The Correlation Between Animal Abuse, Child Abuse, and Domestic Violence

1
The Correlation Between Animal Abuse, Child
Abuse, and Domestic Violence

• George Ryan, Investigator
• Mary Migliaro, M.Ed.

2
Immanuel Kant

• He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in
  his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of
  a man by his treatment of animals.

3
There is ample evidence to suggest that
individuals who engage in acts of animal violence
have a greater probability of committing acts of
violence against people as compared to
individuals who have no history of committing
acts of violence against animals.(Ritter, 1996
Arkow, 1995 Lockwood and Hodge, 1986)
4
Video 1

• Animal Abuse Overview

5
Interconnectedness of Types of Abuse
6
Case in Point

• Kip Kinkel 15 years old, Springfield
• Unleashed a hail of bullets that killed two
  classmates and wounded 22 others.
• He had a history of animal abuse that included
  decapitating cats, dissecting live squirrels and
  blowing up cows.
• One classmate recounted that Kinkel would go into
  graphic detail about cutting open the animals
  with hunting knives.

7
Case in Point

• Michael Carneal 14 years old, Paducah, Kentucky
• He shot three classmates to death and wounded
  five others during a prayer meeting held at his
  high school.
• He had talked about throwing a cat into a bonfire.

8
Case in Point

• Luke Woodham 16 years old, Pearle, Mississippi
• Convicted of killing two students and wounding
  seven in the lobby of his high school in 1997
• He wrote in his personal journal how he beat,
  burned and tortured his own dog Sparkle.
• Luke described the animals painful death as a
  thing of true beauty.

9
Video 2

• The Cruelty Connection

10
Child Adolescent Motivations for Animal Abuse

• Curiosity or exploration
• Peer pressure
• Mood enhancement
• Sexual gratification
• Animal phobias
• Posttraumatic play
• Imitation
• Rehearsal for interpersonal violence

11
Nine Motivations for Cruelty to Animals Kellert
and Felthouse-1985

• To control an animal
• To retaliate against an animal
• To retaliate against another person
• To satisfy a prejudice against a species or breed
• To express aggression through an animal
• To enhance ones own aggressiveness
• To shock people for amusement
• To displace hostility from a person to an animal
• To perform nonspecific sadism

12
Characteristics of Child Abusers

• Low self-esteem
• Abusing alcohol or drugs
• Maltreated as a child
• Angry
• Socially isolated
• Apathetic or passive
• Depressed
• Possessive or jealous of a child or children

13
Characteristics of Batterers

• Abusing alcohol or drugs
• Poor impulse control
• Demonstrates unpredictable behavior
• Inability to effectively manage anger
• Suffering from depression or other mental health
  disorders
• Previous family history of abuse or domestic
  violence

14
Studies

• A 1997 study conducted by Northeastern University
  and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention
  of Cruelty to Animals found that over a 20 year
  period, a group of 153 animal abusers 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 153 non-animal abusers.

15
Studies

• A 1980 study in England found that of the 23
  families that had a history of animal abuse, 83
  percent had been identified by human service
  agencies as having children at risk of abuse or
  neglect. (Hutson 1983)

16
Studies

• A similar study by Walker in 1980 comparing the
  record of a Pennsylvania countys society for the
  prevention of cruelty to animals and those of the
  same countys youth social services found that
  the behavior pattern established towards ones
  children were similar to those established
  towards ones pets.

17
Video 3

• Belcross, North Carolina Case

18
Common Characteristics of Abusers and Batterers

• Frequently exhibit more than one motivation
• Objectify their victims and treat them as
  property
• Have a strong leader/follower relationship
  between the abuser and the victim
• Victim is often physically weaker and unable to
  defend against the perpetrator
• Unreasonable expectations from victims

19
Abuser and Batterer Characteristics

• Believe physical punishment is necessary and
  appropriate
• Rarely empathize with the victims feelings
• Often repeat abuse generation after generation

20
Single Anecdotal Case Histories

• Jeffrey Dahmer killed neighbors pets, staked
  cats to trees and impaled frog and dog heads on
  sticks.
• Patrick Sheril stole pets, tied them up and
  allowed his dog to mutilate them. He went on to
  murder 14 co-workers before killing himself.
• David Berkowitz shot his neighbors Labrador
  retriever.

21
Single Anecdotal Case Histories

• Albert DeSalvo trapped dogs and cats in orange
  crates and shot arrows through the boxes.
• Carroll Edward Cole, executed in 1985 for
  murdering 35 people, admitted that his first
  violent act was strangling a pet.

22
What is Cross-Reporting?

• A multidisciplinary approach to reporting
  incidents of child abuse and animal abuse.
• May involve any combination of animal care
  professionals reporting animal, child, or spousal
  abuse or social workers or health care personnel
  reporting suspected cases of abuse they encounter
  incidental to their responsibilities.

23
Two Important Underlying Premises

• That one form of abuse such as animal cruelty may
  be predictive or a proxy to another type of abuse
  such as child abuse
• That certain professions may have special
  exposure, and in some cases training, to spot
  various types of abuse in families.

24
Cross-Reporting Inhibitors

• Inadequate training in recognizing and evaluating
  other forms of abuse/neglect
• Fear of litigation
• Unwillingness to breach client confidentialities
• Inadequate resources to handle existing problems
• Fear of economic reprisal

25
Cross-Reporting Inhibitors (contd.)

• Absence of protocols establishing cross-reporting
  policies and procedures
• Inconsistent definitions of abuse neglect
  across professional boundaries
• Absence of an organization to which suspicions of
  abuse may be reported
• Lack of faith in the capabilities of the
  organization to which a report is made

26
Cross-Reporting Inhibitors (contd.)

• Reluctance to involve the government in a family
  matter
• Perception that the abuse is not serious enough
  to warrant an investigation
• No desire to become involved.
• The Evolution of Animal Welfare as a Human
  Welfare Concern by Phil Arkow (1999)

27
Video 4

• The Benefits of Cross Reporting

28
States Practicing Cross-Reporting

• Minnesota and West Virginia require veterinarians
  to report known or suspected cases of animal
  abuse.
• Minnesota law requires potential animal abuse
  cases to be reported to police and humane
  officers
• West Virginia law requires reporting to humane
  officers only.

29
More States

• Idaho provides veterinarians with immunity for
  such reports made in good faith but does not
  require reporting.
• Colorado law creates an affirmative duty for
  veterinarians to report known or suspected child
  abuse to county or local police.

30
More States

• In 1993, California amended its mandatory
  reporting law to include animal control officers
  and humane society officers to the list of those
  required to report. The law requires them to
  report known or suspected child abuse to a child
  protective agency by telephone as soon as
  possible and to send a written report within 36
  hours.

31
Video 5

• Promising Practices

32
Nashville, Tennessee

• Had one of the highest domestic violence homicide
  rates in the country.
• Instituted a screening process for all domestic
  violence calls.
• Abusers with any of the characteristics were sent
  to special programs.
• Within one year, domestic violence fatalities
  fell by 80 percent even though domestic violence
  calls increased 50 percent.

33
What can we do for our communities?

• Educate the general public that animal abuse is a
  crime and can serve as an indicator of other
  interpersonal violence.
• Encourage professionals in the community to
  receive cross-training for domestic violence,
  animal abuse and child abuse.
• Encourage agencies responsible for investigating
  these crimes to cross-report and provide a safety
  net for our children and their families.

34
Resources

• The America Humane Association
• www.americanhumane.org
• The Humane Society of the United States
• www.hsus.org
• The Latham Foundation for the Promotion of Humane
  Education
• www.latham.org
• People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
  (PETA)
• www.peta.org