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The Abuse Connection

"The custom of tormenting and killing of beasts will, by degrees, harden their minds even towards men; and they who delight in the suffering and destruction of inferior creatures, will not be apt to be very compassionate or benign to those of their own kind."  - John Locke¹

 

History

 

As early as 1750, people realized the connection between animal abuse and violence against humans.  William Hogarth depicted the progression from animal abuse to murder in his etchings entitled: "The Four Stages of Cruelty."²

 

First Stage Click on image for larger view	Second Stage Click on image for larger view	Perfection Click on image for larger view	Reward Click on Image for larger view

In 1822, the first English statute prohibiting cruelty to animals made it illegal to "wantonly and cruelly beat, abuse or ill-treat any horse, mare, gelding, mule, ass, ox, cow, heifer, steer, sheep, or other cattle."³

The Royal Society of Prevent Cruelty to Animals, the first animal protection organization in the world, began in 1824.

Henry Bergh founded the first humane organization in the United States in 1866.  The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty worked to alleviate pain fear and suffering of all animals.  They also convinced the New York legislature to pass the first animal cruelty law in the US1.  In 1874, this animal cruelty law was used to protect a child, Mary Ellen. ⁴ This prompted the first laws to protect children. 

Today

A 1983 landmark study discovered that 60% of families that met the legal criteria for child abuse and neglect, and owned pets, also reported a significant number of incidents of animal abuse and neglect directed at their pets.⁵

Frank Ascione, a recognized expert on the link between animal abuse and family violence, conducted several studies with similar results.  His research revealed that women seeking shelter from battering had a high percentage of pet ownership (74 percent).  In these families, 71 percent of the abusive partners threatened, harmed, or killed the pet.⁶  Additionally, 32 percent of abused women with children reported that their children in such an environment had been abusive toward their pets. ⁷

Physical animal abuse by children is listed as a "Conduct Disorder" (Diagnosis and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV), the equivalent of an anti-personality disorder in adults, and may be an indication of risk for later violent offending.⁸  Studies also show that cruelty to animals may be one of the first symptoms of conduct disorders to appear in young children, earlier than bullying, cruelty to people, vandalism, or setting fires.⁹  Many serial killers, including "Son of Sam," David Berkowitz; Jeffery Dahmer; and the "Boston Strangler," Albert DeSalvo, got their start by abusing animals.¹⁰

Collaboration

Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach to the problem of animal abuse and other forms of violence is the first step in eliminating abuse.  Cross-training can help identify the signs of any type of abuse at an early stage, leading to the prevention other types of abuse and further violence.

Additional Information

Understanding the Link between animal abuse and family violence - American Humane
Animal Cruelty and Family Violence: Making the Connection - The Humane Society of the United States

1.  Locke, Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1705), excerpted in Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, and Animal Abuse, Ascione and Arkow, eds.  (West lafayette, IN: PUrdue University, 1999) at 197.
2. Copies of the etchings are available at the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections: http://www.library.northwestern.edu/spec/hogarth/Decay6.html.
3.  Livingston, "Desecrating the Ark: Animal Abuse and the Law's Role in Prevention, " 87 Iowa L. Rev. 1, 3 (Oct. 2001), available at http://www.animallaw.info/articles/table_art.htm.
4. ASPCA http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=history.
5. DeViney, Dickert, and Lockwood, "The Care of Pets Within Child Abusing Families," 4 " Internationa J. for the Study of Animal Problems 321-29 (1983).
6. Ascione, "The Abuse of Animals and Domestic Violence: A National Survey of Shelters for Women Who are Battered," 5(3), Society and Animals (1997) at 205-18.
7. Id.
8. See Ascione, "The Abuse of Animals and Human Interpersonal Violence: Making the Connection," in Child Abuse, supra, note 1 at 54.
9. Ascione,"Animal abuse and Youth Violence," Juvenile Justice Bulletin, Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency prevention (Sept. 2001), available at http://www.ncjrs.org/html/ojjdp/jjbul2001_9_2/contents.html.
10. Information on serial killers and mass murderers:  http://www.crimelibrary.com/serialkillers.html.