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HELP STOP ANIMAL ABUSE WITH PET ABUSE.COM

Pet-Abuse.com is a non-profit organization run exclusively by volunteers, who donate their time and hearts to something they believe in. Pet-Abuse.com is dedicated to fighting animal cruelty and abandonment throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and Spain, They have exposed over 10,000 cases of abuse in their Crime Database where you can go to look up cases in your area. Pick a case and get involved. Make sure it gets attention in your local media. Get people like you to write letters to the editor of your local newspaper, urging justice for the victims and jail time for the abusers. Then, show up in court. Let the abusers, the judge and your community know the time has come when the laws of this nation must truly provide justice for ALL.

Animalinks

There are many different reasons why individuals abuse animals. Animal cruelty covers a wide range of actions (or lack of action) so one blanket answer simply isn’t possible. Each type of abuse has displayed certain patterns of behavior that we can use to help understand more about why people commit the crimes we encounter today. Animal cruelty is often broken down into two main categories: active and passive, also referred to as comission and omission, respectively.

Passive Cruelty (Acts of Omission)

Passive cruelty is typified by cases of neglect, where the crime is a lack of action rather than the action itself - however do not let the terminology fool you. Severe animal neglect can cause incredible pain and suffering to an animal. Examples of neglect are starvation, dehydration, parasite infestations, allowing a collar to grow into an animal’s skin, inadequate shelter in extreme weather conditions, and failure to seek veterinary care when an animal needs medical attention.

In many cases of neglect where an investigator feels that the cruelty occurred as a result of ignorance, they may attempt to educate the pet owner and then revisit the situation to check for improvements. In more severe cases however, exigent circumstances may require that the animal is removed from the site immediately and taken in for urgent medical care.

Active Cruelty (Acts of Comission)

Active cruelty implies malicious intent, where a person has deliberately and intentionally caused harm to an animal, and is sometimes referred to as NAI (Non-Accidental Injury). Acts of intentional cruelty are often some of the most disturbing and should be considered signs of serious psychological problems. This type of behavior is often associated with sociopathic behavior and should be taken very seriously. Animal abuse in violent homes can take many forms and can occur for many reasons. Many times a parent or domestic partner who is abusive may kill, or threaten to kill, the household pets to intimidate family members into sexual abuse, to remain silent about previous or current abuse, or simply to psychologically torture the victims, flexing their "power".

According to a 1997 study done by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Northeastern University, animal abusers are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against people and four times more likely to commit property crimes than are individuals without a history of animal abuse.

Many studies in psychology, sociology, and criminology during the last 25 years have demonstrated that violent offenders frequently have childhood and adolescent histories of serious and repeated animal cruelty. The FBI has recognized the connection since the 1970s, when its analysis of the lives of serial killers suggested that most had killed or tortured animals as children. Other research has shown consistent patterns of animal cruelty among perpetrators of more common forms of violence, including child abuse, spouse abuse, and elder abuse. In fact, the American Psychiatric Association considers animal cruelty one of the diagnostic criteria of conduct disorder.

If you break it down to its bare essentials:, "Abusing an animal is a way for a human to find power/joy/fulfillment through the torture of a victim they know cannot defend itself."

Now break down a human crime, say rape. If we substitute a few pronouns, it's the SAME THING. "Rape is a way for a human to find power/joy/fulfillment through the torture of a victim they know cannot defend themselves."

Now try it with, say, domestic abuse such as child abuse or spousal abuse: child abuse is a way for a human to find power/joy/fulfillment through the torture of a victim they know cannot defend themselves."
Do you see the pattern here?

If you suspect that an animal has been abused by someone you know or by a stranger, there are things you can do. The most important act you can take is to report the cruelty to your local law enforcement. In some cities, this may be animal control or a department of Humane Law Enforcement, while in other areas the police or sheriff’s department may be the agency in charge of these sorts of crimes.

If you are unsure of whom to contact, try your local Yellow Pages, contact Animalinks.com or you can use the ASPCA's Humane Law Enforcement Lookup page to locate the agency in your area. You can also check the front section of your telephone yellow pages and search for Animal Control.

Some areas (especially more rural parts of the country) may not have a designated Animal Control Department, in which case there may be a branch of a local humane society that has been assigned the power to investigate cruelty cases. If your city does not have an animal control or humane law enforcement department, cruelty cases may fall under the jurisdiction of the sheriff's department or local police.

If you witness animal cruelty in progress and do not know the phone number of the appropriate agency, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY. Animal cruelty is a CRIME, and the police dispatcher will be able to determine which department should respond.

Repeat offenses of animal cruelty crimes are a rule, not an exception - and there are many times when an investigation into an animal cruelty crime uncovers human-related crimes as well. When officers go to the home to investigate an animal cruelty issue, they often find evidence of domestic abuse, child neglect, drugs and other dangerous situations. Reporting animal cruelty could save a human life.

When a violent crime is committed against anyone you love, there is always a flood of emotions: anger, outrage, hurt, worry, helplessness... Your pets are no exception, and when someone deliberately causes them harm, the reaction is the same as if they had attacked another family member. The fact is, there are things you can do. Animal abuse is a crime, and depending on where you live, it can be a pretty serious one.

Do NOT attempt to deal with the crime yourself. The authorities are there to help you, and the sooner they are involved, the better.

Reprinted from the Pet-Abuse.com website.