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SHOOTING OURSELVES IN THE FOOT
The Sanitizing of Violence in Our Society
By: Frank L. Hoffman flh@all-creatures.org
©1998 - The Mary T. and Frank L. Hoffman Family Foundation
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Animal Abuse & Human Abuse:
Partners In Crime
A reprint of a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) article
Violent acts toward animals have long been recognized as indicators
of a violent psychopathology that does not confine itself to animals. "Anyone who has
accustomed himself to regard the life of any living creature as worthless is in danger of
arriving also at the idea of worthless human lives," wrote humanitarian Albert
Schweitzer. "Murderers...very often start out by killing and torturing animals as
kids," according to Robert K. Resler, who developed
profiles of serial killers for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Studies
have now convinced sociologists, lawmakers, and the courts that acts of cruelty toward
animals deserve our attention. They can be the first sign of a violent pathology that
includes humans.
A Long Road of Violence
Animal abuse is not just the result of a minor personality flaw in
the abuser, but a symptom of a deep disturbance. Research in psychology and
criminology shows that people who commit acts of cruelty against animals don't stop there;
many of them move on to their fellow humans.
The FBI has found that a history of cruelty to animals is one of the traits that regularly
appears in its computer records of serial rapists and murderers, and the standard
diagnostic and treatment manual for psychiatric and emotional disorders lists cruelty to
animals as a diagnostic criterion for conduct disorders.(1)
Studies have shown that violent and aggressive criminals are more likely to have abused
animals as children than criminals considered non-aggressive.(2) A survey of
psychiatric patients who had repeatedly tortured dogs and cats found all of them had high
levels of aggression toward people as well, including one patient who had murdered a
boy.(3) To researchers, a fascination with cruelty to animals is a red flag in the
lives of serial rapists and killers.(4)
Notorious Killers
History is replete with notorious examples: Patrick Sherrill, who killed 14 coworkers at a
post office and then shot himself, had a history of stealing local pets and allowing his
own dog to attack and mutilate them.(5) Earl Kenneth Shriner, who raped, stabbed,
and mutilated a 7-year-old boy, had been widely known in his neighborhood as the man who
put firecrackers in dogs' rectums and strung up cats.(6) Brenda Spencer, who opened
fire at a San Diego school, killing two children and injuring nine others, had repeatedly
abused cats and dogs, often by setting their tails on fire.(7) Albert DeSalvo, the
"Boston Strangler" who killed 13 women, trapped dogs and cats in orange crates
and shot arrows through the boxes in his youth.(8) Carroll Edward Cole, executed for five
of 35 murders of which he was accused, said his first act of violence as a child was to
strangle a puppy.(9) In 1987, three Missouri high school students were charged with
the beating death of a classmate. They had histories of repeated acts of animal
mutilation starting several years earlier. One confessed he had killed so many cats
he'd lost count.(10) Two brothers who murdered their parents had previously told
classmates they had decapitated a cat.(11) Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer had impaled dogs'
heads, frogs, and cats on sticks.(12)
Sadly, many of these criminals' childhood violence went unexamined—until it was
directed toward humans. As anthropologist Margaret Mead noted, "One of the most
dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and get away
with it."
Animal Cruelty and Family Violence
Because domestic abuse is directed toward the powerless, animal abuse and child abuse
often go hand in hand. Parents who neglect an animal's need for proper care or who
abuse animals may also abuse or neglect their children. Some abusive adults who know
better than to abuse a child in public have no such qualms about abusing an animal
publicly.
In 88 percent of 57 New Jersey families being treated for child abuse, animals in the home
had been abused.(13) Of 23 British families with a history of animal neglect, 83
percent had been identified by experts as having children at risk of abuse or neglect.(14)
While animal abuse is an important sign of child abuse, the parent isn't always the one
harming the animal. Children who abuse animals may be repeating a lesson learned at
home; like their parents, they are reacting to anger or frustration with violence.
Their violence is directed at the only individual in the family more vulnerable than
themselves: an animal. One expert says, "Children in violent homes are
characterized by...frequently participating in pecking-order battering," in which
they may maim or kill an animal. Indeed, domestic violence is the most common
background for childhood cruelty to animals.(15)
Stopping the Cycle of Abuse
There is "a consensus of belief among psychologists...that cruelty to animals is one
of the best examples of the continuity of psychological disturbances from childhood to
adulthood. In short, a case for the prognostic value of childhood animal cruelty has
been well documented," according to the Cornell University College of Veterinary
Medicine.(16)
Schools, parents, communities, and courts who shrug off animal abuse as a
"minor" crime are ignoring a timebomb. Instead, communities should be
aggressively penalizing animal abusers, examining families for other signs of violence,
and requiring intensive counseling for perpetrators. Communities must recognize that
abuse to ANY living individual is unacceptable and endangers everyone.
Additionally, children should be taught to care for and respect animals in their own
right. After extensive study of the links between animal abuse and human abuse, two
experts concluded, "The evolution of a more gentle and benign relationship in human
society might, thus, be enhanced by our promotion of a more positive and nurturing ethic
between children and animals."(17)
What You Can Do:
·Urge your local school and judicial systems to take cruelty to animals seriously.
Laws must send a strong message that violence against any feeling creature—human or
other-than-human—is unacceptable.
·Be aware of signs of neglect or abuse in children and animals. Take children
seriously if they report animals being neglected or mistreated. Some children won't
talk about their own suffering but will talk about an animal's.
·Don't ignore even minor acts of cruelty to animals by children. Talk to the child
and the child's parents. If necessary, call a social worker.
References
1.Goleman, Daniel, "Child's Love of Cruelty May Hint at the Future Killer,
"The New York Times, Aug. 7, 1991. 2."Animal Abuse Forecast of Violence,"
New Orleans Times-Picayune, Jan. 1, 1987.
3.Felthous, Alan R., "Aggression Against Cats, Dogs, and People," Child
Psychiatry and Human Development, 1980, 10: 169-177.
4.Goleman.
5.International Association of Chiefs of Police, "The Training Key," #392, 1989.
6.The Animals' Voice, Fall 1990.
7.The Humane Society News, Summer 1986.
8.International Association of Chiefs of Police.
9.Ibid.
10.Ibid.
11.Adams, Lorraine, "Too Close for Comfort," The Washington Post, Apr. 4, 1995.
12.Goleman.
13.DeViney, Elizabeth, Jeffrey Dickert, and Randall Lockwood, "The Care of Pets
Within Child-Abusing Families,"
International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems, 1983, 4:321-329.
14."Child Abuse and Cruelty to Animals," Washington Humane Society.
15.Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Health Newsletter, Nov. 1994.
16.Ibid.
17.Kellert, Stephen R., Ph.D., and Alan R. Felthous, M.D., "Childhood Cruelty Toward
Animals Among Criminals and Noncriminals," Nov. 1983.
5/15/97
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People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)-
501 Front Street - Norfolk, VA. 23510 - 757-622-PETA (7382)
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