MidTerm Essay #2

Essay Blog Post #2

I have learned a lot over the course of the past few weeks. The three topics that I found most interesting were Media Censorship, Gay Rights, and Cancer.

I was never completely sure what media censorship actually meant until Skip and his expert talked to the class. “Media Censorship is the act of preventing the publication of news or information that is to be broadcast to the general public” (http://contempissues.wikispaces.com/Skip+-+Media+Censorship). I found it really compelling that the media has such a big influence over the way people think. I never thought about just how much the news can pick and choose what they decide to tell the general public. But there can be more than just news censorship; the government can also censor websites on the world wide web as well, various inappropriate websites such as porn.

Kate’s project about gay rights was also very informative. Her project brought a major issue to my attention, something that I had never thought about: Gay rights in Iran. As I watched her Animoto, I could not believe the things I saw. People in Iran are being hanged for being homosexual in Iran; that is shocking! The Iranian president even said that “[Iran] has no homosexuals” (Kate’s Animoto). Also 107 gays were executed between 1979 and 1990 in Iran (Kate’s Animoto). I just can’t believe that the government imposes their will so much as to not allow it's people to be public about their sexual orientation. We, as American's, should feel lucky about our Freedom of Speech/First Amendment Rights.

Lastly, Rachael’s topic focusing on cancer contained a lot of detailed information as well. She focuses on the general idea of cancer, the cost of cancer treatment and studies relating cancer to cell phones. A neat fact that I saw while reading Rachael’s blog was: “In a poll in 2002, it was estimated that about 555,500 Americans will die from cancer each year, corresponding to 1,500 deaths per day. That means that at least 1,400 of these people were children ages 0-14” (Rachael’s Blog, http://rex.nci.nih.gov/NCl_Pub_interface/raterisk/rates39.html ]http://rex.nci.nih.gov/NCl_Pub_interface/raterisk/rates39.html). This is just an overwhelming statistic. This brings me to think about how far medicine has already come to cure some cancer patients. Rachael did a good job of presenting her information on her Wiki Page and she had a lot of interesting information on her blog as well.

Even though all my classmates have taken a lot of time to research their topics, the three that I have mentioned above have interested me the most. I learned various different ideas and facts that I never knew or even thought about before.

Sources:

• http://rex.nci.nih.gov/NCl_Pub_interface/raterisk/rates39.html ]http://rex.nci.nih.gov/NCl_Pub_interface/raterisk/rates39.html

• Kate's Blog and Animoto

• Skip's Wiki Page and Glogster Poster: http://contempissues.wikispaces.com/Skip+-+Media+Censorship

MidTerm Essay #1

Essay Blog Post #1

Puppy Mills
As our final project was being discussed in class, I had no idea what to research. I couldn’t really think of anything that truly interested me until I stumbled upon the Animal Rights Issue. I thought it would be interesting to learn more about this topic because it is not something the “average Joe” necessarily hears about everyday, so I wanted to learn more. It did not really occur to me that this is a really broad topic, so it was narrowed down to puppy mills. As shocking as it may sound, I was never completely aware of the horrible treatment towards animals in these puppy mills, let alone did I know that this was such a major issue.

Puppy mills started after World War II. Farmers were searching for a new cash crop that would enable them to gain more money so they turned towards breeding dogs. Puppy farms evolved into “mass dog-breeding operations” ([ http://stoppuppymills.org/inside_a_puppy_mill.html ]http://stoppuppymills.org inside_a_puppy_mill.html). From the very beginning, dogs in puppy mills have been treated horribly. The farmers did not know how to properly handle the animals; this is obvious as the dogs are (even to this day) “being housed in chicken coops and rabbit hutches” (Sharon Hauser). (If the dogs are kept in wired cages they can become severely injured because wires may not be fastened correctly and may stick out causing the dogs to get cuts and scrapes. These small cages can also hurt the dogs’ paws as they are constantly standing on tiny chicken wires.) The breeders also do not provide the necessary veterinary care for their animals. They are not fed properly, or given exercise on a daily basis. If the animals die their corpses are usually left in their cages until they basically begin to rot.

The female dogs are treated even more unfairly. Their whole lives consist of only having puppies; the female dogs are kept in these facilities until they are no longer able to reproduce anymore causing them to become very unhealthy. To make matters worse, the breeders separate the puppies from the mother too early, causing more health problems for the puppies. The puppies are sold to pet stores around the nation. As the female is no longer able to have puppies, she is abandoned, shot or sold to another mill.

There are a few organizations and some government enforcement that try to prevent the cruelty towards animals in puppy mills. The Animal Welfare Act tries to ensure the proper treatment of animals that are being “bred for commercial sale” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Welfare_Act ). Unfortunately, puppy mills do not abide by this act and the government does a poor job of enforcing it. The only way to completely stop supporting puppy mills is to not buy any puppies from pet stores. People should mainly buy their dogs from rescue shelters such as the Humane Society or the SPCA. As long as people continue to buy their dogs from pet stores, the puppy mills will continue to prosper and will continue to harm animals on a daily basis.

All in all, I have learned a lot from the few weeks I have spent researching my topic. Hopefully, one day, puppy mills will be shut down and dogs will no longer be living in such disgusting and dangerous cages/conditions. I am very happy with the outcome of my final project, I learned a lot and I hope that my classmates benefited from my research about puppy mills.



Sources:

· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Welfare_Act

· An interview via e-mail with Sharon Hauser from the SPCA of Tampa Bay; Date of Interview: December 8, 2008

· http://stoppuppymills.org inside_a_puppy_mill.html

· A conference phone call with an expert: Beau Archer

Puppy Mills Expert

Heidi, an Animal expert from the Humane Society, answered several questions for me.
The following are the questions and answers copied directly from our e-mail.
The interview took place December 3, 2008.

- Are there laws against Puppy Mills?

No, but there are laws that say the animals must be provided certain minimum care. Right now The HSUS is working to get Congress to pass a bill called 'Baby's Bill' that would require exercise for dogs in puppy mills and close a loophole in the law where breeders who sell over the Internet are exempt from inspections and other regulation. We think this bill has a good chance of passing, whereas a complete ban would not.

- This is a broad question, but why are the animals treated so poorly
in Puppy Mills?

A lot of people profit from cruel practices such as factory farming and puppy mills. They say that doing the right thing like exercising the dogs would cost time and money. We often hear people who run farms or puppy mills make excuses like, "the animals don't feel pain," or "they don't mind being confined."

- Are all Puppy Mills treating their animals with cruelty?
I've never heard of one that doesn't confine the breeding animals, dogs who live their entire lives in cages and are continually bred for years, without human companionship and with little hope of ever becoming part of a family. These dogs receive little or no veterinary care and never see a bed, a treat or a toy. After their fertility wanes, breeding animals are commonly killed, abandoned or sold to another mill. The annual result of all this breeding is hundreds of thousands of puppies, many with behavior and/or health problems.

- What can be done to try to prevent Puppy Mills?

The best way people can help is to not purchase a pet from a pet store, but rather from an animal shelter or reputable breeder that they research well (this means visiting to see the animals' living conditions). People can also write to their state and federal legislators and ask them to make puppy mills a priority, spread the word to friends & family, and make a donation to The HSUS's Puppy Mill Education Fund.

Final Project Progress

Right now, I am still gathering information and planning my final project. I am still going to make an online poster about Puppy Mills. I will start to put it together over the weekend.

My Final Project

For my final project, I am planning to make a Glogster Poster. I will be making an online poster about Puppy Mills.

Oklahoma

I found this very interesting....
Oklahoma is supposedly "the number 2 puppy mill state in the union."
Petland does not have any stores in Oklahoma, yet "24 Oklahoma breeders" sell their dogs to "the corporation." This proves some of the terrible things that the puppies/dogs must go through to reach one of these Petland stores nationwide as they must travel hundreds of miles to reach a store to be sold.



http://newsok.com/group-howling-over-puppy-mills/article/3326650

Podcast

As I was searching iTunes for a podcast, I came across a podcast from the Humane Society. It was based upon Petland and the fogginess there is to the places it buys its puppies from. Statistics show that Petland, an international business, sells more puppies than any other animal house annually. Even though Petland denies buying puppies from rundown and illegal places, the Humane Society has found evidence showing otherwise....

Podcast from iTunes:

Humane Society: Latest Video Reports

The Humane Society of the United States