We received a wonderful donation from the Battered Women’s Project, and with that donation came to mind the correlation between animal abuse and domestic violence.
Domestic violence is domestic violence; it doesn’t matter if it is a person or an animal – that is my opinion anyway. Animal abuse is a direct indicator that there might possibly be abuse happening to other members of the family. It is a warning sign that something is terribly wrong in that abuser’s mind.
Many studies in psychology, sociology, and criminology during the last 25 years have demonstrated that violent offenders frequently have childhood and adolescent histories of serious and repeated animal cruelty. The FBI has recognized the connection since the 1970s, when its analysis of the lives of serial killers suggested that most had killed or tortured animals as children. (Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Albert DeSalvo, the “Boston Strangler,” Patrick Sherrill, Carroll Edward Cole, are all serial killers and they were also all animal abusers). Other research has shown consistent patterns of animal cruelty among perpetrators of more common forms of violence, including child abuse, spouse abuse, and elder abuse. In fact, the American Psychiatric Association considers animal cruelty one of the diagnostic criteria of conduct disorder (Pet-abuse.com).
Another alarming fact is that many of the students who have committed school shootings were animal abusers. Sadly, in many of these cases, 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.”
It is up to us to be the voice of the voiceless. By stopping animal abuse and neglect, you may save the animal’s life and also that of a family member. It takes a lot of courage to get involved, to stick your neck out, but if you don’t, then who will?
There is so much information out there on animal abuse and domestic violence, I could go on forever. You can check information on this subject at the following sites: Pet-abuse.com and HSUS.org. There is enough information on these sites to keep you busy for a while. Education is power, it is the power to fight violence of any type. If you suspect violence toward an animal or witness it, please contact your local law enforcement or animal control officer. You can also report abuse directly to the State Department of Animal Welfare at 877-269-9200 or 207-287-3846.
If you are looking for a friend for life, please contact the Central Aroostook Humane Society. We are open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday or give us a call at 764-3441. You can view our available pets on line at www.centralaroostookhumanesociety.org.
Please have your pets spayed or neutered.
