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Animal cruelty should be tried to the highest extent of the law. Nowadays animals are used for all sorts of things; for entertainment, for food or clothing, or to test on for research purposes. People keep animals as pets and sometimes they don’t know how or have the means to care for these animals. These animals are vulnerable and completely innocent and should not be taken advantage of.
There are many different forms of animal cruelty or abuse and because of this “animal cruelty is described as any act or omission that causes unnecessary or unreasonable harm to an animal (RSPCA Australia: What is animal cruelty?).
” Some examples of animal abuse are; not giving an animal the proper amount of food or water, killing an animal in a way that could be inhumane, restraining or moving an animal in a way that is dangerous to its well-being, not giving an animal treatment for a disease or injury, torturing or killing an animal, and not proving the appropriate living conditions (RSPCA Australia: What is animal cruelty?). The most common victims of animal abuse where the cases were reported are cats, dogs, horses, and livestock; 70.1% of those cases involved dogs, 20.9% involved cats, and 24.1% involved other animals (horses and other livestock), according to the 1,423 U.S.
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cruelty cases on the pet-abuse.com’s 2011 digest (The Humane Society of the United States: Animal Cruelty Facts and Stats).
Many different people engage in animal cruelty, but it’s usually people who have some sort of disorder or commit other crimes.
Those who participate in violence against other people tend to engage in intentional cruelty to animals (The Humane Society of the United States: Animal Cruelty Facts and Stats). Statistics show that “71 percent of domestic violence victims reported that their abuser also targeted pets” and that in the 88% of homes under supervision for physical abuse of their children pet abuse also occurred in that home (The Humane Society of the United States: Animal Cruelty Facts and Stats). People who suffer from a “hoarding disorder may impose severe neglect on animals by housing for more than that are able to adequately take care of (The Humane Society of the United States: Animal Cruelty Facts and Stats).” Surveys show that men under 30 are primarily those who abuse animals intentionally and that women over 60 are the more likely ones to be involved in animal hoarding (The Humane Society of the United States: Animal Cruelty Facts and Stats).
“All 50 states have animal cruelty felony provisions (most of felony provisions are for malicious, willful, or aggravated animal cruelty (language varies from state to state) when only four had such penalties in 1986, and the FBI just this year started collecting data on arrests for animal cruelty, which was previously lumped into the “other crimes” category (Clausen).” The state-by-state laws consider what animals are covered under the law, whether it is a person’s first, second, or third offense, and if the person will receive psychological testing. Some states appeal to severe penalties depending on prior convictions or if a child was present at the time of the crime (Clausen). Another difference between the state laws is how the court will make its decision on what to do with the pet(s) that was shown cruelty. The state usually allows another family of the accused to take guardianship of the pet and sets fourth restrictions for the accused that does not allow him or her to own any kind of pet for a period and will not be authorized to enter or be near any place that has pets (Clausen). It’s important to prevent further crimes of violence from happening to animals, especially when we know that animal abuse accompanies domestic violence.
“Research shows that up to 70 percent of animal abusers have a criminal record, most with a violent act towards humans (Clausen).” It’s been shown that animal abuse is considered an indicator crime, which means it’s a crime that leads to other crimes that are usually more aggravated like domestic violence or child molestation and even murder. “One survey says that a history of animal abuse was found in 30 percent of convicted child molesters and 36 percent of domestic violence offenders (Clausen).” Earlier I mentioned that domestic violence victims report that their abusers target the family pets, they do this by controlling and manipulating the victims. The victims stay in the household to keep the pets safe causing more of the violence to be directed towards them. Victims should call the local authorities and leave the household with any pets and children.
“Whether owing to lack of empathy, mental illness, or substance abuse, a person who fails to provide minimal care for the family pet is more likely to neglect the basic needs of other dependents in the household (The Humane Society Of the United States: Animal Cruelty and Human Violence).” Neglect like animal hoarding, puppy mills, and farm neglect is often associated with human neglect involving a child, elder, or other dependents. Hoarding is a prime example of how neglect not only affects the animals but also the people living there. If hoarding is allowed to continue in someone’s house it can lead to a large number of animals dying and it can seriously endanger the lives of children or others in the household. If its suspected that someone is hoarding animals or neglecting them you need to call the local animal control agency or law enforcement agency.
“Longitudinal studies show that chronic physical aggression (e.g., animal cruelty) by elementary school boys increases the likelihood they will commit continued physical violence as well as other nonviolent forms of delinquency during adolescence (The Humane Society Of the United States: Animal Cruelty and Human Violence).” Children can be acting out against any number of things like being bullied at school or family violence at home and take it out on innocent animals, this is far from normal. This is a child’s way of calling out for help and if no one answers that call it can lead to a series of violence. Catching this cruel behavior sooner rather than later is the key because once the child becomes older it will be harder to get him or her psychological treatment and it could potentially lead to becoming a serial killer.
“The MacDonald Triad (aka The Triad of Sociopathy) is a set of three behavioral character traits associated with sociopathic behavior. The MacDonald Triad was first introduced by J.M. MacDonald in 1963 paper titled “The Threat To Kill,” which appeared in the American Journal of Psychiatry (Into The Mind: The MacDonald Triad).” It’s been shown that not all three character traits are found in serial killers, but usually one or two can be found. The three traits in the triad are enuresis (bed wetting), fire setting, and extreme animal cruelty. Our focus is on the extreme animal cruelty trait because it has been speculated that this act can be a forerunner for killing humans. Some say “that as children, future serial killers (a) used animals to vent frustrations because the person causing their humiliation was too powerful for them to handle. (b) These future serial killers felt that they regained some power or control over their lives by torturing and killing animals. (c)They’ve gained the power and control they needed to cause pain to their future victims (Into The Mind: The MacDonald Triad).”
Serial killers like Jeffery Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Dennis Rader, etc. all enjoyed torturing and murdering animals as children and that’s why as adults they enjoyed torturing and killing humans. Jefferey Dahmer is known as the Milwaukee Cannibal, he is a sex offender who raped, murdered and dismembered seventeen boys and men between 1978 and 1991. He participated in necrophilia, cannibalism, and the preservation of body parts. His “hobby was to kill neighbor’s pets, he even impaled a dog’s head on a stick and displayed it (Ranker: 10 Serial Killers Who Abused Animals First).” During the 1970s Ted Bundy kidnapped, raped, and murdered more than 30 young girls and women. After he killed them he liked to engage in necrophilia. When he was a child he “watched as his father tortured small animals, (Ranker: 10 Serial Killers Who Abused Animals First)” which he learned form and did the same. The BTK (bind, torture, kill) killer, Dennis Rader, murdered ten people in Sedgwick County between 1974 and 1991. Rader “first discovered he enjoyed binding, torturing, and killing when he experimented his methods on animals when he was growing up (Ranker: 10 Serial Killers Who Abused Animals First).”
I believe that animal cruelty shouldn’t be taken lightly and should be tried t the highest extent of the law. We have made great progress with our state-to-state laws regarding the conviction of animal abusers, but I feel like there is always more that we can do. Every state should be testing for psychological problems when it comes to animal cruelty because we know that it just isn’t normal. I also think that each state should cover every living creature instead of focusing on specific animals and that once you are convicted of animal cruelty you cannot own an animal for a certain period. Animals should be treated with respect and love and shouldn’t be something of value. Some places are starting to recognize animal’s rights to life and that is something everyone should recognize. Animals are something positive and should always be seen and treated that way.
Why Animal Cruelty Should Receive Maximum Jail Time. (2024, Feb 29). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/why-animal-cruelty-should-receive-maximum-jail-time-essay
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