Yes. In the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the American Psychiatric Association lists animal cruelty as one of the behaviors signaling conduct disorder. Clinical evidence indicates that animal cruelty is one of the symptoms usually seen at the earliest stages of conduct disorder, often by the age of eight.

Researchers have discovered that a child’s violence against animals often represents displaced hostility and aggression stemming from the family’s neglect or abuse of the child. Animal cruelty committed by any member of a family, whether parent or child, often means child abuse occurs in that family. A 1983 survey of 57 pet-owning families under treatment for child abuse by New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Family Services revealed that, in 88 percent of the families, at least one person had abused animals. In two-thirds of those cases, the abusive parent had injured or killed a pet; in the remaining cases, children were the animal abusers.

Yes. However, in some cases the bond between victim and pet makes the pet a target. A child’s silence may be bought with the threat to harm or destroy a pet or a spouse may refuse to leave an abusive situation for fear of risking a pet’s safety.

If you know or suspect that an animal is being neglected or abused, report your information immediately to the local animal welfare agency or police department. Social service field workers are often the first to see cases of animal cruelty or gross neglect; family shelter workers may hear reports of animal cruelty from the people they take in. Report possible animal cruelty if you see or learn of an animal who lacks adequate food, water, or proper shelter; appears particularly thin, dirty, or matted; is living in filth; is chained and cannot reach food, water, or shelter; has mange or hair loss; is scarred from apparent bite wounds; is frightened or shy or cowers when someone raises a hand; is reported to be abused by a family member; appears sick or injured; or appears to be in any danger. If you are in a home assessing a complaint of human violence and animals are present, notify the local animal welfare agency.

Most animal welfare agencies will take complaints by phone.

In all 50 states, cruelty to animals is against the law. More than 40 states currently have laws making certain types of animal cruelty a felony offense. Some felony laws require psychiatric counseling for convicted abusers.

Questions similar to those inquiring about human violence should be standard. They should include at least the following:

• Are there any animals in the home?
• Has anyone in the household ever hit, kicked, punched, beaten, or thrown an animal or threatened to do so?
• If the animal is left behind, is there someone who will provide food, water, and basic care?

Intake personnel do not need to identify specific acts of animal cruelty but should be able to determine if any animals are in danger. Probably the most important question is the first one, as animals are not always in plain view. Animals may be kept in the basement, a cage, the garage, a rear yard, or off-premises.

There are no laws that require social service workers to report animal cruelty, but professional boards and organizations are moving in that direction. Laws in four states require veterinarians to report animal cruelty. The American Veterinary Medical Association, in its Model Practice Act, states that it “considers it the responsibility of the veterinarian to report [animal cruelty] to the appropriate authorities.” A precedent setting 1995 policy in San Diego requires the city’s Department of Social Services and the Children’s Services Bureau to report animal cruelty to the San Diego Department of Animal Control. All emergency responders, including humane investigators, should cross-report all forms of abuse.

Yes. Social service agencies confirm that humane investigators are accurate reporters of human violence.

Initiating a cross-reporting and cross training agreement between agencies can increase the number of animal cruelty and human violence reports investigated. Agencies can also help each other by maintaining informal relationships. An interagency approach to case management will better serve all of those who need help.

No. While some children kill insects, few torture pets or other small creatures. If allowed to harm animals, children are more likely to be violent later in life. Animal cruelty, like any other violence, should never be attributed to a stage of development.

Serious or repeated animal cruelty is seen more often in boys than in girls. Children as young as four may harm animals, but such behavior is most common during adolescence. Cruelty is often associated with children who do poorly in school and have low self-esteem and few friends. Children who are cruel to animals are often characterized as bullies and may have a history of truancy, vandalism, and other antisocial behaviors.

Researchers say that a child’s violence against animals often represents displaced hostility and aggression stemming from neglect or abuse of the child or of another family member. Animal cruelty committed by any member of a family, whether parent or child, often means child abuse occurs in that family.

If you suspect your child has deliberately harmed an animal, talk to your child. Try to discover what caused the cruelty. Communicate with your child, your child’s teachers, and your child’s friends. The more you know about your child’s activities, the better able you will be to guide your child in making compassionate and humane choices. Something as serious as animal cruelty, however, should not be handled alone. Seek help from a family counselor, school counselor, pediatrician, or clergy member. If you know another child who has harmed an animal, report what you know immediately to your local animal welfare organization or police department. Alert the child’s school principal or guidance counselor.

Explain that animal abuse is often a sign of other serious problems and should be addressed by the proper authorities. Knowing that a friend has serious problems can be quite troubling for a child, as can witnessing animal cruelty. Your child may need to sort out the feelings the incident raises.

Though innocent exploration may be corrected simply by talking with the child, any time a child causes an animal pain or suffering you should be concerned. Talk to the child to determine if this was an act of innocence and naivety, or if there is something more serious going on. If you suspect that there are serious underlying issues, please inform the school counselor, the parents/guardians, or a teacher you feel comfortable talking with. Getting that child help, early on, can prevent future violence.

Innocent exploration may come of simple curiosity, but calculated animal cruelty is motivated by a desire to harm. While even innocent acts of cruelty should be addressed, it is particularly important to intervene when a child is insensitive to the obvious distress of an animal, repeats a harmful behavior, or derives pleasure from causing an animal pain.

Appropriate sentencing can include individual or family counseling, community service, or diversion programs. It is rarely the goal of the authorities to imprison a child for cruelty to animals. Law enforcement officers and judges recognize that cruelty to animals is one part of a complex problem. Sometimes the official response to animal cruelty provides a family its first opportunity to get help.

While many jurisdictions will respond to an anonymous complaint, successful prosecutions often depend on an identifiable witness who can authenticate evidence.

If a case goes to trial and you have identified yourself as the complainant in either a written or an oral report, you may be called to testify.

Teach by example; use real-life situations to instill a sense of respect for all life. Invite your child to help you feed the birds or rescue a bug. With older children, discuss animal cruelty cases publicized in the news. Encourage children to speak up for animals.

Humane education should be taken seriously as an educational standard. spcaLA offers DIY presentations that could help your child’s teacher incorporate humane ideas into your classroom. spcaLA also offers a comprehensive manual on our Teaching Love and Compassion (TLC)™ program, a program designed to teach empathy and compassion to at-risk youth. The manual includes history on the cycle of violence, budgetary needs, training schedules, daily activity schedules, staffing requirements and all components of implementing a TLC program from start to finish. The program is available for purchase for $450.00.

Yes. Animal cruelty is a misdemeanor offense in all fifty states, and at least one form of animal cruelty is considered a felony offense in thirty-one states. Twenty of those states enacted felony animal cruelty laws during the 1990s, and more states are expected to follow this trend. Each state defines for itself what acts are considered animal cruelty and the degree of offense they entail. Penalties range from fines and probation to imprisonment and psychiatric counseling.

While it seems hard to believe that a client would present an animal who has been abused, consider the following scenarios:

• A woman who is frequently abused by her spouse brings in the family pet with a broken rib after the abuser kicked the pet to demonstrate his control over the entire family.
• A young male who owns a pit bull often enters his dog in neighborhood “street fights” for weekend amusement. When the dog’s bleeding is uncontrollable after a Saturday afternoon skirmish, the owner brings him to your emergency animal clinic.
• Mrs. Smith frequently calls your staff about care for her many small dogs, and occasionally even presents one for treatment. Her “pets” are always suffering from severe skin disease, parasitism, malnutrition, and other management-related diseases. She’s evasive when asked.

Yes, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) proclaimed its position on cruelty to animals, animal abuse, and animal neglect in 1994. The AVMA recognizes that veterinarians may have occasion to observe cases of cruelty to animals, animal abuse, or animal neglect as defined by state law or local ordinances. When these observations occur, the AVMA considers it the responsibility of the veterinarian to report such cases to the appropriate authorities. Such disclosures may be necessary to protect the health and welfare of animals and people. In addition, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) issued the following position statement in 1999 on the veterinarian’s role in preventing animal cruelty. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) recognizes that veterinarians are in a position to observe occasions of suspected animal abuse. The CVMA believes that in situations that cannot be resolved through education, it is the veterinarian’s responsibility to report such observations to the appropriate authorities. Other veterinary organizations, including the American Animal Hospital Association, also denounce animal cruelty and direct veterinarians to take an active role in addressing such acts.

A law enforcement agency is charged with upholding the animal cruelty laws that exist in your state or community. This may be a municipal animal care and control agency, a sheriff’s department, or other entity. Before you encounter a case of animal neglect or abuse, it is wise to become familiar with the laws that address animal cruelty and the agency charged with enforcing these laws. When you suspect or have confirmed that an animal has been neglected or abused, file a formal written report with the agency.

Although requirements vary from state to state, in several states veterinarians are legally mandated to report incidents of animal cruelty, particularly in cases of organized or staged animal fights (dogfighting or cockfighting). Several other states have instituted or are considering provisions that hold veterinarians harmless from criminal or civil liability for reporting in good faith suspected animal cruelty.

While many jurisdictions will respond to an anonymous complaint, successful prosecution often depends on an identifiable witness who can authenticate evidence.

Successfully preparing an animal cruelty case for prosecution is similar to preparing any case of criminal violence. Expert testimony addressing the nature and mechanism of the injuries is vital, and in most cases, the veterinarian is the most viable individual for presenting such testimony. However, veterinarians who become involved in prosecution of criminal cases are obligated to avail themselves of knowledge regarding the nature of criminal cases in order to prepare for the important role they will play.

If a case goes to trial and you have identified yourself as the complainant in either a written or oral report, you may be called to testify and should be prepared to do so. If you were not the complainant but participated in the investigation of an animal cruelty crime, you should be prepared to testify as a factual witness (having examined the animal or the circumstances surrounding the incident) and/or as an expert witness (providing an opinion as to the means and mechanism of the animal’s injuries and/or death).

In a small number of states, veterinarians are specifically included among professionals mandated to report suspected child or elder abuse. However, in more than twenty states, all individuals are required to report suspected child abuse and are granted the same protections as mandated professionals.

The confidential relationship that exists between physicians and their patients does not necessarily exist between veterinarians and their clients; in fact, courts in some states have refused to recognize a veterinarian client privilege. However, other states do uphold veterinarian-client confidentiality. These provisions may be found in veterinary practice acts, administrative rules, or in state statutes pertaining to health professions. Veterinarians should become familiar with current laws in their own states and should examine the laws to determine whether a conflict exists between the welfare of a patient and the veterinarian’s legal and ethical obligations to the client. In many cases, such discrepancies exist and should be remedied through legislation.

You can make a difference by forming a community antiviolence coalition with representatives from agencies involved in violence intervention or by working within coalitions that already exist. Interagency coalitions that recognize the connection between animal cruelty and human violence can coordinate antiviolence efforts to better protect the victims of violence, prosecute and punish those who commit violent acts, and prevent future violence through early identification of people with violent tendencies.

Some victims of violence are afraid to leave an abusive situation for fear their abuser will harm their pets. In many communities, veterinary hospitals and animal shelters are creating programs to provide temporary shelter or permanent rehoming services for the animal victims of family violence. Click here to learn more about spcaLA’s domestic violence prevention program, Animal Safety Net. These emergency housing programs require careful coordination between the sheltering organizations and human social service organizations in order to fully protect the humans and animals involved. Consider joining or creating such a program.

Children who harm animals may be reacting to family violence they have witnessed or experienced. Children who are allowed or encouraged to harm animals may be more likely to be violent later in life. Animal cruelty, like other violence, should never be attributed to a stage of development. Research indicates that a child’s violence against animals often represents displaced hostility and aggression stemming from neglect or abuse of the child or another family member. If you suspect a child has deliberately harmed an animal, contact your community’s law enforcement authorities for animal cruelty crimes, as well as child welfare authorities.

The FBI identifies animal cruelty as one of a cluster of juvenile behaviors associated with increasingly violent behavior and uses animal cruelty in analyzing the threat potential of suspected and known criminals.

Most animal abusers are adolescent or young adult males, although children as young as four have been known to harm animals. Many animal abusers have a history of other antisocial or criminal activities, including vandalism, assault, and arson, and many are the victims of physical or sexual abuse. Animal cruelty is often associated with children who do poorly in school and have low self-esteem and few friends.

There can be many reasons. Animal cruelty, like any other form of violence, is often committed by a person who feels powerless, unnoticed, and under the control of others. The motive may be to shock, threaten, intimidate, or offend others or to demonstrate rejection of society’s rules. Some who are cruel to animals copy things they have seen or that have been done to them. Others see harming an animal as a safe way to get revenge on someone who cares about that animal. In some cases, animal abuse is associated with deviant arousal.

Yes. In the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), the American Psychiatric Association lists animal cruelty as one of the behaviors signaling conduct disorder. Clinical evidence indicates that animal cruelty is one of the symptoms usually seen at the earliest stages of conduct disorder, often by the age of eight.

A 1994 report released by the National Research Council states that early intervention is more likely to reduce adult crime than criminal sanctions applied later in life. The report further states that childhood behavior is more important than teenage behavior in predicting future violence.

Crimes against animals are not isolated events. FBI experts advise all appropriate agencies to share case information with one another. A comprehensive approach with cooperation from the family, support from the school, and counseling by a psychologist or social worker is essential.

Upholding anticruelty laws is usually the responsibility of local police, although in some communities, humane investigators have law enforcement powers. Law enforcement officers should be thoroughly familiar with anticruelty laws. They should get to know local humane investigators, who may be aware of potentially violent situations that have not come to the attention of the police. Humane investigators may also be able to provide helpful information relevant to ongoing investigations. Other important contacts for law enforcement officers include schoolteachers, child welfare professionals, crisis intervention teams, family shelter personnel, social workers, and veterinarians.

Yes. Anticruelty laws exist in all states. In many states animal cruelty is a felony offense under certain circumstances.