"One of the most dangerous things that can happen
to a child is to kill or torture an animal and get away with
it."- Anthropologist Margaret Mead
Until recently, violence toward children, domestic violence,
and elder violence were considered unrelated to violent acts
toward animals. A growing body of research and evidence demonstrates
that individuals who perpetrate acts of cruelty against animals
rarely stop there. Animal abuse can be a warning sign of future
serious violent behavior, especially among young offenders.
Increasingly, child protection and social service agencies,
mental health professionals and educators regard animal abuse
as a significant form of aggressive and antisocial behavior,
and consider it an important red flag in identifying other
violent behavior. Please consider the following facts:
The FBI considers animal cruelty to be one of the predictors
of violence and considers past animal abuse when profiling
serial killers.
National and state studies determined that from 54 to
71 percent of women seeking shelter reported that their partners
had threatened, injured or killed one or more family pets
(Anicare Model workshop, Tacoma 2004). If children are victims
of domestic violence they may in turn represent that abuse
with an animal, the only being they feel they can control.
In assessing youth who are at risk of committing interpersonal
violence, the U.S. Department of Justice emphasizes the importance
of including information about past animal abuse.
More than 80 percent of families being treated for child
abuse were also involved in animal abuse. In 2/3 of the cases,
the abusive parent killed or injured the pet. Sadly, in 1/3
of the cases, a child victim continued the cycle of violence
by abusing a pet.
A study in 1997 by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals and Northeastern University found that
70 percent of all animal abusers have committed at least
one other criminal offense and that almost 40 percent had
committed violent crimes against people. They also found
that over a 20-year period, a group of individuals who had
abused animals as youths were five times more likely to commit
violent crimes, four times more likely to commit property
crimes and three times more likely to have drug or disorderly
conduct offenses than a matched group of non animal abusers.
Responding to Animal Abuse
If you live or work closely with children as a teacher, camp
counselor, or parent, you come into daily contact with children
who look to you as someone they can trust. Consequently,
you may hear children talk about animal abuse they have witnessed
or even committed. When a child speaks of violence toward
an animal, engage him or her in a conversation to find all
the information related to the incident. Foster any sense
of empathy the child has for the animal, as this is a healthy
response.
If you believe a child has hurt an animal, or witnessed animal
abuse, please gather all the information available from the
child and contact a professional for further guidance. Counselors
and mental health workers are often aware of the human/animal
violence link and can be very helpful in these situations.
Social Services may also need to be called if abuse is taking
place in the home. By getting as much information from the
child as possible and reporting the situation to animal control,
you can help break the cycle of violence in your community.
At PAWS, we work to combat violence toward animals and people
through our Humane
Education Program by nurturing the inherent compassion in every child.
Report Animal Cruelty and Neglect
If anyone, including children, witnesses animal cruelty he
or she should report the abuse to animal control unless the
report would put the complainant at risk. In this case, social
services should be contacted. To minimize
the risk, the identity of people who report animal abuse
to animal control remains anonymous to the offender. In addition,
animal control officers are trained to look for signs of
other kinds of domestic violence and are required to report
their suspicions to social services.
Click here for tips on identifying and reporting animal cruelty
and neglect.
Information & Resource List
Below is a list of resources on the link between human and
animal violence
Organizations
Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) First Strike
Campaign
The First Strike campaign was implemented by the HSUS in 1997
to increase public and professional awareness about the correlation
between animal cruelty and human violence. First Strike offers
investigative support, rewards, expert testimony, and information
on the animal-human cruelty connection to law enforcement and
prosecutors in high-profile animal cruelty cases.
In addition to the above resources, HSUS conducts an annual
study of animal cruelty cases.
Contact: The Humane Society of the United States, 2100 L
Street, NW, Washington D.C. 20037
Phone: 202.452.1100, fax: 301.258.3081
Website: www.hsus.org
The Latham Foundation This organization offers "Breaking
the Cycles of Violence: A Practical Guide," a 26-minute
video and 64-page training manual developed to help human
service and animal care professionals do their jobs more
effectively by recognizing, reporting, investigating, and
treating their interrelated forms of family violence.
Contact: The Latham Foundation, Latham Plaza Building, 1826
Clement Avenue, Alameda, CA 95401
Phone: 510.521.0920, fax: 510.521.9861
Website: www.latham.org
Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF)
A national non-profit organization of attorneys, law students,
professors, and other legal professionals who work to ensure
enforcement of state and federal animal protection laws.
Anti-Cruelty Division: 919 SW Taylor Street, Fourth Floor,
Portland, OR 97205-2542,
Phone: 503.231.1602, fax: 503.231.1578
E-mail: action@aldf.org
National
Office: 127 Fourth Street, Petaluma, CA 94952-3005
Phone: 707.769.7771, fax: 707.769.0785
E-mail: info@aldf.org
Website: www.aldf.org
American Humane Association (AHA) - National Resource
Center on the Link Between Violence to People and Animals
AHA's Campaign Against Violence works to protect children
and animals through public education, advocacy with state
legislatures and training for animal control officers and
humane professionals. AHA offers brochures, fact sheets and
other publications that are devoted to this topic.
Contact: American Humane Association
63 Inverness Drive, East, Englewood, CO 80112-5117
Phone: 866.242.1877, fax: 303.792.5333
Website: www.americanhumane.org
Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights (AVAR)
AVAR is a non-profit organization comprised of veterinarians
committed to educating the public about animal welfare issues
around veterinary medicine, factory farming, and animal testing.
Contact: Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights (AVAR)
P.O. Box 208, Davis, California 95617-0208
Phone: 530.759.8106, fax: 530.759.8116
E-mail: info@avar.org
Website: www.avar.org
Doris Day Animal League (DDAL)
The "Beyond Violence: The Human-Animal Connection" program
provides resources to professionals that work with perpetrators
and victims of animal abuse, such as police officers, child
psychologists, animal control officers and teachers. The program
includes workshops and comic books for teens.
Contact: Doris Day Animal League
227 Massachusetts Avenue NE, STE 100, Washington D.C. 20002,
Phone: 202.546.1649 or 888.772.9329
Website: www.ddal.org
Pet-Abuse.Com
Pet-Abuse.com is a non-profit organization based out of Del
Mar, California that is dedicated to increasing public awareness
about the animal cruelty/human violence connection.
Contact: Pet-Abuse.Com, P.O. Box 2995, Del Mar, CA 92014-5995
Phone: 866.240.1179, fax: 775.659.5430, e-mail: info@pet-abuse.com
Website: www.pet-abuse.com
Spokane County Domestic Violence Consortium (SCDVC)
The SCDVC is a private, nonprofit organization comprised of
over two hundred members in Spokane County, Eastern Washington
and Northern Idaho. The SCDVC works with the community to develop
a local, comprehensive response to intimate partner violence
in Spokane, Washington. Members include law enforcement, legal
services, the courts, medical and social service providers,
education, military and religious institutions, private business,
intimate partner violence survivors and community volunteers.
They offer a wide variety of resources and reference material
on the connection between animal cruelty and intimate partner
violence.
Contact: Spokane County Domestic Violence Consortium,
525 E. Mission, Spokane, WA 99202,
Phone: 509.487.6783
E-mail: scdvcmail@domesticviolence.net.
Model Programs
Greenhill Humane Society Domestic Violence Assistance
Program
In partnership with Womenspace, Greenhill Humane Society of Eugene, Oregon provides confidential foster homes at no charge for animals belonging to victims or families in crisis as a result of domestic violence.
Ahimsa House
Georgia's only non-profit organization dedicated to helping the human and animal victims of domestic violence reach safety together. Programs include emergency animal safehouse services, 24-hour crisis line offering assistance with including pets in safety planning and on protective orders, and outreach/awareness programs.
Contact: Ahimsa House at 404.496.4038, Crisis line for use by victims and their representatives only: 404.452.6248
E-mail: info@ahimsahouse.org
Listserv: E-mail discussion list for representatives of safe haven programs sheltering animals for domestic violence victims (and new programs information) to exchange ideas and best practices. For more information, contact president@ahimsahouse.org.
Website: www.ahimsahouse.org
The Childhood Trust: Communities Networking for People
and Animal Welfare (CN-PAW)
CN-PAW is a joint effort of concerned citizens, Children's
Hospital Medical Center, and the University of Cincinnati.
CN-PAW offers an information exchange among members. Anyone who cares to join CN-PAW is welcome. Members meet every six weeks. Agencies and professions represented include battered women's shelters, adult and child protective services, law enforcement, prosecutors, school psychologists, mental health clinicians, child advocacy centers, residential schools and treatment settings, and the courts.
Contact: Barbara W. Boat, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director
The Childhood Trust, Department of Psychiatry ML 0539
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45267-0539
Phone: 513.558.9007, fax: 513.558.4107
Pet Haven/SPCA of Texas
Pet Haven provides short-term foster care for pets of families living in domestic violence shelters.
Contact: SPCA of Texas, 362 S. Industrial Blvd., Dallas, TX, 75207
Phone: 214.651,9611, fax: 214.651.9244
E-mail: kconover@spca.org
Website: www.spca.org
Saddle Up/The Arizona Humane Society
Saddle Up is a state-licensed equine therapy program where
troubled youth work hands-on with horses.
Contact: Julie Bank, Education Director
Arizona Humane Society
9226 N. 13th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85201
Phone: 602.870.1999,
fax: 602.395.3862
Articles & Books
"Animal Abuse and Youth Violence" www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/188677.pdf
Juvenile Justice
Bulletin. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Program.
September, 2001. Frank R. Ascione. Phone: 800.933.9637.
"Another Weapon for Combating Family Violence: Prevention
of Animal Abuse." Animal Law. Volume 4, 1998, pp. 1-31.
Phone: 503.768.6798.
"The Vicious Circle" www.ddal.org/pdf/guardian/Vicious%20Circle.pdf
Originally published in fall of 1998, in the Doris Day Animal
League's Animal Guardian, this article explores contemporary
cases of children with a history of animal abuse that eventually
turned their lethal attention toward classmates, relatives
and teachers. The article concludes with links to the websites
of organizations with humane education programs designed to
recognize and reverse patterns of juvenile violence before
they claim either animal or human victims.
"On Beyond Violence" www.ddal.org/pdf/guardian/Beyond%20Violence.pdf
Originally from the summer 2000 edition of DDAL's Animal
Guardian, this article by psychologist Mary Lou Randour
describes the joint project between the Doris Day Animal Foundation
(DDAF) and Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PSYETA) being used to train police, judges, prosecutors, animal
control, domestic violence and child protective service professionals
how to recognize and deal with the violence connection. In
addition to DDAF's booklet on this subject, the program also
uses a video and PSYETA's discussion guide, The AniCare Model
of Treatment for Animal Abuse.
"Forgotten Victims of Domestic Violence" www.ddal.org/pdf/guardian/Forgotten%20Victims.pdf
Doris Day Animal Foundation's Director of Programs Vicki Stevens,
deals with the dilemma often faced by women in abusive situations
who remain with a violent partner for fear that their cherished
companion animals my be tortured or killed in their place if
left behind. This article examines several model programs that
help these women get themselves and their children to safety
by providing a secure shelter for their animals, and offers
a number of ways you can help both human and animal victims
of domestic violence.
Report Animal Cruelty
Donate to PAWS
