Animal welfare advocates work tirelessly to protect the health and well-being of animals. It is undeniably a noble cause, but activists find their work impeded in many ways. The following are some of the biggest challenges animal welfare advocates face.
Insufficient Protections
In many states and countries, the laws in place to protect animals are not adequate. Animal welfare advocates must spend considerable amounts of their time lobbying politicians and disseminating information among the public to increase these protections. Individual companies also can make positive changes, and under pressure, many have afforded animals greater protections. However, there is undeniably still much work to be done.
Lack Of Enforcement
In addition to insufficient protections for animals, a lack of enforcement is another major problem. The FDA does not have the manpower to effectively enforce the laws in place, and many state organizations face similar issues. The solution to this problem is usually greater funding to the organizations that perform these inspections as well as law enforcement. Oversight is necessary to enforce laws and ensure adequate animal welfare.
Public Education
People may agree that animals should be treated better, but when confronted with the reality of what that would entail, advocates experience varying levels of pushback. The closure of puppy mills would mean people have less freedom to breed their dogs, providing better living accommodations to livestock will result in higher meat prices and more manpower for inspections would mean higher taxes, to name a few ideas parts of the general public do not like. Giving up meat, even some of the time, when society has become so used to it, is a hard sell.
Disagreement Among Activists
As in any major movement, there are different groups with differing ideas on what the goals should be and how they should be accomplished. These disagreements can make it difficult for animal welfare advocates to get across a coherent message and get reforms passed or change public opinion. In extreme cases, different factions within the movement can intentionally or unintentionally sabotage each other.
Animal welfare is a tricky issue that isn’t as straightforward as it appears to be. The movement faces some challenges both external and internal. Advocates must work to overcome these challenges so real change can occur and animals treated with the respect they deserve.
About The Author
Anatoly Vanetik is a Businessman and Oil and Gas Expert residing in Orange County, California. He brings over 30 years of professional experience working as an entrepreneur, and remains active as the President and Chairman for his company, Vanetik & Associates. Anatoly Vanetik is also passionate about art history and animal welfare, and has been an active supporter of animal organizations around California. He maintains an active monthly blog on animal welfare, providing helpful tips on giving back, as well as highlighting great animal organizations.