Have you ever seen or even heard of this unusual trend? Some pet owners get their animals tattoos or piercings. While they might look cool to some, there is a lot of controversy about the practice. Because these are animals, they don’t exactly get a say so on whether they want a tattoo or piercing. Not to mention that these processes are extremely painful, especially tattoos because of the amount of time needed. New Jersey lawmakers introduced a bill in 2014 that would make the practice of tattooing or piercing a pet, animal cruelty. They want to protect these animals from what they call “needless mutilation.”
Cat with Pharoah tattoo.
Assemblyman Carmelo Garcia, who is the lead sponsor of the bill has said, “We’ve got to do everything we can to protect these animals. I’m proactively making sure this doesn’t happen to animals.” He is, of course, talking about needless tattoos and piercings that owners are getting for looks, not those for pet identification purposes, which are more humane and not as time-consuming.
This photo went viral once it hit the internet and made more people aware of this unfortunate trend.
Another question is, what tattoo artists and piercers are actually performing these pet tattoos and pet piercings? What is the code of ethics for these tattoo studios who allow this practice to take place? What is their take on the idea? We have not spoken to a tattoo studio who offers this kind of tattooing, and it’s not surprising if they do not advertise this trend to the general public.
What do you think about this practice? Do you think it looks cool and doesn’t hurt the animal, or do you think it’s an act of animal cruelty? Comment below!
