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Animal advocates often lament the lenient punishments handed out to those who abuse animals. It's difficult to comprehend how someone who hurts an innocent animal can receive little to no punishment. Although abusing an animal is by itself bad enough, studies have also demonstrated that children who injure or abuse animals are more likely to hurt or murder people as they get older, according to the Humane Society of America. By sending the message that is okay to inflict harm on one living being in not properly enforcing instances of abuse, violence and apathy are fostered and almost normalized into society. It is a truly vicious cycle where more often than not, voiceless animals are the ones who suffer.

There is a light at the end of this long, dark tunnel, however, The FBI recently announced that animal abuse will be prosecuted as a " crime against society." This classification will go into effect in 2016 and means those who harm animals will be placed in the same category as murderers and arsonists. The delay until 2016, while frustrating, is due to a need to update databases, revise manuals and send out new guidelines. Government progress always involves a lot of paperwork and a long wait, but in the case of combating animal abuse, it is progress none the less.

What Classifies a Crime Against Society

The crime against society classification is extremely important in prosecuting and tracking animal abuse. Under this classification, the FBI can collect and track information about animal abuse, which will allow reliable statistics to be generated and shared. This was previously very difficult due to its classification as the vague category " other."

Animal abuse will now be a part of the crime reports that law enforcement must complete every month and allow officials to have better insight into trends so that they can more effectively combat abuse.

This new classification also means that animal abuse is a Group A felony. Unless you're a lawyer this probably means very little to you and sounds confusing. Basically, it is the most serious type of crime one can commit; punishments vary by state. This classification also includes murder, drug trafficking, arson, and assault. Many animal advocates have rallied for this sort of classification for years, so seeing it finally come to fruition is quite the victory for people and animals alike.

Changing What Defines Animal Cruelty

As part of this reclassification, the FBI released an official definition of animal cruelty which includes the following information:

"Intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly taking an action that mistreats or kills any animal without just cause, such as torturing, tormenting, mutilation, maiming, poisoning, or abandonment. Included are instances of duty to provide care, e.g., shelter, food, water, care if sick or injured; transporting or confining an animal in a manner likely to cause injury or death; causing an animal to fight with another; inflicting excessive or repeated unnecessary pain or suffering, e.g., uses objects to beat or injure an animal. This definition does not include proper maintenance of animals for show or sport; use of animals for food, lawful hunting, fishing or trapping."

While this altered definition still leaves something to be desired, it is helping to shield animals from some of the most heinous forms of abuse. All too often animals such as domestic pets are beaten, starved and deprived of proper care because their guardians simply do not value them as anything more than property. In this line of thinking, a cat or dog ranks no higher than a piece of furniture and can be subjected to endless, lawful abuse.

The new classification also splits animal abuse into types by which law enforcement must identify incidents. These include simple or gross neglect, intentional abuse or torture, organized abuse such as dogfighting and cockfighting and animal sexual abuse. In addition to these changes, the new classification is likely to help with animal cruelty laws in the United States, in terms of enforcing them and punishing those who abuse animals appropriately.

A Positive Step for Animals

This shift in law enforcement is an indication of a positive change in how animals are viewed.

The new classification also splits animal abuse into types by which law enforcement must identify incidents. These include simple or gross neglect, intentional abuse or torture, organized abuse such as dogfighting and cockfighting and animal sexual abuse. In addition to these changes, the new classification is likely to help with animal cruelty laws in the United States, in terms of enforcing them and punishing those who abuse animals appropriately.

By reclassifying animal abuse and releasing a clear definition of what implicates abuse, the FBI is taking decisive steps towards changing the way our society views animals. No longer are animals unfeeling pieces of properties, but they are worthy, sentient creatures that deserve ample protection.

Browse through some recent posts below:

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Why the FBI's Reclassification of Animal Abuse is a Huge Positive Step for the Way We View Animals - One Green Planet

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Animal advocates often lament the lenient punishments handed out to those who abuse animals. It's difficult to comprehend how someone who hurts an innocent animal can receive little to no punishment.

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6 organizations that protect animal rights - Best Friends Animal Society - CSMonitor.com

Ordinary people taking action for extraordinary change.

Who doesn't love animals? We keep them as pets, see them in zoos, and look at cute photos of them on the Internet. But the grim reality is that animals face abuse and exploitation every day. This is a delicate issue for many people, and it is often overlooked in news coverage.

Many charitable organizations dedicate themselves to improving the welfare of animals. Here, we tell you about some of the best. These six organizations have four-star ratings from Charity Navigator, along with at least $13.5 million in total annual expenses.

1. Best Friends Animal Society

Dogs are man's best friend. And the Best Friends Animal Society wants to keep it that way. The Kanab, Utah-based organization was founded in 1984 with the purpose of providing safe and loving homes for dogs and cats; its mission today is still "no more homeless pets." But the other crucial part of Best Friends' work has been its no-kill mission. At the time of the organization's founding, 17 million animals were being killed in shelters every year, despite the fact that 90 percent of them were adoptable or would've been adopted with the right health and behavioral treatment. Thanks to the work of Best Friends, that number today is 4 million. Other campaigns include stopping puppy mills, saving cats, and ending breed discrimination. All of Best Friends' operations are conducted with the following guiding principles in mind: the Golden Rule, kindness, positive influence, leadership, authenticity, and transparency.

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6 organizations that protect animal rights

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6 organizations that protect animal rights - Best Friends Animal Society - CSMonitor.com Ordinary people taking action for extraordinary change. Who doesn't love animals? We keep them as pets, see them in zoos, and look at cute photos of them on the Internet. But the grim reality is that animals face abuse and exploitation every day.

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The owner of an animal rescue shelter as well as a caretaker have both been charged with several counts of animal cruelty after over two dozen dogs were found living in "deplorable" conditions inside the shelter last February.

The German Shepherds were pulled out of the Sixth Angel Shepherd Rescue Inc. shelter back on February 22.

The property, located on West 10th Street, is a law firm as well as a licensed animal rescue shelter owned by Terry Silva. Marcus Hook borough officials along with the Pennsylvania SPCA Humane Law Enforcement officers, obtained a search warrant and removed 28 German Shepherds from the building, including adults, a puppy and a pregnant female. They were brought back to the Pennsylvania SPCA headquarters for evaluation and treatment.

One elderly and severely ill dog had to be humanely euthanized while nine of the dogs tested positive for heart-worm which requires specialized care. One of the dogs was adopted while the others were transferred to various rescue groups for further rehabilitation and permanent placement.

Silva was charged with 43 counts of animal cruelty. Samantha Kenney, 28, who worked as a caretaker at the rescue, was also charged with 28 counts of animal cruelty.

In 2010, Silva was charged with several animal law violations connected to the interstate transport and sale of dogs.

"This case was especially egregious given that Silva was supposed to be operating a rescue organization," said Jerry Buckley, CEO of the Pennsylvania SPCA. "It is only because of our supporters that the Humane Law Enforcement department is able to tackle such difficult situations of animal cruelty and continue to save lives."

Marcus Hook Mayor James Schiliro says Silva has allegedly been abusing the dogs for about five years and is happy the dogs were finally rescued.

"I'm very happy along with everyone who has worked together with the borough to finally bring closure to this situation, especially because of the dogs. The dogs deserve better than this," said Schiliro.

The SPCA says Silva tried to sue them in the past after they seized neglected dogs from her.

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Animal Rescue Shelter Owner Charged With Animal Cruelty

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The owner of an animal rescue shelter as well as a caretaker have both been charged with several counts of animal cruelty after over two dozen dogs were found living in "deplorable" conditions inside the shelter last February. The German Shepherds were pulled out of the Sixth Angel Shepherd Rescue Inc.

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Wal-Mart Abuses and Neglects Fish (bettas, puffers, mollies, etc.)

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Comment, LIKE, and SHARE!!! Thanks for the views! Wal-Mart needs to change the way they take of their fish. More importantly, the type of fish they carry in their Aquatic Department. In my opinion they shouldn't even bother with live animals and leave that job to the professionals.

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Many of us are already pretty vigilant when it comes to watching out for our neighborhoods. We are more cautious driving down the street when children are out playing, we are aware of people in the neighborhood we do not recognize, we even join local watch groups to keep our living areas safe and clean. There are also other members of the neighborhood that may receive less attention from you; they are animals and they too need us to watch out for them.

Pets, wildlife, and other animals cannot speak up for themselves when they are being hurt, and therefore rely on help from compassionate citizens like you. Animals, like people, do not deserve to suffer in pain at the hands of an abuser, so if you see or hear something, it is up to you to do something. Animal cruelty crimes tend to go underreported, so it's important to be able to identify the signs of animal abuse and neglect.

Please take a few minutes to read this article from One Green Planet, How to Identify Animal Abuse and Neglect and What to Do If You Suspect Cruelty, then save these hotlines to your phone and share them with everyone you know.

1. Humane Society of the United States Dog-Fighting Hotline

About: Anationwide tip line taking calls from all across the country and helping The HSUS to stamp out animal fighting everywhere in the nation. Your identity is protected if you call to report and provide tips about dog-fighting or suspected dog-fighting activities. Reward money for reporting is up to $5,000. To find their website, click here.

Animals they can help with: Report dog-fighting or cockfighting

Phone: 1-877-TIP-HSUS

Hotline hours: 24/7

2. PETA Animal Cruelty Hotline

About: A national hotline. Report an animal in imminent danger to your local police department immediately with any information, like the specific location of the animal, the kind of abuse or neglect, and if it is happening right now. If the police are unresponsive, please check out their website for more.

Animals they can help with: All

Hotline hours: 24/7

3) Washington Humane Society Animal Cruelty Hotline

About: The Washington Humane Society inspires and creates a community where all animals have secure homes and where people and animals (pets and wildlife) live together with joy and compassion. Investigates animal abuse and neglect, available to help animals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless of weather conditions, time of day or night, and regardless of species of animal in trouble.

Animals they can help with: All

Phone: 202-723-5730 (Washington D.C.)

Hotline hours: Report cruelty, neglect, and animal emergencies 24/7

4. WeTip Hotline

About: A national tip hotline for all types of crime reporting including animal cruelty and animal fighting tips. Report animal crimes anonymously, no machines and no tapping. Bilingual operators on staff. To find their website, click here.

Animals they can help with: All

Phone: 1-800-78-CRIME, optional online reporting form

Hotline hours: 24/7

5. Humane Society of the United States Puppy Mill Tip Line

About: A national tip line for concerns about possible puppy mills and assists law enforcement officials or animal control officers needing assistance with puppy mill cruelty cases. Check out their website, here.

Animals they can help with: Dogs and puppies, other animals on full website

Phone: 1-877-645-5847, optional online tip form on website

Hotline hours: 24/7

Green Monsters: Do you know of an animal cruelty help hotlines or run one? Share it with us by submitting it to our Animal Rescue Hotline directory!
Image source: Tim Dawson/Wikimedia Commons
Browse through some recent posts below:

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5 Animal Cruelty Reporting Hotlines You Should Have in Your Phone - One Green Planet

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Many of us are already pretty vigilant when it comes to watching out for our neighborhoods. We are more cautious driving down the street when children are out playing, we are aware of people in the neighborhood we do not recognize, we even join local watch groups to keep our living areas safe and clean.

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Top 10 countries that are most cruel to animals

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Top 10 countries that are most cruel to animals

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Although being cruel to animals is a shameful act, its present in almost all parts of the world. The most common victims of animal abuse seems to be cats and dogs. Today, there are a whole lot of laws to protect the rights of these helpless animals but still its very high in some countries. So we're going to take a look at the top 10 countries that are most cruel to animals.

10. Netherlands

In the last ten years, there have been a really high amount of cases of animal abuse registered in Netherlands. Several hundreds of animal activists have pleaded the Dutch gov't to strictly enforce its laws against animal abuse. Netherlands, known for its trading of live animals that are sick such as horses, cats, dogs, swans etc. Although there are many types of animal abuse in Netherlands, some of the most common shameful animal cruelty are throwing of baby chicks into a paper shredder and butchering dogs without their own masters.

When it comes to animal cruelty, Greece can send shivers up your back. Greece is known for poisoning cats and dogs, killing wolves and also slaughtering sea turtles. The Greeks are often called "Barbaric Humans" because of their lack of respect for animals. The history of Greece itself suggests and promotes animal abuse, the people of Greece have always ill treated animals. If you take a look at the history of Greece, you'd be able to see how they poison innocent animals, keeping dogs in chains and not feeding them and also tying little chicks in a plastic bag and disposing them off.

Similar to Greece, the people of Romania are also known for their barbaric behavior when it comes to treating animals in the right way. Their barbaric methods of killing animals and then selling them for money is shameful. If you take a stroll through Romania, you can see calves hung on trees with their heads down and their throat cut. Some of the most common cases registered are of animals seen swimming in their own blood after being killed by the cruel locals of Romania. Some of the most common animal abuses registered here are slaughtering animals, skinning them and also suffocating and beheading of animals.

Bulgaria unlike other countries in this list, are well known for their cruel animal torture without any limit. They are know for poisoning stay dogs and cats, decapitating them and also hanging them upside down on trees and bridges. There are also reports of masters massacring their own dogs mercilessly. These cruel acts have not yet been treated seriously, it might take a lot of protest to wake the government.

6. Venezuela

Most of the countries abuse helpless animals such as cats, dogs, cows etc. but Venezuela seems to have a different custom, they are well known for animal abuse against common wild animals such as Lions, beasts and also wild geese. Out of the many incidents that happen everyday in Venezuela, one of the most recent one seems to be the death of a lion named Casimiro because of the wounds inflicted on him by some of the zoo visitors. The people of Venezuela are also known to chase, whip and slaughter animals such as horses and wild geese.

This country in Africa, needs a very very big improvement when it comes to treating animals in the right way. Animal abuse is not just done by the adults but also by the kids and youngsters. Recently, a 6 year old kid in Egypt had tossed a kitten on the floor and was then caught holding one of the kitten's legs by a string and then tossing the kitten back and forth to the floor until it died of pain. Due to great protest, animal rights are being constructed.

Spain is always praised about its breathtaking natural beauty but people don't seem to realise Spain does have a really ugly side when it comes to treating animals. Many families in Spain have their own slaughterhouse for killing helpless animals from the forest so that they could eat. Hunting is not the only crime they do, they are also known for their merciless killing of poor animals such as kittens, dogs, pigs and even calves. Some Spanish people have also reported of drowning helpless kittens in water.

China is another place animals wouldn't want to be living in. The Chinese not only don't care for the animals but they're well known for their shameful acts such as skinning of live foxes and other furry animals. The Chinese not only ill treat foxes but also fishes. Fishes are caught and their internal organs are removed while they're still alive. There are several instances where many of the Chinese people were caught torturing birds and other animals. Changes are now starting to develop in China, and hopefully in the next 10 years, there would be laws to protect these helpless animals.

2. Australia

Although Australia is normally considered a peaceful country, treating animals in the right way is something rare. Slaughterhouses are common in Australia, and they're known for large scale killing of large animals such as bulls and Cattle by punching and kicking them till they die. If this is the case with large animals, its worse for smaller and helpless animals who are tortured without mercy.

There aren't many Asian countries when it comes to animal abuse, but Japan seems to be among some of the few Asian countries which are known for ill treating animals. The Japanese people seem to believe that animals are non living and they don't have any right. Everyday a whole lot of animal abuse cases are registered in Japan which includes killing of domestic cats and dogs by suffocating, poisoning and also inflicting physical torture on them. They have also been instances where some people in Japan were caught tossing kittens into the river and killing them. Generally the Japanese seem to find pleasure in killing poor and helpless animals. I think it will take time for the Japanese to realise that animals have a great part in making our planet what it is.

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10 Countries that are most cruel to animals

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Although being cruel to animals is a shameful act, its present in almost all parts of the world. The most common victims of animal abuse seems to be cats and dogs. Today, there are a whole lot of laws to protect the rights of these helpless animals but still its very high in some countries.

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Please visit my "about" or "home" pages to support my channel. Thank you. I wrote and recorded this song "It's Gotta Stop (The Animal Abuse Song)" as a result of the anger I have in me for the abuse of animals. I also wrote this to bring awarness to animal cruelty in the hopes of making it end.

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Animal abuse: PETA steals and kills family’s healthy beloved pet Chihuahua

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Last month, Wilbur Cerate accused PETA of stealing and killing his family's pet, a Chihuahua named Maya. The owner of the dog even has footage of a PETA van pulling up in front of his house and a woman leaving seconds later with something in her arms. It was three days later that two PETA representatives showed up on his family's doorstep and informed him that their beloved pet had been put down.

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WILBRAHAM, MA (CBS Connecticut)- Controversy surrounds the Wilbraham Police Department after a dog was pushed into freezing cold water at an event called the Polar Plunge.

The Special Olympics fundraiser drew more than 100 participants on Saturday at Spec Pond. People were able to make donations and then jump into freezing cold water in a man-made hole in the ice. The controversy began after an unidentified dog owner pushed his 6-year-old Labrador Retriever into the water. The animal reportedly resisted and was "assisted" into the water by its owner.

Photos of the incident circulated online after one Facebook user accused the event organizers of failing to stop animal cruelty.

Wilbraham police posted a message to their Facebook page on Tuesday stating that the department looked into the incident and believes that there wasn't any abuse or mistreatment of the dog, WSHM reports. As of Wednesday morning, the Wilbraham Police Department Facebook page had been deleted.

The statement also clarified that the incident did not occur at a Wilbraham Police Department event, it was a Law Enforcement Torch Run event which WPD proudly sponsored and participated in.

The Special Olympics Massachusetts took a different stance, responding, ""Special Olympics Massachusetts and Law Enforcement Torch Run in no way condone this action and we are very shocked and disappointed that this happened at what has consistently been a great community event... we are troubled that an animal and pet was put into a situation that we in no way, shape or form condoned." Special Olympics says it plans to investigate the incident further.

Christine Allenberg, Officer from Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Law Enforcement Division said there was no malicious intent to hurt Lincoln during the Polar Plunge incident, as reported by WSHM. The MSPCA indicated that this was not an instance of animal cruelty, as defined by the Massachusetts General Law 272, Section 77.

Police have no plans of investigating the dog's owner for criminal activity.

More From CBS Connecticut

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Police Department Deletes Facebook Page Following Animal Abuse Controversy

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WILBRAHAM, MA (CBS Connecticut)- Controversy surrounds the Wilbraham Police Department after a dog was pushed into freezing cold water at an event called the Polar Plunge. The Special Olympics fundraiser drew more than 100 participants on Saturday at Spec Pond. People were able to make donations and then jump into freezing cold water in a man-made hole in the ice.