During winter many people are worried about staying warm and upcoming snow days. But, what most don’t give a second thought to is the cat that doesn’t have a warm place to go or the dog that can’t find food.

Senior Kaylin Harrington, president of PAWS McLean, has been interested in the welfare of animals since she was a kid. On a daily basis, Harrington helps animals by fostering multiple animals at a time and by being a vegetarian.

“My parents have always liked animals, so as a kid I grew up surrounded by them…I also foster with Lost Dog and Cat rescue,” Harrington said.

Harrington also makes sure to check for brands that were cruelty free when she’s shopping for clothes and makeup.

“I try to buy organic and cage free food products and buy makeup from brands that are cruelty free,” Harrington said.

Though she tries to help as many types of animals as she can, Harrington focuses on helping dogs.

Harrington believes that animal cruelty should be a prevalent issue in the news because it’s a problem that reaches all realms of the world.

The Breed Specific Legislation bans many breeds from living in certain areas of the country, and requires to have the animals put down if they happen to live in an off limits area. Virginia prohibits their municipalities from passing breed specific laws. Instead saying, “no canine shall be found to be dangerous dog or vicious dog solely because it is a particular breed.”

The two most common places animal cruelty is found is in the food and makeup industries. Both of these industries don’t have much regulation when it comes to the abuse and treatment of animals.

In the food industry, the Humane Slaughter Act of 1958 requires the “proper treatment and humane handling of all food animals slaughtered in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspected slaughter plants.” “Humane slaughter,” meaning, “an animal must be killed instantly or rendered insensible to pain until death supervenes,” according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). The American version of the RSPCA is the ASPCA, or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Though the act states “all food animals,” some animals, such as turkeys and chickens, are not covered under the law. Today, the law is enforced by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

Many major and well-known companies, such as The Hershey Company, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Ocean Spray have publicly pledged not to fund or experiment on animals, according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Everyday in the makeup industry hundreds, maybe thousands, of animals are tortured and killed in tests for personal care products, cleaning products, and cosmetics. The Humane Society of the United States states that the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, prohibits the sale of low quality and mislabeled products, but does not require that products be tested in order to be rendered safe in accordance to government guidelines.

Animal cruelty has been dealt with around the world as well. In contrast to the American government, the Chinese government requires all cosmetic products imported into the country to be tested. Whereas, in India, the Indian government’s Bureau of Indian Standards approved the removal of animal tests from India’s cosmetic standards in 2013. Mandatory use of non-animal tests is now the Indian national standard.

“[Animal cruelty] exists in many forms, some of which people are unaware of. For this reason it often goes unnoticed or even addressed,” Harrington said.