Written by Christian Adkins, Angel Ard, Nathan Stanford and Jackson McKinley. Not Shown James Eddings.
In America, animals are treasured and seen as members of our families, but some animals get left out. These animals, if lucky, are found, picked up, and taken to animal shelters. At these shelters the animals are held and cared for until someone can adopt them... but sometimes their fate is decided by the shelter. If the animal does not get adopted or is not able to continue living in the shelter, they are euthanized. The euthanization of the animals is derived from many different reasons such as overpopulation, disease, old age and animal aggression. Putting down these animals is necessary to continue helping the few animals we can.
The euthanization of some animals is necessary for the survival of others. The term "eu" means "good" in Greek and "Thanatos" means death; therefore, euthanization means "Good Death." Euthanasia is defined as the merciful release from life in order to end suffering. We take the lives of animals in order to end the pain and suffering they may be enduring. Shelters take in various animals to try to give them a second chance, a chance to live and flourish. Sometimes these animals are not taken in and cannot be held any longer, so rather than throw these animals to the streets, they are euthanized. With this euthanization, the animals do not have to go through the fear or pain of struggling on the streets, scraping for food scraps and living in the damp solitude of the world.
Furthermore, the need for putting down animals derives from many different reasons ranging from general overpopulation, to illness, to old age. The population of animals is vital to keep in check, or else any one shelter's ability to care for animals could be inhibited. If too many animals in the world need care, more will suffer because we will not have the funding or resources to keep them alive and safe. Some animals are far too aggressive to be handed out too or adopted by the public. These animals are sometimes essential to euthanize to keep disease and illness away, assuming they are carrying disease, and to help find the good animals homes that they need.
Moreover, injured and abused animals have a special place in our hearts, they bring upon feelings of sympathy to our emotions. These animals are taken in by shelters, and even entire organizations dedicated to healing and helping these creatures thrive in a new, kind, loving home. What if these animals are far past saving, or cannot be rehabilitated? The only logical solution to keep these animals from suffering, to keep them from having to go through the pain of not being taken in by a home, is to euthanize the animals. If we do this, we can make far more room to care for the animals that have a chance, therefore helping the population stay tame and leaving financial breathing room for the shelters.
On the other hand, there are obviously reasons not to kill animals, it is a basic caring response to want to help these creatures. Some say it is wrong to kill animals depending on how long they are in the pound. The main purpose of shelters and pounds is to get animals off the streets and provide them with care, and at some point these shelters are not able to keep the animals, to continue caring for them. At this point, rather than let the animals starve, or suffer inside of this shelter, they are euthanized. They are brought to a peaceful end in order to allow for other animals to survive.
In summary, it may be slightly unethical to kill animals when our initial intent was to help them, but sometimes it's needed. If the animal is too aggressive, insanely ill, or far too old to continue on its own, it could be necessary to euthanize the animal and end what pain or suffering they may feel. The euthanization of animals is an act of mercy to end the suffering the animals feel.
