The Link
by Brenda Shoss
To subscribe to Kinship Circle Letters for Animals, email: subscribe@kinshipcircle.orgMy kids thought I was a major-league nerd when I boycotted the movie "Something About Mary." But I refused to fund a flick that invited viewers to snicker over the abuse of a dog. "It's only a movie," my husband said. "They didn't really hurt that little dog."
Maybe not, but real-life abusers do hurt animals. Last Fall, Jonathan Moore and George Pettingil found a stray kitten along the back roads of rural Arkansas. The bored twentysomethings shoved the trembling calico into their back seat and later tossed her into traffic. They laughed as the bleeding kitten staggered helplessly between cars.
In Big Pine Key, Florida 18-year-old Justin Hilbish fired BB-gun pellets between the eyes of Lexus, a Labrador-Collie mix who now suffers seizures. Teenagers in Barnhart, Missouri pumped three potbellied pigs full of alcohol and bludgeoned one to death with a crowbar. A 13-year-old Lyon County, Neveda boy who carved out a dog's eyes now resides in a juvenile delinquency center. The yellow Labrador Retriever, found blind and bleeding, had to be euthanized.
We wonder, "What moron would do this to a living being?" Some temper their reaction with "It was only an animal." Should we care about this ruthless disregard for life?
Barbara Boat, Ph.D., Director of the Program on Childhood Trauma and Maltreatment at the University of Cincinnati thinks we should. "The young men responsible for the epidemic of high-profile school shootings in Mississippi, Kentucky, Arkansas, Oregon, and Colorado all abused animals before turning their guns on fellow students." Supervisory Agent Alan Brantley of the FBI's Investigative Support Unit agrees: "You can look at cruelty to animals and to humans as a continuum. People begin to fantasize about these violent actions...The next phase is usually acting out against animals."
Violence rarely occurs in isolated chunks. It often evolves from childhood acts of rage against animals. Most of America's infamous killers unleashed their initial wrath on animals. Ted Bundy, executed in 1989 for at least 50 murders, heaped graves with animal bones. As a boy, "Boston Strangler" Albert DeSalvo imprisoned dogs and cats in orange crates and shot arrows through the slats. Carroll Edward Cole, executed in 1985 for an alleged 35 murders, strangled a puppy before progressing to humans. Jason Massey's killing resume began with cats and dogs; at 20 he decapitated a 13-year-old girl and fatally shot her stepbrother.
Serial killers inhabit the edge of the violence spectrum. Lately, a far more disturbing face appears among them. He is a young male with a history of parental neglect or abuse. Feeling powerless, he enters the classroom to open fire on his peers. In almost every school massacre, the murderer's previous rage toward animals had been attributed to "innocent cruelty." Animal abuse is more often an overt clue to a troubled family. A child may harm vulnerable creatures to mimic an abusive family member. Or, struggling for control in a turbulent household, he victimizes animals to vent his anger and anxiety.
After 16-year-old Luke Woodham mortally stabbed his mother and shot nine students, he confessed to bludgeoning his dog Sparkle with baseball bats and setting her on fire. "I made my first kill today," he wrote in his court-subpoenaed journal. "It was a loved one...I'll never forget the howl she made. It sounded almost human."
In a renowned study, "Childhood Cruelty Toward Animals Among Criminals and Noncriminals," 25% of aggressive criminals confessed to five or more acts of childhood animal torture, compared to under 6% for nonaggressive criminals. Of noncriminals interviewed for the report, zero had brutalized animals.
Despite numerous studies, law enforcers typically ignore cruelty cases or treat them as secondary offenses. But the rise in adolescent crime sprees has spurred judges, prosecutors, police officers, social workers and cruelty investigators to parley reports on animal abuse, domestic violence and other crimes. Cross-disciplinary programs help authorities appraise a person's overall threat to society.
Unfortunately, "animal law" remains a hodgepodge of antiquated statutes. Though 43 states amended laws within the last 10 years, 38 states still label animal cruelty a misdemeanor punishable by a small fine or minimal jail sentence. Many officials fail to connect accounts of slain or injured animals with offenses such as animal fighting, satanic practices, gang violence, or family violence. Missouri is among the growing number of states with felony animal cruelty laws. And while more litigators prosecute cases with felony penalties, sentencing often hinges upon the subjective view of judges.
For example, a Minnesota man who dumped five puppies in a trash can in below-zero weather received a mere $1 fine, while a Detroit man who buried live puppies was ordered to pay $1,800 plus court expenses, $1,400 to the Michigan Humane Society, and $100 to a veterinarian. He also had to undergo counseling and perform 100 hours of community service. In 1998, New York's progressive Buster's Law-named for a cat who had been doused in kerosene and set ablaze-instituted cruelty fines as high as $5,000 and two-year prison terms.
Psychologist Stephanie LaFarge, the nation's first expert in court-mandated animal abuse counseling, believes that early intervention not only prevents animal mistreatment, but also thwarts potential violence against humans. Lindy Garnette, director of child and family mental health services at the National Mental Health Association concurs. "Animal abuse should be universally recognized as a cry for help," she contends. "Punishing a child will not stop the activity or prevent future violent behavior."
Ultimately, children learn compassion through their kinship with animals. While a kid's me-first world may not include adult-style nurturing, there is always space to love and care for an animal. As a girl, I knew the wonder and comfort of a brown-eyed dog called Ruff. When tornado warnings forced our family into the basement, I stood guard over my beloved guinea pig, Jamie. Animals taught me commitment, empathy and trust. They encouraged me to respect life in all forms. When LaFarge counsels animal offenders, she brings her dog Sophie for some hands-on therapy. "We need to consider the animal's point of view," she says. "And I hope that some day, all of us will."
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
1.) Don't look away. If you witness animal abuse or neglect, call humane societies, societies for prevention of cruelty to animals (SPCAs), or animal control agencies to learn which officials enforce anti-cruelty laws. Visit a library to read about your state's cruelty statutes. In Missouri, ask to see Chapter 578 of the Missouri Revised Statutes. In most states "unnecessary suffering," beating, or food/water deprivation are illegal. Be prepared to educate law enforcers who may be unfamiliar with anti-cruelty laws. You can also contact the Law Enforcement Training Institute at the University of Missouri-Columbia. This national program educates animal cruelty investigators on state statutes, interrogation methods, rules of evidence, courtroom testimony, etc.
National Cruelty Investigations School, Law Enforcement Training Institute
321 Hearnes Center
Columbia, MO 65211
800-825-6505
email: gillinghamm@missouri.edu
website: www.missouri.edu/-letiwww/2.) Record evidence, with dates and times, to present to appropriate legal authorities. If feasible, photograph the abuse and gather written testimonies from witnesses. Keep copies of all documentation. Be persistent and willing to lend assistance in investigations.
3.) Seek help from national agencies who specialize in animal abuse litigation. The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), a non-profit organization of over 700 attorneys, works to convict animal abusers with maximize penalties. ALDF's Zero Tolerance For Cruelty campaign supplies free legal research, amicus curiae briefs, and expert witnesses for local prosecutors. To contact ALDF for support in a case, call or write:
Animal Legal Defense Fund
2103 SE Belmont Street
Portland, OR 97214-2814
503-231-1602
Cruelty Case Hotline: 800-555-6517
email: action@aldf.org; website: www.aldf.org4.) Write to your state legislators and district prosecuting attorneys to demand maximum penalties for animal abusers. Since these elected officials are sensitive to public bias, your letter might begin: "As your constituent, I encourage you to vigorously enforce anti-cruelty laws in our community. Violence is violence and all perpetrators deserve serious punishment. In the next election, my vote will go to candidates who prosecute animal abusers to the fullest extent under the law..."