1. Animal Abuse and Violent Crimes A Presentation By: Bridget Haggerty SLC: Magnet

2. Why this topic is important to me I am an animal lover and am very cautious about pets I have and to ones that are in my surroundings. I wanted to understand why human beings would go to the length of doing harmful things to animals? Also, I think it is important to watch and be cautious of people today because we don’t know what anyone is capable of.

3. People who abuse animals also commit violent crimes Many people have a pastof abusing animals that tend to move onto acting out violent crimes towards humans. There are warning signs, people just have to be aware of them. There are many ways people commit violent crimes and there is a psychological reason why.

4. Violent Crimes Individuals feel in control and feel like they are superior when abusing something or someone helpless. There are a number of cases that have shown people who have violently harmed human beings in any way had a past of harming animals first. Fact: 97% of abusers are male, 27% are under the age of 18, and 56% are under the age of 30.

5. Domestic Violence People who abuse animals also physically and mentally abuse their spouses. The abuser threatens to harm the household pet and that causes the spouse to remain in the abusive environment. Fact: 80% of women report incidents of pet abuse upon arrival in domestic violence shelters. Many children who suffer from abuse are likely to take out their frustration on their pets. Fact: 63% of children report incidents of pet abuse when they arrive at a D.V shelter.

6. Psychological Reasons Psychopaths don’t show normal emotion when reacting to dangerous or harmful things. Fact: 20% of child who were unemotional as a child were that way as an adult and have a higher risk of harming something or someone. Criminals were found to do unjustified things because of their childhood and how they were nurtured. Also many harm others because they were once harmed or wronged in some way. Criminals do not feel sympathy or empathy for their victims.

7. Warning Signs Don’t overlook a child harming an animal or household pet, this needs to be dealt with immediately. Children who don’t show certain emotions should be helped and taught to see a reason for not hurting others. There are domestic violence shelters if a spouse is showing signs of harming your pet.

8. Conclusion There is a connection between animal abuse and human abuse which include violent crimes and domestic violence. There are psychological reasons why this is so and why criminals do what they do. To prevent children from becoming criminals, they need to be nurtured and grow up in a good environment. Children need to be taught to care and respect animals.

9. Works Cited Arluke, Arnold, Carter Luke, and Jack Levin. "Cruelty to animals and other crimes." MSPCA, 12-1997. Web. 19 Dec 2010. <http://www.mspca.org/programs/cruelty-prevention/animal-cruelty-information/cruelty-to-animals-and-other-crimes.pdf>. Szalavitz, Maia. "Why Do Some People Become Psychopaths?." (2010): 1-2. Web. 22 Dec 2010. <http://health.msn.com/health-topics/mental-health/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100233968&page=1>.

10. The importance of this topic to me Animals are living things that are not able to protect themselves, we as their provider and guardian are supposed to do that. I have 8 cats myself and am effective deeply by this topic because I hope one day people will give animals the respect they deserve. Now that we know animal abuse and human abuse are connected this might change things because we wont just be saving animals we will be saving human as well.