Abuse against animals and humans – the link

Capetonians were recently stunned to hear of a case of cruelty against a horse by a youthful gang in Macassar. Their game involves stealing ponies and taking them for a joy ride using a makeshift bridle, often of barbed wire. When the exhausted horse can go no longer respond to relentless whipping and beating, they stab it in the flanks to coax a further few kilometres out of it. On this particular occasion the aged pony had been put out to pasture, whence it was stolen. After the event, it managed to drag its pain racked body home where it subsequently died, just fifty kilometres from home.

Rescued from a life of abuse as a cart horse, he had found sanctuary with horse lover Anthea Myburgh 15 years before and it was to this happy home and his beloved owner that he tried to return with his last reserve of strength.

It is important that the youthfulness of the perpetrators or their social circumstances should not be used as an excuse for a less vigorous sentencing.

Sadistic tendencies are not just a result of poverty as sadists are to be found in all income groups. Rather, these barbaric acts should be seen as indicative of a greater problem which should be taken most seriously and investigated rigorously.

In his book Child Abuse, Domestic Violence and Animal Cruelty, Phil Arkow of the Latham Foundation shows a link between domestic violence and animal abuse. He shows how animals, esp. pets, often get caught up in the cycle of family violence and in many cases the animal is just the last victim in a cycle of abuse that filters down from the strongest in the family to the weakest. Women and children are sometimes intimidated into silence about sexual and other abuses by threats against a favourite pet. Pets are sometimes hurt or killed to punish a child for something he has done.

An abused child might act out aggression or frustration on an animal that is perceived to be more vulnerable. At the same time, well documented research shows disturbing correlations between early childhood cruelty to animals and later juvenile delinquency or adult aggressive criminal behaviour towards humans.

Animal abuse is a predictor of violent behaviour and psychopathic tendencies. Intentional cruelty is of particular concern, because it is a sign of psychological distress and often indicates either that an individual has already experienced violence, or may be predisposed to committing acts of violence. It could also be an indication of a serious pathological disorder. It is a fact that in most cases psychopaths have been found to have tortured animals in their youth and such tendencies escalate as the culprit grows older. Most serial killers such as the Boston Strangler and Jeffrey Dahmer have a history of cruelty towards animals.

Clearly, what is needed is an animal abuse reporting policy. We need a central base of animal abuse cases as pointers to domestic violence and vice versa and in this instance welfare and child protection officials should work together.

There is no doubt that, on a global scale, a culture of violence appears to be escalating and perpetrators of violent crimes are becoming younger. Taking animal abuse seriously will bring us step closer to eliminating violence from our society. It is therefore in the interests of society as a whole that these perpetrators be dealt with decisively and that justice is seen to be done, whatever the age of the perpetrators.