Animal Abuse and Adult Violence
Running head: ANIMAL ABUSE AND ADULT VIOLENCE
Animal Abuse and Adult Violence
Barbara Acosta
University of Phoenix
ESSENTIALS OF COLLEGE WRITING COMM/215
SC08ELEC10
KIMBERLY KEILBACH
December 18, 2008
Animal Abuse and Adult Violence Jeffery Dahmer, Albert Desalvo, Ted Bundy, and animal abusing children may have more in common than some may think. There is a fine line between an animal abuser and someone capable of harming a human being. Many studies show that most rapist, killers, child abusers, and murderers have a past of harming animals because they feel they have control over them. These disturbed individuals abuse animals for the same reason they would abuse people. Albert Schweitzer wrote, “Anyone who has accustomed himself to regard the life of any living creature as worthless is in danger of arriving also at the ideas of worthless human lives.”(Love, 2005) What is cruelty? Cruelty is defined as a deliberate infliction of pain and suffering ("Cruelty", n.d.). Many times these acts of cruelty are due to ignorance or the fact that the owners simply do not care. The most common type of animal cruelty is neglect or abandonment. This occurs when the owner does not provide their pets with food, water, shelter or proper veterinary care. These animals who suffer this type of cruelty often die a slow agonizing death because they are malnourished, dehydrated, or have diseases that go untreated. Other types of cruelty are animal fighting, hoarding, poisoning, shooting, and bestiality (Gianotto, 2001-2008). Time and time again these acts of cruelty go unpunished because the authorities have more important crimes against people to worry about. With so many studies linking animal abuse to future violent crimes these acts of torture to animals should be taken more seriously. In 1994 a report released by the National Research Council states that “early intervention is more likely to reduce adult crime than criminal sanctions applied later in life”
Animal Abuse and Adult Violence
Barbara Acosta
University of Phoenix
ESSENTIALS OF COLLEGE WRITING COMM/215
SC08ELEC10
KIMBERLY KEILBACH
December 18, 2008
Animal Abuse and Adult Violence Jeffery Dahmer, Albert Desalvo, Ted Bundy, and animal abusing children may have more in common than some may think. There is a fine line between an animal abuser and someone capable of harming a human being. Many studies show that most rapist, killers, child abusers, and murderers have a past of harming animals because they feel they have control over them. These disturbed individuals abuse animals for the same reason they would abuse people. Albert Schweitzer wrote, “Anyone who has accustomed himself to regard the life of any living creature as worthless is in danger of arriving also at the ideas of worthless human lives.”(Love, 2005) What is cruelty? Cruelty is defined as a deliberate infliction of pain and suffering ("Cruelty", n.d.). Many times these acts of cruelty are due to ignorance or the fact that the owners simply do not care. The most common type of animal cruelty is neglect or abandonment. This occurs when the owner does not provide their pets with food, water, shelter or proper veterinary care. These animals who suffer this type of cruelty often die a slow agonizing death because they are malnourished, dehydrated, or have diseases that go untreated. Other types of cruelty are animal fighting, hoarding, poisoning, shooting, and bestiality (Gianotto, 2001-2008). Time and time again these acts of cruelty go unpunished because the authorities have more important crimes against people to worry about. With so many studies linking animal abuse to future violent crimes these acts of torture to animals should be taken more seriously. In 1994 a report released by the National Research Council states that “early intervention is more likely to reduce adult crime than criminal sanctions applied later in life”
References: Cruelty. (n.d.). In The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved July 13, 2008, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cruelty Gianotto, A. (2001-2008). Animal Cruelty. Retrieved July 13, 2008, from http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/animal_cruelty.php Love, N. S. (2005). Animal Quotes. Retrieved July 13, 2008, from http://www.nansealove.com/Quotes.html National District Attorneys Association (2006). Cruelty to Animals - Talking Points. Retrieved July 13, 2008, from http://www.ndaa-apri.org Pawprints and Purrs, Inc (1997-2008). Animal Cruelty Points to Potential Violence Against Humans. Retrieved July 13, 2008, from http://www.sniksnak.com Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (2006). . Retrieved July 13, 2008, from http://www.ccspca.com/