Some who are cruel to animals copy acts they have seen or that have been done to them. Others see harming an animal as a safe way to get revenge against—or threaten— someone who cares about that animal. Many studies in psychology, sociology and criminology in the past 25 years have demonstrated that violent offenders frequently have childhood and adolescent histories of serious and repeated animal cruelty [PDF].
The FBI has recognized the connection since the s, when its analysis of the lives of serial killers suggested that most had killed or tortured animals as children. Other research has shown consistent patterns of animal cruelty among perpetrators of other forms of violence, including child abuse, spousal abuse and elder abuse. In fact, the American Psychiatric Association considers animal cruelty one of the diagnostic criteria of conduct disorder.
Depending on the severity of the case, those convicted of animal cruelty can be imprisoned. Appropriate sentencing can also include individual or family counseling, community service, placement in a diversion program and a prohibition on owning or caring for animals.
It is rarely the goal of police to imprison a child for cruelty to animals. Law enforcement officers and judges recognize that cruelty to animals is one part of a complex problem. Sometimes, the official response to animal cruelty provides a family its first opportunity to get help.
While many jurisdictions will respond to an anonymous complaint, successful prosecutions often depend on an identifiable witness who can authenticate evidence. Because there is no national reporting requirement for animal abuse, there is no way to track the number of animal cruelty cases that are filed or that make it to court each year. The idea of creating animal abuser registries, similar to sex abuser registries, has been advocated for a long time.
The nation's first such registry was established in Suffolk County, N. Be aware of the signs of animal cruelty and know how to report suspected cruelty to animals and sign up to be notified about actions you can take to bring animal abusers to justice. Animal neglect situations are those in which the animal's caretaker or owner fails to provide food, water, shelter or veterinary care sufficient for survival.
It can be either deliberate or unintentional, but either way, the animal suffers terribly. Extended periods of neglect can lead to seriously compromised health or even death. Animal cause control agencies nationwide report that animal neglect cases are the most common calls to which they respond.
The pain of an animal who lingers with untreated illness or wounds, or without nourishment or shelter, can be tremendous—sometimes even more so than those who are victims of directly inflicted violence, because their suffering is so prolonged. Animals who starve to death experience a myriad of painful symptoms throughout each stage of their physical deterioration. An initial loss of body fat is followed by muscle loss and atrophy and, ultimately, organ failure.
In long-term starvation, degeneration of the liver, cardiac changes, anemia and skin lesions may develop. An animal without proper shelter can also quickly succumb to extreme heat or cold. During extremely cold spells or hot periods, it is not uncommon for animal control officers to find companion animals—often chained dogs —literally frozen to the ground or dead from heat prostration because of lack of proper shelter from the elements.
Often these animals perish only feet away from the homes in which their caretakers live. Dogs who are continually chained are also neglect victims, even if it may not be illegal in that particular jurisdiction. All fifty states and the federal government have laws that allow for animal cruelty to be prosecuted as a felony.
Felonies are considered the most serious class of crimes in the United States. The PACT Act provides for the prosecution of those that perform certain cruel acts such as crushing, burning, or suffocating animals to be tried for a felony. In the state of Florida , animal cruelty that results in the death or repeated harm of an animal is considered a third-degree felony.
Adopting pets instead of purchasing helps to ensure that there is space in animal shelters for pets that may be the victims of cruelty. In addition, it helps by not contributing to the cruelty of puppy mills.
By donating time, money, and other resources to animal shelters you can help to increase the number of animals that rescues are able to help. Perhaps the most effective method of cutting down cruelty is making sure that the next generation of pet owners, kids, know how to treat animals and provide them with proper care.
Looking for cruelty-free products and eating a more plant-based diet helps reduce animal cruelty by limiting the number of animals suffering in labs for the production of cosmetics or on factory farms for food. To report animal cruelty seen online you can file a report with the Internet Crime Complain Center.
You can report to the center whether you live within the US or abroad, as long as the suspected abuser resides within the United States. There are two primary resources available for reporting animal cruelty in movies and on television. Animal cruelty can be reported to the local authorities.
Within the United States, most communities have an animal-specific arm of law enforcement to whom the local police can direct you. Before contacting the authorities, however, consider reaching out to a local shelter or animal hospital to discuss the situation to see what they suggest are the best next steps. Understanding animal cruelty is one of the first steps to stopping it from occurring.
By being aware of what is happening in your community, donating your time or other resources, being cognizant of the products you purchase and making sure that the children in your life know proper animal care, you can help stop animal suffering.
Grace is an animal advocate with a passion for social justice within the animal protection movement. What Is Animal Cruelty? Who Abuses Animals? What Is the Correlation with Domestic Violence? Which Species are the Most Common Victims? A study carried out by Dr. Phillip Kavanagh and his colleagues examined the relationship between the three Dark Triad personality traits and attitudes towards animal abuse and self-reported acts of animal cruelty.
The study found that the psychopathy trait was related to intentionally hurting or torturing animals, as was also a composite measure of all three Dark Triad traits. There is no easy solution to childhood IATC. Given that most children learn anti-social behaviour from those around them, the best way to prevent it is teaching by example. Here, parents are the key. Pro-social behaviour by parents and other role models towards animals, such as rescuing spiders in the bath, feeding birds, treating pets as a member of the family, has the potential to make a positive lasting impression on children.
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