confusing and sad days of a dog’s life.”

Animals don’t deserve to die because of the things we like and enjoy, such as makeup and coats. Makeup, one of the things girls treasure the most, is one of the reasons why rabbits are being killed. Victoria’s Secret is selling in China again. For China to authorize the selling of the store’s products, they insist on testing imported cosmetics on animals. This happened after years of them promoting a “never to test on animals” policy. Victoria Secret accepts that China’s government requires tests on animals for cosmetics, and they choose to go in the market regardless of our protest in the US for animal rights.      They have to burn rabbit’s corneas so they can test makeup. Companies such as Bath & Body Works, Henri Bendel, and La Senza stay true to their cruelty-free policies.

Animals such as sheep, horses, dogs, and birds etc. get killed and abused for things we enjoy.   Horses whipped to race faster, so humans can gamble. Sheep are getting stomped, kicked, thrown, and beaten for their wool. Lululemon, a famous clothing line also has a secret. Their newer brand “Down” is made with bird’s feathers. The feathers being used for DOWN are being ripped off the bird’s skin when they’re alive. Lululemon claims that the feathers come from birds that are not alive but, we can’t be sure because it impossible to track birds’ feathers back to their original supplier to determine how the feathers were obtained since most feathers look the same.

Birds are also getting killed for their meat and foie gras. Ducks get force-fed to get their liver thicker (and more palatable for human consumption). In addition to being force-fed, they live in filthy conditions on factory farms before they’re killed in violent and painful ways. 

I dream an America where people care about all the horrible things being done to animals.  Animals are beneficial to our existence, and they don’t deserve to die at human hands for skins, makeup, and ineptitude. Americans should give more thought to alternative warming products other than animal skins, and they should find more humane ways to test makeup ingredients.  I dream an America where animals are respected and treated fairly.

If you love animals half as much as I do, please share this message and follow the dodo, to learn how to protect our animals.