Topic: You work at an animal welfare organization. You have been asked to give a speech to a group of secondary students about respect for animals. In the speech, explain what respect for animals means, include recent examples of animal cruelty that you have read about in the newspaper, and suggest what can be done to change people’s attitudes towards animals. Write the speech.
Good morning everyone. I am a worker from Love Animals Organization. I am going to tell you something about respect for animals.
To start with, let me ask you a question: do you know what respect for animals means? Some of you may simply think it means don’t hurt animals. Actually, respect for animals means we protect animals’ rights and welfare. And they should live free from suffering. To be specific, we should provide enough food, freedom, a comfortable and suitable environment for the animals we keep. We should take good care of the animals and make sure they live freely and joyfully. This is what we should do in order to be loving and responsible pet owners.
Although respect for animals is important, there are still a lot of news reports about animal cruelty. One of the recent examples is starvation and malnutrition of animals. Some animals in a circus were starving and even beaten because they failed to perform tricks. They are relatively smaller and thinner than standard sizes. The circus trainers would only feed the animals which could perform tricks successfully. However, only a small amount of food was given to them at a time since the circus manager wanted to minimize the cost. These animals were suffering and repeatedly required to do some unreasonable and meaningless tricks. They were treated inhumanely and couldn’t enjoy their rights.
Another case was closely related to our lives. A pack of dogs have been found abandoned on the street. These animals used to be the lovely furry friends of humans. They were abandoned because of the irresponsibility of their owners. These owners bought them just because they were attracted by their lovely appearance. And they soon found that keeping the pets was time-consuming so they abandoned their pets. These pets became strays wandering in the streets without a safe place to stay. They had to find their food in the trash and walk with their dirty fur until they could find their new owners.
These disrespectful and irresponsible attitudes should be changed. We should treat the animals like animals. They are sentient and conscious. We should respect all lives, including those of animals. If you want to buy or adopt pets, consider carefully whether you can afford the money and time to raise them. Take good care of them once you decide to keep them. Respect and love our animal friends. Thank you.