Although a clear connection between animal abuse and human violence has never been established it has been proven that through animal abuse, individuals outline an easier path to violence. This has been proven through violence within families, criminal violence and abusive relationships.
Studies have shown that animal abuse doesn’t only affect the animals but ends up leading to violence in families, relationships and criminal violence. People may start by abusing animals and many people don’t see that as a red flag that can later lead to them becoming victims of domestic violence. People who see animals abuse in their household may not think much of it because they are convinced that their loved ones wont do anything to harm them, but once their is animal abuse happening in your household you should take into consideration that a person who is hurting a animal who is doing no harm to them probably has problems. According to Clifton P. Flynn “The academic study of violence toward animals, and its relation to human violence, has steadily increased in volume, in quality, and in stature over the past twenty or so years” (flynn). The relationship between animal abuse and human violence has been increasing over the past twenty years, as animal abuse increases so does human violence. Humans start off by abusing animals and they release their anger on them but once abusing animals is not enough for them that’s when the violence within families, relationships and even criminal actions start. From this we can see that the act of animal abuse may lead to violence within families, abusive relationships and criminal violence. There have been many stories where research shows that kids who abuse animals are more likely to be violent to humans in the future. For example Albert DeSalvo (the “Boston Strangler”), who killed 13 women, trapped dogs and cats and shot arrows at them through boxes in his youth ( peta). This shows that a person who has done harm to animals in their youth has more of a chance to become violent towards human beings because they like to hurt animals and people who they view as weak and vulnerable.
Animal abuse is the harm of animals physically and mentally. Animal abuse has been going on since the first century but the first act did not take place until 1876 which was the Cruelty to Animals act. From there many more laws started to take place a few are ; The 28hr law which states that an animal cannot be transported for more than 28hrs without the animal having 5hrs of rest for food and water, The Animal Welfare Act which was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 24, 1966. It is the main federal law in the United States that regulates the treatment of animals in research and exhibition. , The Pact which would make it a federal crime for “any person to intentionally engage in animal crushing and another one wich was recently made into a law was the New Animal-friendly act which states that pet shops could only sell animals that come from shelters and animal rescues not breeders . Even though it is illegal to do harm to animals people still do it and many get away from it. Many other organizations like peta and the human society organization exist already to bring awareness to animal abuse but although they exist there is still a lot of animal abuse happening every year, in order for this to stop everyone has to bring awareness to the issue not only a few organizations.
Animal abuse is a factor of violence within families because once a human starts abusing animals within their household they will find an easier path to start abusing their family members.
Research shows that when a abuser starts off with animal abuse they will find it easy to abuse humans because no one put a stop to them when they started off with animals. According to Olivia S Garber “ Family violence and animal abuse “go hand in hand” because the victims of domestic violence, child abuse, and animal abuse all share a common trait: their abusers are preying on the weak, vulnerable, and powerless” (Garber). This means that animal abuse and violence within families are related because abusers don’t care if you’re an animal or a human they will simply abuse whomever looks vulnerable, weak and powerless. Abusers may start abusing animals within the household so the other family members can be scared and they can “respect” the abuser but what many people don’t realize is that they not only hurt the animals physically but mentally as well which can later lead to the death of the animals. Additionally, when kids view animal abuse and then experience violence within families it may lead to mental illnesses as well like ptsd. PTSD is short for post traumatic stress disorder which is a disorder in which a person has difficulty recovering from traumatic experience. You can look at animal abuse and family violence as a cycle that keeps repeating itself. When a kid experiences violence within their family they are more likely to get ptsd this could lead to kids being violent which will result in kids taking out their violence on animals, once a kid is an abuser to animals they will grow up abusing animals which will later on to them abusing their family members. From this we can see that animal abuse has more factors than just animals being hurt from the situation, animal abuse will lead to violence within a family which will result in a cycle of violence.
It has been proven through research that criminals who do harm to people would do harm to animals in their youth. When a kid starts acting violent towards animals parents should immediately put a stop to it to prevent them from becoming criminals in the future. People don’t realise that abusing animals is as badass abusing human beings, animals as well as us have emotions, and they feel pain as well. According to peta a lot of criminals claimed that they had done harm to animals before they started abusing humans.
“History is replete with serial killers whose violent tendencies were first directed at animals. Albert DeSalvo (the “Boston Strangler”), who killed 13 women, trapped dogs and cats and shot arrows at them through boxes in his youth.6 Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer impaled frogs, cats, and dogs’ heads on sticks.7 Dennis Rader (the BTK killer), who terrorized people in Kansas, wrote in a chronological account of his childhood that he hanged a dog and a cat.8 During the trial of convicted sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, a psychology professor testified that the teenager, who killed 10 people with a rifle, had “pelted—and probably killed—numerous cats with marbles from a slingshot when he was about 14.”9”(peta)
These are few examples of criminals who stated they would hurt animals before they started abusing humans. This can show that once a kid or teen starts abusing animals without anyone putting a stop to it, it can lead to bigger problems which in these cases there were not only innocent animals getting killed but due to this many people were killed as well. We can see a cycle being repeated here where many kids don’t get stopped at an early stage when they are abusing animals and due to that they end up becoming serial killers because they enjoy abusing people and animals who they view as an easy target. From this we can see that animal abuse can result in bigger issues than just hurting and killing innocent animals but it can also lead to criminal actions.
Additional to animal abuse leading to violence within a family it can also lead to abusive relationships. Research shows that when a person abuses animals they are more likely to be violent towards humans meaning that if you’re in a relationship with someone who abuses animals you are in danger of being abused by your boyfriends, girlfriend, husband or wife. Many people for example have pets with their significant other and when one or the other starts abusing the pet the other person is more likely to stay with the abuser because they fear that if they leave the pet is going to likely be abused by the abuser and take out the anger on the pet. This could lead to abusive relationships because the victim is scared to speak up because they know the abuser will take it out on the pet or on them.
“National and state studies have established that from 54 to 71 percent of women seeking shelter from abuse reported that their partners had threatened, injured or killed one or more family pets (Anicare Model workshop, Tacoma, 2004. Created in 1999, the AniCare Model of Treatment for Animal Abuse treats people over 17 by bringing abusers and animals together. A companion program treats children.)” (paws).
From this we can understand that animal abuse leads to abusive relationships because 54-71% of women who seek help because they are in an abusive relationship have stated that their partner abused or killed the pet they have in their home. Many women who are in an abusive relationship don’t realize the consequences of animal abuse and they don’t realize that their partner may start off by abusing animals and they don’t think much of it until they are the ones who start getting abused. People need to realize that when a person is violent towards animals who don’t any harm to them there is a chance of the becoming violent with you whenever there is an argument or disagreement, people should immediately put a stop to their partner when they are hurting the pet because if they dont they are putting themselves at risk. Research shows that many people won’t leave the relationship in fear that the abuser will continue abusing the pet, according to the deadly link “ Approximately 50%-70% of victims delay leaving an abusive home because they fear their animals will be harmed or killed (for those who have no place to go that accepts animals)” (the deadly link). This says that people who have pets in abusive relationships are more likely to stay in the relationship to try to protect the pet, they also might not have anywhere to go with the pet so the only thing they think they can do is just stay with the abuser and the pet. Therefore people who abuse animals are more likely to be the abuser in an abusive relationship.
Stopping animal abuse can prevent violence within families, relationships and can criminal activities. Studies show that when you stop animal abuse you are initially stopping other crimes as well.
“Reporting, investigating and prosecuting animal cruelty can help take dangerous criminals off the streets. Police know that in homes where animal abuse is a problem, other issues are often concurrent. Acts of animal cruelty are linked to a variety of other crimes, including violence against people, property crimes, and drug or disorderly conduct offenses. Stopping animal abuse in children can help curb violent tendencies before they escalate to include violence against people” (humane society).
From this we can understand that when you put a stop to animal abuse you are preventing other crimes from happening like violence towards humans, property crimes and drug conduct offenses. Also it states that if you stop a kid from abusing animals can help to assure that they will not be violent in the future. Some ways that you can help prevent animal abuse according to four-paws is,
- ”Report animal cruelty, abuse or neglect. If you witness any form of animal cruelty, report it to the police or other authorities. Act immediately to prevent further cruelty”(four-paws.org).
- “Teach your children to have respect for animals. Set a good example by being respectful towards animals. Show children how to treat animals with love and consideration. Help them to grow up to become the next generation of advocates for animals”(four-paws.org).
- “Educate people around you about the issue. Help people to understand that they can intervene in situations where animals are being neglected or even tormented. Animals have a right to live without fear or pain, and we have a responsibility to step in if their rights aren’t respected” (four-paws.org).
These are a few steps that can help prevent animal abuse, if you witness animal abuse but you don’t know what to do to stop it without putting yourself in danger you can call 9-1-1 or any local animal control agency. Putting a stop to animal abuse can be the solution to some cases of family violence, abusive relationships and criminal activities.
To conclude animal abuse is a serious issue that goes on in the world and although there are laws to try to prevent animal abuse from happening many people still abuse animals and many animals end up dead due to the abuse and because no one spoke up about the situation. Animal abuse has many factors additional to animals getting abused or killed, animal abuse can lead to family violence, abusive relationships and criminal activities. Stopping animal abuse from an early start is really important because you are preventing many people and animals from getting abused. People who abuse animals may need help because they may be dealing with problems like ptsd for example. It is important that parents are aware that if they allow their kids to abuse animals they are allowing them to become violent which will lead them to becoming abusers of their family, their significant others or any human being in general. Animal abuse is an important issue that should be reported to the police or your local animal control agency to prevent any more major crimes from happening, if you have witnessed or experienced animal abuse or domestic violence it is important that you report it to prevent more people and animals from experiencing the same thing.
