Animal cruelty has been a problem for many years. In 2011, 1,423 cases of animal abuse were reported. Of the 1,423 animals, 70% were dogs, 20% were cats and 24% were other animals. The most commonly reported animal abuse concerns dogs, cats, horses and livestock. In 2016, animal cruelty was added to the Uniform Crime Report, making it officially illegal in the United States. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayOne of the biggest sources of animal cruelty is dog fighting. Dog fighting is a blood sport where dogs are forced to fight for entertainment. Dog fighting is illegal and a crime in the United States, although it still occurs. Many dogs suffer injuries such as puncture wounds, fractures, lacerations and blood loss. Lost dogs are often killed in the sport. It is estimated that there are tens of thousands of dog fights in the United States. Dogs that participate in fights are usually raised in captivity and are chained for most of their lives. Dogs are also conditioned with drugs and other harmful substances. Another example of animal abuse is animal hoarding, animal hoarding occurs when a person takes in more animals than they can care for. Animal hoarding often leads to starvation and injuries due to neglect. In many cases, animals live in ruined houses with holes in the walls, floor, etc. The house may be covered in dried feces, vomit and urine. The hoarder may also neglect taking care of themselves and insist that they and their pets are happy and healthy. In the United States, approximately a quarter of a million animals die from hoarding each year. All states in the United States recognize animal hoarding as cruelty. There are also many companies known as Puppy Mills that abuse and neglect dogs every day. Puppy mills are similar to pet hoarding in that they neglect dogs and do not provide them with enough food, veterinary care, or socialization. Puppy mills sell puppies to pet stores and sometimes directly to customers. They usually have genetic problems or diseases due to the poor conditions in which they were born. Many puppies also have behavioral problems because they were not socialized properly and were taken away from their mothers at a young age. Due to the large number of dogs housed in these puppy mills, their cages are usually stacked on top of each other, exposing dangerous wires that can injure the puppies' paws. Many of these factories are neither licensed nor inspected, making them completely illegal. The latest example of animal abuse is horse slaughter, horse slaughter is often confused with euthanasia, which is completely false. Horse slaughter involves killing horses for human consumption. Horse slaughter involves taking innocent horses and killing them in a cruel manner, then shipping them to other countries for consumption. In 2006, a total of three slaughterhouses killed around 104,000 horses. Slaughterhouses were closed in the United States, which did not solve the problem at all. Now horses are sent overseas, to Mexico or Canada, to be murdered. Most.