Dialogue: Strong links between pet and child abuse

By BOB KERRIDGE

Between 1893 and 1926 the Auckland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was linked with the Auckland branch of the Society for the Protection of Women and Children.

Animals, women and children had few rights then, but as numerous studies around the world now show beyond reasonable doubt, there is one sick factor that links the three - a cycle of abuse which starts with animals and leads to humans, particularly children and women.

As New Zealand reels with the latest dreadful child abuse statistics, which have in some tragic instances resulted in children's deaths, we should consider, and act on, that link between animal and child abuse.

From the United States comes compelling evidence (which animal agencies in New Zealand have long suspected) that people who ill-treat animals are often also guilty of child or family abuse.

The factors that contribute to the abuse of children and of pets are remarkably similar.

According to the 78-year-old Latham Foundation, a non-profit organisation that promotes respect for all life through education, these elements include: physical, emotional or sexual abuse as a child; lack of parenting or interpersonal skills; problems with coping and self-control; lack of understanding of child-pet development leading to unrealistic expectations; acceptance of violence as a solution to problems; and a belief that children and pets are property.

A report from the American Humane Society notes that "in homes where animals are abused, children and others - including the elderly or disabled - are at greater risk of abuse."

It cites as an example a routine check on two neglected dogs which resulted in a child being removed by authorities after a humane officer found the man's wife and 2-year-old child carrying bruises all over their necks, arms and legs.

In acknowledgement of this link, a 1994 amendment to the penal code in California adds animal control and humane officers to those who can report suspected cases of abused children in homes.

These two animal authorities have been introduced into the child-abuse scene because they could be the one group who will be instrumental in saving young lives.

Childhood animal cruelty is now regarded as a key predictor of violent behaviour - the first tell-tale signs of an abuser can be traced right back to his or her childhood with a "first taste" of cruelty shown in tormenting animals used as "rehearsal tools" on the way to human abuse.

Animal welfare authorities point to evidence linking two groups of criminals - serial and mass murderers - with acts of cruelty to animals. There is a grizzly list that supports that premise:

The "Boston Strangler," Albert DeSalvo, who killed 13 women, had in his youth trapped dogs and cats in orange crates and shot arrows through the boxes.

Edmund Kemper, who killed eight women, revealed at his trial that he had a history of abusing cats and dogs.

Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer had impaled dogs' heads, frogs and cats on spiked sticks.

Carroll Cole, accused of 35 murders, said that his first act of violence as a child was to strangle a puppy.

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.

A psychiatrist who surveyed groups of violent adults found that in one group of patients who had reportedly tortured cats and dogs, all had high levels of aggression to people.

It is estimated that 88 per cent of pets living in households with domestic abuse in the United States are themselves either abused or killed. Of all the women who enter shelters to escape abuse, 57 per cent have had a pet killed by their abuser.

We have also received a sobering report from the RSPCA in England showing that of a number of families being investigated by the society, 82 per cent were on record with social agencies as having "children at risk."

At the SPCA animal village in Mangere, we often admit animals who display classic abuse symptoms, abuse that is likely to be part of a wider pattern in the home it has come from. Pets are the victims of a domestic violence "pecking order," with women, too, who have abused their children admitting they directed their anger first at a family pet.

We must surely heed the message which is on our very doorstep, and move from words to action to stop this abuse.

I would like to see far closer links developed between animal welfare agencies, law enforcement and child authorities. To this end, the SPCA proposes that a workshop be held for all interested parties to plan how we can work together and pool our knowledge to control this heinous problem.

Perhaps, in an unusual throw-back to 1899, the Auckland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals can again be the instrument of help for the protection of women and children.

Undoubtedly, the dying whimper of an animal and that of a child are inextricably connected.

*Bob Kerridge is executive director of the Auckland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.