I don’t remember exactly how old I was, but sometime between sixth grade and eighth grade, I watched a shock video—intended as it states, to "shock" the watcher with its vivid content. It was the result of my overly curious persona that has gotten me in trouble more times than I can count.

I had seen an advertisement online asking if I wanted to save animals, so being the life-lover I was, I clicked on it. Terrible mistake. It led me straight to a web page showing a variety of farm animals being slaughtered in dark, dingy rooms that were covered in dirt and blood. The video in total was about 30 minutes long, and I watched at least 15 minutes of it before my lunch period ended and I had to go to class. I spent the majority of the day trying not to cry, and my friends seemed to know to stay away from me.

My final essay for eighth-grade humanities class was about the cruel treatment of elephants in the circus, and to complete my research for the project, I had to access the website for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, more commonly known as PETA. I found more shock videos on that site than should be legal, but despite the warning signs posted before the video, I plowed ahead and watched all of them.

That time, I was not afraid. I was not ashamed for having seen them or horrified knowing that I had seen them. I was angry. My emotions were strong, and my rage real, but all that I did with all that driving force was write a kick-ass essay about elephants that only my teacher read. I was satisfied with that at the time, but I have continuously looked back on those videos that I watched and known that I could have done something more.

Every year, 13,400,000 cats and dogs are put to death by clinics and overcrowded shelters. Every year, 19,500,000 animals are killed by clinical testing. It is estimated that about six percent of those animals experience pain during the procedures—so to put that in perspective, 1,170,000 animals die each year from experimentation without anesthesia. I don’t understand how that can be justified.

Yes, the experimentation allows for humans to use products without the danger of unknown side effects. Yes, animal testing has helped develop vaccines for rabies, polio, measles, and a plentitude of other diseases. I am not necessarily against animal testing. I know without a doubt, though, that I could never agree to the subjection of an animal to a painful death when there were other options available.

I have not acted upon these thoughts in any dramatic fashion. I have not made speeches or bought out all the pets from nearby shelters, but I have started buying cruelty-free products. I always look for the symbol on bottles of shampoo, makeup, and dog food that means the product is cruelty-free. I am not opposed to the industry, but I do not have to support it. I do not have to benefit from the pain of animals. I can choose what to do.

This week held the last performance of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Asian elephants. The elephants will retire to an elephant sanctuary where they will be reunited with their parents, old friends, and trainers. I can only hope that the light media has recently shed on the rights and treatment of circus animals will encourage the population to explore deeper and hopefully take a stand against any form of cruelty inflicted on anyone and anything.