Harbour City Star

August 11. 2004

Animal abusers nearly always end up abusing humans

Dear Editor:

I am writing in response to Kelly Brink’s My View column in the August 4 Star entitled “Animal Abuse Disturbing”.

While Kelly’s article is high on emotion it is a bit short on the facts, so here are some rather startling facts, which I hope will make the point I believe she was trying to put across.

Kelly Brink asks what the abusers are going to be like as adults? FACT – every known serial killer incarcerated in the USA started out killing animals.

A 1997 study in Massachusetts showed 70% of animal abusers also had records for crimes of violence, drugs and social disorder. Histories of childhood or adolescent animal abuse have been reported in 25% of aggressive male prison inmates, 30% of convicted child molesters, 36% of assaultive women offenders, 46% of incarcerated sexual homicide perpetrators and 48% of convicted rapists.

However, it is not just young people that abuse animals and there is a well documented link between animal abuse, child abuse and family violence.

A study in New Jersey found over 60% of families in which child or spousal abuse occurs, abuse of the family pet also occurs. However, in over 80% of the cases of pet abuse the perpetrator is also abusing other family members. The difference may be explained by the escalation of violence in families to the family pet when the abuser no longer has the control they desire over the other family victims – “do what I say or I kill your do/cat/rabbit.”

Yet, veterinarians are not trained to recognize indicators of animal abuse so all but the most blatant goes unrecognized and unreported.

So the perpetrator is further empowered – “You see the vet didn’t even ask any questions – no one is going to help you.”

And, even if animal abuse is reported, it is only reported to the SPCA, not social services or family violence units of the local police department.

The SPCA is not mandated to report families at risk to police, nor are social service workers mandated to report animals at risk to the SPCA when investigating reports of child maltreatment.

Cross reporting between agencies and individuals dealing with family violence and animal abuse is next to non-existent in North American.

And lest you think it all happens south of our borders, 50% of pet owning women in Calgary Alberta women’s refuges reported that their abusers had threatened hurt or killed a family pet.

25% of these women delayed leaving their abusers because of their concern for the family pet – putting their lives and the lives of their children at risk.

Yet, there are VERY few shelters in North American that accept families and their pets and very few organizations that foster pets for families living in refuges.

How do I know all this? Up until March of this year, I co-coordinated the National Links organization in the UK – which involved the RSPCA, SSPCA, Women’s Aid England and Wales, the Association of Chief Police Officers, National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and numerous other agencies and organizations involved in animal welfare, child welfare and pet fostering, as well as English and Scottish Veterinary Associations.

It all started with a multi-disciplinary convention in London in 2001 and now, only three years later, there is a national organization involved setting up cross reporting protocols for all the major welfare agencies as well as a full day’s training in all but two of the Veterinary School on recognizing animal abuse and the importance of The Link.

Isn’t it time something was started in BC (or even on the Island) so that we don’t have columnists “wondering” about the consequences of animal abuse??

Holly Cook-Sturdy

Ladysmith