Essay/Term paper: The connectio between animal cruelty and human violence

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Miscellaneous

Animal cruelty encompasses a range of different behaviors harmful to animals,

from neglect to malicious, brutal killings. Studies show that animal cruelty may lead to

more serious forms of crime, like heavy drug use, violent outbursts, and most common,

cold blooded murder. Many studies in psychology, sociology, and criminology during the

last twenty-five years have demonstrated that violent offenders frequently have childhood

and adolescent histories of serious and repeated animal cruelty. A web page that goes by

the name Animal Alliance says "most cruelty investigated by humane officers, is

unintentional neglect, and can be resolved through education." (3) I was slightly shocked

when I saw this comment. Anyone who puts an animals" life in their hands, has a

responsibility to it. You don"t just forget to feed him/her, or forget to show them love

unless it is intentional, it get so much worse, though. These people aren"t just forgetting

to feed their pets, or give them attention, they"re kicking and beating them, poisoning and

butchering these poor creatures, and what makes me sick to my stomach, is that some of

these people do it for fun!! I recently ran across a link to a web page that contained a

online petition to put a cat"s killers to justice with maximum sentence. This is the article I

found on this brutal torture of an innocent creature.

***WARNING*** (graphic details)

"On October 10, 1999, a beautiful female cat came willingly to the four boys who

stopped on the side of the road and called to her. Her trust was rewarded by unthinkable

terror and cruelty - being used as a tug-of-war toy until the boys heard something "pop",

having her legs broken, being jumped up and down on like a trampoline. Even when her

pitiful battered body was mercifully dead, her suffering was not at an end. The boys then

placed her ravaged body under the wheel of their car, braking over her, as they drove off

to find other amusement. Once the Chesapeake Animal Control conducted their

investigation and performed a necropsy, criminal charges were filed against 3 of the 4

boys involved. If these charges are found to be accurate, these boys are not only in

violation of the laws of the State of Virginia, but are also in need of immediate

psychiatric intervention." (1)***

Another horrific article I ran across was even worse. It was about a dog who to was also a

victim of rancid brutality. Here is that story.

***WARNING*** (graphic details)

"Jose, Marcus, Richard and Lance are accused of obtaining a video camera, pressing the

'record' button, luring Scruffy from his home, and then torturing and killing him in an

unspeakably monstrous act of cruelty. In the videotape that the police and media have in

their possession, four men are shown torturing and killing Scruffy in lurid detail. The

quality of the tape is very good, and the police have been able to obtain photographs of

the men in the tape. In this tape, one of the four men is shown to elevate Scruffy off the

ground by the neck, and then begin this horrific abuse by choking him. This 6 pound little

dog did not have a fighting chance against these men. Scruffy, still alive, was then placed

in a trash bag. The four men shown in the tape then doused the trash bag with what

appeared in the video to be lamp oil, took a cigarette lighter, and set Scruffy on fire.

Scruffy, at this point in the video, began to run wildly in pain and agony around the trees

while the four men watched and laughed. When the flames finally went out, Scruffy was

still alive, but his torture was not over. Next, the men decided to try to decapitate Scruffy

with a shovel. After slamming the shovel into Scruffy's neck and not being able to attain

their goal, they realized that Scruffy was more of a fighter than they had expected. The

men then opened Scruffy's mouth and began to pull his jaws apart, as if trying to rip his

face in two. Using the shovel in place of a club, the men then beat Scruffy until his tiny

body gave out, and he died. Throughout the videotape the four men are all shown

laughing and having a good time as they are carrying out these unspeakable tortures." (1)

***

After I read these stories I was disgusted, revolted, down right sickened by the realization

that these men needed to be institutionalized or locked down. It"s scare"s me to think of

what they would and are capable of doing to a human being.

The FBI uses reports of animal cruelty in analyzing the threat potential of

suspected and known violent criminals. Dr. Randall Lockwood, vice president of

Training Initiatives for The Humane Society of the United States, states that

"Researchers, as well as the FBI and other law enforcement agencies nationwide, have

linked animal cruelty to domestic violence, child abuse, serial killings, and to the recent

rash of killings by school-age children."(2) I found yet another web page listing some

reports from police case files. I was astonished! These are a few excerpts from that page.

***WARNING*** (graphic details)

"Russell Weston Jr., tortured and killed 12 cats, by burning, cutting their tails, paws, ears

off, put toxic chemicals in their eyes, blinding them, forcing them to eat poison, hanging

them from trees; the noose loose enough to create a slow and painful death, as the

cat/kitten struggles to free itself as the noose gets tighter with each attempt. Later killed 2

officers at our Nation's Capitol."

"Jeffery Dahmer loved to dissect animals (he learned this in school). Later he dissected

boys, and kept their body parts in the refrigerator. Murdered 17 men."

"On May 21, 1998 in Springfield, Oregon; 15-year-old Kip Kinkel set a live cat on fire

and dragged the innocent creature through the main street of town. He walked into his

high school cafeteria and opened fire on his classmates. Two classmates were killed and

22 others injured, four critically. Later that day, police found his parents shot to death in

their home."

"Prior to committing multiple murders, Luke Woodham, age 16, wrote in his personal

journal that he and an accomplice beat, burned and tortured his dog, Sparkle, to death.

Woodham said it was "true beauty." He poured liquid fuel down his dog's throat and set

fire to her neck, both inside and outside. On 10/1/1977, Woodham stabbed his mother to

death and then went to his high school where he shot and killed two classmates -- two

girls aged 16 and 17, and injured seven others. In June 1998, Woodham was found guilty

of three murders and seven counts of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to three life

sentences and an additional 20 years for each assault."

"The Kobe Killer, an as yet unnamed 15-year-old boy in Japan, beheaded a cat and

strangled several pigeons. Decapitated 11-year-old Jun Hase, and battered to death a

10-year-old girl with a hammer, and assaulted three other children in separate attacks."

"At 9 years old, Eric Smith strangled a neighbor's cat. At 13 years old, he bludgeoned

four-year-old Derrick Robie to death. Smith lured the little boy into the woods, choked

him, sodomized him with a stick, then beat him to death with a rock."

"Arthur Shawcross repeatedly threw a kitten into a lake until the kitten drowned from

exhaustion. Killed a young girl. Then, after serving 15-1/2 years in prison, he killed 11

more women." (4) ***

Dr. Randall Lockwood stated, "Violence directed at animals by young people is a

sign that something is terribly wrong, and often acts as a warning of future violence, even

killings directed against humans." (2) In the in the past 18 months, we have seen seven

school shootings. In each one, it was learned that the perpetrators had abuse, tortured, and

killed animals before moving on to their human victims and our nation is wondering what

happened. One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture

an animal and get away with it. Our child must be taught young that it wrong to poke at

puppy"s eyes. We can"t afford to ignore what we think of as childish exploration. Our

children learn the most important aspects of life young and if they"re not aware of what is

right and wrong, it could possibly lead to more dangerous attempts. As a society, we can

not tolerate cruelty towards animals. People inclined to inflict pain and torture upon

animals have a predisposition to violence against both animals and humans. "A 1997

study by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA)

reports that youngsters convicted of animal abuse are five times more likely to commit

violence against other humans than are their peers, four times more likely to be involved

in acts against property, and three times more likely to be drug offenders." (2)

Bibliography



1. No More Cruelty- http://www.geocities.com/animalabusealert/index.html

a) Cat Killers

b) Scruffy



2. Colorado High School Gunmen Linked To Animal Cruelty (web article)

http://www.hsus.org/whatnew/litteton032399.html

a)Lockwood



3. Animal Alliance-http://animalalliance.ca/factsheets/humviol.py



4. Animal Victims/Human Victims: Reports from Police Case Files-

http://members.tripod.com/nocruelty/anicru.htm#avh