Robert K. Ressler FBI serial killer profiler 

"Murderers very often start out by killing and torturing animals."

The Abuse Connection

It has been proven over and over. Statistical data, case studies, psychologists, and even FBI Profilers show us the connection over and over again, and yet animal abuse crimes are not given nearly the weight that human crimes are given. Animal abuse clearly illustrates a lack of respect for life and some deep rooted psychological damage.

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?

The line separating an animal abuser from someone capable of committing human abuse is much finer than most people care to consider. People abuse animals for the same reasons they abuse people. Some of them will stop with animals, but enough have been proven to continue on to commit violent crimes to people that it's worth paying attention to.

Virtually every serious violent offender has a history of animal abuse in their past, and since there's no way to know which animal abuser is going to continue on to commit violent human crimes, they should ALL be taken that seriously. FBI Supervisory Special Agent Allen Brantley was quoted as saying "Animal cruelty... is not a harmless venting of emotion in a healthy individual; this is a warning sign..." It should be looked at as exactly that. Its a clear indicator of psychological issues that can and often DO lead to more violent human crimes.

History is full of high-profile examples:

* Patrick Sherrill, who killed 14 coworkers at a post office and then shot himself, had a history of stealing local pets and allowing his own dog to attack and mutilate them.
* Earl Kenneth Shriner, who raped, stabbed, and mutilated a 7-year-old boy, had been widely known in his neighborhood as the man who put firecrackers in dogs’ rectums and strung up cats.
* Brenda Spencer, who opened fire at a San Diego school, killing two children and injuring nine others, had repeatedly abused cats and dogs, often by setting their tails on fire.
* Albert DeSalvo, the "Boston Strangler" who killed 13 women, trapped dogs and cats in orange crates and shot arrows through the boxes in his youth.
* Carroll Edward Cole, executed for five of the 35 murders of which he was accused, said his first act of violence as a child was to strangle a puppy.
* In 1987, three Missouri high school students were charged with the beating death of a classmate. They had histories of repeated acts of animal mutilation starting several years earlier. One confessed that he had killed so many cats he’d lost count. Two brothers who murdered their parents had previously told classmates that they had decapitated a cat.
* Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer had impaled dogs’ heads, frogs, and cats on sticks.

More recently, high school killers such as 15-year-old Kip Kinkel in Springfield, Ore., and Luke Woodham, 16, in Pearl, Miss., tortured animals before embarking on shooting sprees. Columbine High School students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who shot and killed 12 classmates before turning their guns on themselves, bragged about mutilating animals to their friends.
The Whole Picture

As powerful a statement the above examples make, they don't even begin to scratch the surface of the whole truth behind the abuse connection. The fact is that the examples above are only the ones that are sensational enough to make the news. These are the high-profile cases that many animal welfare organizations use to drive their point home, but the reality is that this pattern has shown itself over and over again in much less "news-worthy" cases. One might argue that they in fact, lessen the impact, because it makes this connection appear to be something that only exists in serial killers and "psychos", when in fact its very likely that everyone reading these words knows someone who has abused animals.

Surely you know at least one person who suffers from child-abuse, or is beaten by their spouse...

* In 88 percent of 57 New Jersey families being treated for child abuse, animals in the home had been abused.
* Of 23 British families with a history of animal neglect, 83 percent had been identified by experts as having children at risk of abuse or neglect.
* In one study of battered women, 57 percent of those with pets said their partners had harmed or killed the animals. One in four said that she stayed with the batterer because she feared leaving the pet behind.

Taken from http://www.pet-abuse.com/connection/

What We Know About the
Link Between Animal Abuse
and Human Violence

by Mary Lou Randour, Ph.D.



Because of the success of many animal advocacy groups, including the two that I represent — Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Doris Day Animal Foundation — many professionals from a variety of disciplines as well as the general public have become aware of the link between animal abuse and human violence. The FBI’s investigation into the childhood of serial killers, and their discovery of juvenile animal abuse in most of these cases, drew the public’s attention to this link initially. When I make presentations to various audiences — whether educators, mental health professionals, police, prosecutors, domestic violence advocates, child protection workers, or animal control officers — most know that serials killers started their grisly careers by torturing and killing animals.
Less well known is the fact that many of the recent school shooters also engaged in animal cruelty before turning their aggression against their classmates, teachers, and parents. Kip Kinkel was reported to have blown up cows and decapitated cats; Luke Woodham tortured Sparkle, his own dog, to death, describing her dying howls as a "thing of beauty"; and Andrew Golden reputedly shot dogs with a .22 caliber rifle. Golden’s own dog "mysteriously" suffered a wound from a .22 just days before he assaulted his classmates.
Serial killers and school shooters supply dramatic currency to the link between animal abuse and human violence. Their lurid nature attracts the attention of individuals and the media and, in this way, can furnish an opening for a serious discussion of the many permutations and implications of this important link. I think it is a tactical and strategic mistake, however, for animal advocates to focus on this part of the link; it is good for an opener, but we should quickly move on to the more substantive evidence, which will have more far-reaching implications.
While many of us can be momentarily drawn to the macabre very few, if
any of us, think that our sons, daughters, nieces and nephews, or next door neighbors are budding serial killers or school shooters. Let’s face it: The odds of a child becoming a serial killer or school gunman are quite remote. Very few people can identify with that prospect and, I believe, that leads to the possibility of them dismissing, or overlooking, evidence of animal cruelty that they might otherwise notice. Sure, their nephew has been known to throw rocks at neighborhood cats, but they know he is a "good kid" who goes to church, does well at school, and has won badges in his Cub Scout troop. What’s to worry about? He’s definitely not serial killer or school shooter material.
If we should emphasize the empirical basis for the link instead of the more dramatic examples, what exactly do we know? What does the research say about animal abuse? Who commits it? How do they turn out? What should we be looking for?
One body of well-established research links animal abuse with criminal behavior. For example, one well-designed study conducted by Arnold Arluke and Jack Levin, two sociologists, and Carter Luke of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA), examined the records of that agency for the years 1975 to 1996. They identified 153 men who had been prosecuted for animal cruelty and compared their criminal records to a group of "next door neighbors" — men who were similar in age, ethnic background, neighborhood, and economic status. Their findings were convincing: men who abused animals were five times more likely to have been arrested for violence against humans, four times more likely to have committed property crimes, and three times more likely to have records for drug and disorderly conduct offenses.

Another group of research studies explored the childhood of individuals who were incarcerated or committed to psychiatric hospitals for criminal offenses, comparing them to "normal" men. Would the childhood of the men in prison and psychiatric hospitals for criminal behavior reveal more juvenile animal cruelty when compared to a group of "normal" men? After conducting a number of their own studies, and reviewing the research of their colleagues, Kellert and Felthous arrived at a definitive result. They stated that there was a significant association between acts of cruelty to animals in childhood and serious, recurrent aggression against people as an adult.
As further corroboration, in one study these researchers determined that the most aggressive criminals had committed the most severe acts of animal cruelty in childhood.
One could conclude from these studies that animal abuse is associated with other types of criminal and anti-social behavior and that childhood animal abuse is an important warning sign; not all children who abuse animals become juvenile offenders or adult criminals, but they are more likely than their counterparts who do not abuse animals to do so. Being physically cruel to animals as one of the criterion for a diagnosis of conduct disorder in childhood was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1987. Substantial proportions of children diagnosed with conduct disorder continue to show behaviors in adulthood that meet criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder. The earlier the diagnosis of conduct disorder the greater the risk for being diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder and Substance-Related in adulthood.

We also know that animal abuse is closely associated with family violence, and knowledge of this link has assisted professionals in offering more effective services to people and animals. In a number of studies — one national and the others statewide — 71 to 83% of the women entering domestic violence shelters reported that their partners also abused or killed the family pet. Just as animal abuse is related to domestic violence, so it is also related to child abuse, another form of family violence. A New Jersey study of 53 families under the jurisdiction of the child welfare agency looked at the co-occurrence of child abuse and animal abuse. Researchers observed animal abuse in 88% of those families in which there was physical abuse of children. Another study arrived at similar findings.
Awareness of the link between animal abuse and family violence has
produced a number of innovative programs and procedural changes. For
example, intake questions for women seeking shelter now include one about the need for a safe place for the family pets. Cooperative arrangements between domestic violence shelters and animal shelters, humane societies, and sometimes veterinary associations provide "safe pet" programs. Animal control officers are being trained to look for signs of child abuse and domestic violence when making their investigations, and to report their suspicions to the proper agencies.
While animal abuse often appears in the context of family violence, and is associated with juvenile delinquency and adult criminality, it is important to remember that many other times the animal abuse offender does not have a juvenile or adult criminal record, does not come from a dysfunctional, violent family; and may appear to be "normal" or "typical." The sad truth is that animal abuse is all too common; the prevalence rates for childhood animal cruelty are shockingly high. There are now three studies of prevalence: one is from a military sample and the other two used college students as subjects.
In the military sample 10% of the males acknowledged committing juvenile animal cruelty and 16% reported that they had witnessed it. In the two college samples, 34.5% of the males admitted to animal abuse in childhood and 48% said they had witnessed it. We don’t know, of course, whether any of the subjects in these three samples had criminal records, although it is doubtful that many had very serious records since they were either in the military or in college. And we don’t know how many came from situations of family violence, but it is doubtful that all could have. Good portions of animal abusers enter adulthood without any marks on their record, although they do appear to have psychological marks.
In one of the studies, the researcher asked his college subjects if they thought it was o.k. to "slap your wife" or to "physically punish your children." Those students who had abused animals as children were much more likely to endorse these forms of interpersonal violence.

We need a lot more information about the extent of animal abuse, the motivation for it, and how to intervene effectively. And we need to accurately convey what the research tells us to date and not to emphasize one category of animal abuse findings over another. We need to continue to warn students, parents, teachers, counselors, and other community groups that childhood animal abuse is a definite danger sign that should be heeded with a thorough assessment and effective intervention.
We also need to alert these same groups that animal abuse often is associated with child abuse and domestic violence, and to enlarge our investigations to include all members of the family — human and nonhuman. Finally, we need to acknowledge that some childhood animal abusers appear to be "typical kids," so no parent, or teacher, or other professional should be complacent.

Mary Lou Randour is the Program Director of Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Taken from  http://www.animalsvoice.com/PAGES/invest/randour.html

Canary in a Coal Mine: The Connection Between Animal Abuse and Human Violence

By Susan I. Finkelstein

Animals have long served as prognosticators of disease and toxins in the environment. For centuries, canaries were brought into coal mines to alert miners to carbon monoxide; if the birds died, the miners quickly evacuated. Today, scientists regard reductions and mutations in the populations of frogs and other amphibians as first signs that other species or an entire habitat might be in jeopardy.

Recently, evidence has indicated that animals can play a similar role with interpersonal violence. Psychology, sociology, and criminology studies conducted in the last quarter-century have shown that many violent offenders repeatedly committed acts of serious animal cruelty during childhood and adolescence. Other research has demonstrated consistent patterns of animal cruelty among perpetrators of common forms of violence, including child abuse, spouse abuse, and elder abuse. Recognition of these patterns may help human service professionals make life-saving decisions related to suspected instances of family violence when animal abuse is also evident.

Such was the subject of a Continuing Education course held on campus in October, “Interpersonal Violence and Animal Abuse,” co-sponsored by the Vet School and the School of Social Work. Jodi A. Levinthal, M.S.W., a doctoral candidate in Social Welfare at Penn, organized and led the interactive workshop, along with Phil Arkow, humane educator and chair of the Latham Foundation’s Child and Family Violence Prevention Project. Ms. Levinthal is also a member of the Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society (CIAS), a multidisciplinary research center within the Vet School that provides a forum for addressing the many practical and moral issues arising from the interactions of animals and society. (The CIAS addressed the animal abuse/interpersonal violence issue in 1998, with its sponsorship of the Third Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Relations with Animals and the Natural World, “The Cruelty Connection: The Links between Animal Abuse, Child Abuse, and Family Violence.”)

Arkow presented striking evidence for a link between animal cruelty and human violence in the case histories of some of the twentieth century’s most heinous murderers. David Berkowitz, known as “Son of Sam,” shot a neighbor’s Labrador retriever before committing his murders. As a child, future serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer killed neighborhood pets and impaled animals’ heads on sticks. More recently, before Columbine High School students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot and killed 14 classmates and a teacher (and fatally shot themselves), they had bragged about mutilating animals to their friends.

Less dramatic but no less critical is the connection between animal abuse and family violence—“The Link,” as it is called in social work circles. “Family violence often begins with pet abuse,” notes Arkow. Abusive family members may threaten, injure, or kill pets, often as a way of threatening or controlling others in the family. According to the 2002 Report of Animal Cruelty Cases published by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), approximately 12 percent of the reported intentional animal cruelty cases also involved some form of family violence, including domestic violence, child abuse, spouse/child witnessing animal cruelty, or elder abuse.

Interestingly, the parent is not always the one hurting the animal. Children who abuse animals may be repeating behavior seen at home; like their parents, they too are reacting to anger or frustration with violence. Children in violent homes frequently participate in “pecking-order battering,” in which they may maim or kill an animal, the only member of the household more powerless than they are. Indeed, domestic violence or neglect is the most common background for childhood cruelty to animals. Ms. Levinthal related a case in which she witnessed a child attempting to strangle a kitten during a home visit; that act led to several other revelations that ultimately confirmed her suspicions—the single mother was addicted to drugs and posed a threat to her children.

And yet, despite all the statistics, case studies, psychologists, and even FBI profilers consistently reaffirming “The Link,” animal abuse crimes are not given nearly the weight in the criminal justice system that human crimes are given. In 1997, in an attempt to raise public and professional awareness about the animal cruelty/human violence connection, the HSUS created the “First Strike” campaign, which aims to strengthen collaboration among animal shelter workers, animal control officers, social service workers, law enforcement officials, veterinarians, educators, and others to establish strategies to reduce animal cruelty and family and community violence.

Indeed, professionals who help families in crisis have already begun realizing the role animals play in family violence. Many law enforcement agencies now are training officers responding to domestic violence calls how to recognize signs that a situation is life threatening: instances where the abuser has threatened suicide, is displaying a firearm, or has hurt or killed a family pet.

Additionally, domestic violence shelters, veterinarians, kennels, and local animal welfare organizations have started working together to develop “safe havens” for the pets of domestic violence victims. Many victims delay leaving the batterer out of fear for their pets’ safety, but with more than 100 Safe Haven for Pets programs now operating around the country, many domestic violence victims no longer have to choose between their well-being and their pets. Under the various programs, shelters actually house the pets with their owners on a temporary basis, find space for the animals at local kennels, or recruit volunteers to act as “foster parents” for the endangered pets while their owners seek medical attention, counseling, and other help.

Increasing awareness levels have indeed made a difference in the past ten years: the evidence that cruelty toward animals is indicative of other violent behaviors has been so overwhelming that 41 states and the District of Columbia currently have felony-level convictions for serious acts of animal abuse. Still, some law enforcement officials and social service workers say that putting greater emphasis on animal abuse is impractical, given all the other crimes and cases they must respectively handle. “Animal abuse must be redefined as a crime of violence rather than a crime against property,” counters Arkow. “It must be perceived and documented as a human welfare issue. The network of community caregivers must be cross-trained to recognize and report all forms of violence.”

Authorities often discover animal abuse earlier than child or domestic abuse because it usually occurs in plain view. While hiding their own abuse, human victims may talk openly of animal abuse or neglect occurring in the family. Since legislation governing animal abuse and child abuse investigation and intervention are different, animal control agents often enter homes when social service workers cannot. Working together through cross-reporting, these agencies can help each other gain information about abusive situations and end cycles of violence that often have tragic results.

http://www.vet.upenn.edu/schoolresources/communications/publications/bellwether/58/connection.html

THE PET CONNECTION
By Gina Spadafori
Pet Columnist


Tremendous Response to Animal Cruelty Column

No nasty letters this time from the "it's just a cat" crowd.

My column from a few weeks back on the link between animal cruelty and crimes against people drew thousands of responses, flooding my e-mail for days with letters from everyday animal lovers as well as from social workers, therapists, teachers, law enforcement officers, academics, prosecutors, humane investigators, etc.

Many of these experts pointed out the numerous studies linking animal cruelty to crimes against humans, as well as relating gruesome cases they themselves had worked on, where the link was as large as a lumber chain.

"Your connection of animal cruelty with future criminal behavior is accurate," wrote Hiromi Paul Sanders, a therapist specializing in abused children and adolescents, many of whom have engaged in acts of animal cruelty. "Children are very emotionally scarred when parents use threats of or engage in animal cruelty to manage their child's behavior," he wrote. "Your statement that kids become hardened is also accurate because kids often model a parent's behavior, irrespective of its social appropriateness. Kids also utilize animal cruelty as a means of catharsis of pain and hurt, often when they themselves are victims of emotional, physical or sexual abuse."

Sanders notes that FBI profilers have identified three characteristics in children that predict a dangerous future, pointing toward serial murder: uncontrollable urination, fire-setting and animal cruelty. For such children, the therapist warns that intervention is essential.

"I agree that perpetrators of animal cruelty should be held legally accountable, but would add that for animal-abusing children, adolescents and teens, a therapy component ought to be ordered by the sentencing judge, so that the roots of this behavior are uncovered and treated," wrote Sanders. "My bias is that without such treatment, the minor's likelihood of recidivism will remain high."

Another correspondent touched on the either-or aspect of my column, on how some people seem to believe that if you care about animals, you don't care about people.

"I am always amazed at the sort of people you describe," wrote Paul Ernst. "They seem absolutely convinced that those of us who are concerned about cruelty to animals are incapable of feeling concern over cruelty to humans. Their logic is way beyond perplexing.

"These same people will sometimes fault others for donating to animal shelters 'while there are humans freezing and starving in the streets.' They ignore the fact that people who help animals are often the first to come forward to help their fellow humans. It amazes me that they seem to feel that concern for animals blocks out all other compassion."

Jennifer Bergovoy echoed those sentiments: "When the critics argue that I should be more concerned about what happens to humans, I always respond that I must be fortunate, because I have the capability of loving both humans and animals, and can mourn for both their losses."

The responses weren't all in agreement with me, however. Some felt I was saying we should care about animal cruelty only because it too often predicts crimes against humans. I gently reminded these readers that if I didn't care about animals on their own, I wouldn't have spent the last 20 years writing about them, with more than 1,000 columns, hundreds of articles and three books.

I guess that's the either-or argument in reverse: Some people think caring starts with animals, while I think caring includes us all, animals and people both. The overwhelming majority of those who wrote felt the same way.

Which reminds me of one of my favorite sayings (whose author I do not know, I regret to say): "Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as important to the child as it is to the caterpillar."

Thanks to all of you who wrote. While you may have overwhelmed my poor computer, you made my week. 

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1218&S=0&SourceID=28

Written Resources

"Animal Abuse and Youth Violence." Juvenile Justice Bulletin. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Program. September, 2001. Frank R. Ascione. Phone: (800) 933-9637.

"Another Weapon for Combating Family Violence: Prevention of Animal Abuse." Animal Law. Volume 4, 1998, pp. 1-31. Phone: (503) 768-6798.

Child Abuse, Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse - Linking the Circles of Compassion for Prevention and Intervention. Edited by Frank R. and Phil Arkow. Purdue University Press, 1999. Phone: (800) 933-9637.

Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal Violence - Readings in Research and Application. Edited by Frank R. Ascione, Humane Society of the United States, Randall Lockwood, and Utah State University. Purdue University Press, 1999. Phone: (800) 933-9637.

Safe Havens for Pets: Guidelines for Programs Sheltering Pets for Women who are Battered. Frank R. Ascione. Utah State University, Department of Psychology. Phone: (435) 797-1464.

"State Animal Anti-Cruelty Statutes: An Overview." Animal Law. Volume 5, 1999, pp. 69-80. P.Ernest , P.Frasch, K. Olsen, S. Otto. Phone: (503) 768-6798.

"Violence Prevention and Intervention: A Directory of Animal-Related Programs." The Humane Society of the United States, 2100 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037, phone: (202) 452-1100.