How To Prevent Animal Cruelty

Have you ever seen someone hurting an animal and felt like you couldn't do anything to stop it? Well, read on—there are important ways that you can speak up.




Get Help! If you see someone hurting an animal, or know of an animal who looks sick, injured or does not have adequate food, water or shelter, you can do something about it. Never try to help the animal yourself. Instead, tell an adult you trust. Together, you and an adult can call the police or your local animal shelter. It's very important to inform the police because animal cruelty is against the law in all 50 states.



Write Everything Down! Be prepared to provide information on the cruel act that you witnessed. Write down what you saw happen, who was involved, the date of the incident and where it took place.



Be Responsible! Don't let your animal friends roam free. Keep your cats indoors. Dogs should always be on leash and supervised when they're outside.



Be a Leader Be kind to animals and others will follow. Let your family, friends, classmates and adults know that hurting animals is not cool.



Volunteer Your Time! You're never too young to volunteer your time helping animals. Contact your local animal shelter or humane society for junior volunteer programs. For a list of shelters in your area, search our National Shelter Directory.



Spread the Word! Share facts and information about the prevention of animal cruelty and responsible pet care with your friends, family, teachers, neighbors and classmates.



Invite a Guest Speaker to Your School. Ask your teacher to have someone from your local animal shelter or humane society come and speak to the students in your school. These awesome animal lovers teach kids all kinds of things such as pet care, dog bite prevention, how to pet a dog and how to stop cruelty.



Start a Club! With the help of one of your teachers, organize an animal lovers' club at your school.



Check it Out! In order to stop animal abuse, we need to understand WHY people are cruel to animals.


You can see the ASPCA's own animal cops in action on Animal Precinct, a television show on Animal Planet.


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I didn't write this article. I found it here: http://www2.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=kids_ri_reportcruelty



I think it's important because if we follow these simple tips we CAN make a difference to end animal cruelty.
 
P.S. I accidentally deleted this post, so I'm posting it again.