A very good morning to ladies and gentlemen. The topic of my speech today is Say no to animal abuse!.

Animal abuse has now become a global issue and it is growing rapidly in todays society. Have you ever noticed that there have been lots of cases of animal abuse around you and me? Have you read about animal abuse cases on newspaper every day? No, I can say. Media usually focuses only on child abuse cases, but not animal abuse. This is because most of the animal abuse cases are not reported and sometimes, human abuse the animals without themselves knowing it. So, I can say that the cruelty cases reported in the media is only the tip of the iceberg. There are many forms of animal abuse which are cruelty, death, neglect, and terror. According to Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) South Australia, the number of animal cruelty reports has increased by approximately 70% over the last five years. The most common type of animal cruelty is animal neglect or abandonment. The animals are not given shelter, and are deprived of food and water. However, most of the animal abuse and cruelty are not reported, letting the animals to suffer. Animals are often used to entertain human, for example, cockfighting and circus. Can you imagine the pain of the elephants which perform in circuses as they are chained for almost 23 hours a day since they were babies? Despite of the abusive training, those animals which perform in the circuses travelled for long distance and hours and they are usually not given proper veterinary care. People are often fooled into thinking that performing animals are one of the acceptable forms of entertainment. While enjoying the performance, they literally forget to spare a thought for what the animals have been through to be able to perform the tricks that they are being thrilled at. The public's eyes are blinded by the entertaining performances and the brutal training methods used by the trainers are hidden behind the scenes. In fact, the acts that the animals are compelled to perform are unnatural and sometimes, humiliating. The trainings that the animals have endured to gain the little applause of the audience are sheer torture for the animals. In animal testing, live hamster, dog, cat, rabbit, rats, mice, guinea pig and other warm-blooded animals are used in the research and experiment. Every year, animal testing are conducted all over the world by the scientists in the laboratories in order to test out certain product before it is released to the market for the sake of human safety. According to the AustraliaFauna, over 70 million animals are tortured and killed in US laboratories each year. As Prof. Charles R. Magel said, Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals and the answer is: 'Because animals are like us., so, if animals are like us then why should we exploit and abuse the animals in such ways? Imagine, millions of rabbits are used to carry out the Draize test which protects the cosmetic companies from lawsuits. The rabbits suffered throughout the test as their eyes are held open with clips. If the product tested is not suitable for human use, the rabbit eyes may get inflamed, bleed or blind. In addition, if there is no permanent damage caused by the product, the rabbits will be re-used for the next testing purposes. The animals suffered in pain and died during the test of the products, especially cosmetic products. Due to our selfish thought,

animals have to undergo horrific suffering whereas human still enjoy using those cosmetic products which provide them to have a better physical look. Should we continue doing that to those animals? No, we should stop animal abuse and prevent animal cruelty by purchasing products which labelled no animal testing. Besides that, due to the increasing demand for leather accessories, fur-trimmed jacket, snake skin bags, crocodile shoes and wool clothing by the rich people, snakes, foxes, beavers, deer, crocodiles, tigers and many other fur-bearing animals are killed in order to produce these products. In wild, those animals are captured using traps or hunted while in farms, they are killed by anal and vaginal electrocution. All of these methods will not cause any damage on their fur or skin but will definitely make them die in pain. Ladies and gentlemen, lets think about it, is this ethical? Is this humane? Can you imagine the torturing moment when the animals are hung high up on the conveyor belt right before meeting their death? Therefore, we should stop buying these luxury products which are produced in such an inhumane way. In addition, animals are abused in factory farming where different kind of animals like cows, goats, chickens and pigs are raised in order to supply human with meat and dairy products. Can you imagine the suffering of hens which rose for eggs as they are kept in tiny cage where they cannot even move their wings? In such unsanitary conditions, the animals may die due to stress or diseases. Also, most of the farmers use artificial insemination in order to keep the cows pregnant so that there will be more cows to provide milk. Farmers also inject hormones and antibiotics into the animals bodies to prevent disease and maximize their growth and food output. This causes the animals to grow few times bigger and faster which lead them to painful conditions as their heart and lungs are not developed well to support their body. Adding to that, during the animal slaughter process, the big animals are killed using electrical shock while the chickens are slaughtered using throat-cutting. This show how inhumane the farmers are as animals died in such a horrible way without given narcotic. However, did we think about that before we eat the delicious meat and dairy products? So it is time to put an end to the sufferings of the animals all around the world by stop doing these shameful and cruel treatments on the innocent helpless animals. Human is living organism as well as the animals. So, lets change our attitude towards the animal. Say no to animal abuse and stop animal cruelty. Human has feelings, the same goes to the animals. Even though the animals cannot speak and communicate with human, but it is scientifically proven that they are conscious of their surroundings. Thus, we have the responsibility to fight for the animal rights and help them to rise out their voices to stop cruelty towards animals. There is a unique and unbreakable relationship between human and animals goes back to dawn of human development. Human relies on animals very much as they provide us with food, fibre, clothing, building materials, medicines, and many other more. Horses and cows are used as transportation during the older times. Besides that, animals also help human in agricultural activity such as ploughing the paddy fields. Animals also entertain human as well for example, the funny monkey performing in the zoo. Also, some people treated animal as companion, even

member of the family. Therefore, we should not abuse or abandon the animals. No animal cruelty, no animal abuse! Stop torturing animal and stop killing them! They need our respect, they need our help, they need our care and they need our love. So, lets stop animal abuse together and provide the abused animals with shelters and food. Pet owners should take their responsibility in providing them a good and hygiene condition and spend time with those adorable pets, not neglecting them. In conclusion, before I end my speech, I would like to urge all of the audience to support the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), you can stop the animal abuse around you. Remember, every animal deserves to be free from cruelty and torturing. Lets lend a helping hand to those helpless animals that are left agony on the streets. Report if you found anybody is suspicious in involving animal abuse and cruelty. Through you little action, you can make the difference. Stop letting the animals endure the pain from animal cruelty starting from now on!