In Brownsville, Texas a 19-year-old teen was just sentenced to 18 months in state jail after he pled guilty to killing a puppy. The exact charge was “cruelty to non-livestock animals.”
After this ruling was announced, the reaction of the public was interesting to see. There seems to be a majority sentiment that the teen’s demented actions deserve a much tougher sentence. Proponents of lengthier sentences for animal abuse often point to studies showing animal abusers are much likelier to start abusing humans in the future.
Here are some interesting statistics that support this argument:
- 68% of battered women reported violence towards their animals
- 13% of intentional animal abuse cases involve domestic violence
- Between 25% and 40% of battered women are unable to escape abusive situations because they worry about what will happen to their pets or livestock should they leave
- In one study, 70% of animal abusers also had records for other crimes
- Of the nine school shootings between 1996 and 1999, half of the shooters had histories of animal cruelty
- 36 percent of profiled serial killers admitted to committing animal cruelty as children
Infamous killers who were also animal abusers
The FBI has known for a few decades that animal abuse has a strong link to violence against other humans. Consider these examples of this association:
- Patrick Sherrill—Killed 14 co-workers before shooting himself. Had a deep history of dog fighting.
- Jeffrey Dahmer—A serial killer who also impaled dogs, cats, and other animals
- Carroll Edward Cole—Accused of committing 35 murders. Said his first acts of violence was strangling a puppy when he was a kid.
The list could go on and on, but you get the point. Animal abuse is one of the most common precursors to much harsher violence against people.
The idea of giving animal abusers a tougher sentence isn’t so much about protecting the animals as it is about protecting human life and preventing domestic violence. It’s an issue of trying to rehabilitate animal abusers to keep them from committing similar or worse crimes down the road.
A look at animal cruelty laws across the country
All 50 states in the U.S. have laws prohibiting cruelty to animals. By imposing penalties for animal cruelty, lawmakers hope that these laws can curb all sorts of violent acts, especially those toward humans.
But the question still remains: How much does an animal abuser deserve to be punished? And how much punishment is enough to deter abusers from committing worse acts in the future?
As it stands right now, 41 states and the District of Columbia have felony provisions for animal cruelty cases. The nine states that don’t have a felony provision are as follows: Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah.
A glance at some of the more interesting animal abuse laws
- In Alabama, the maximum sentence for intentional torture is a fine up to $5000 and imprisonment up to 10 years.
- In Arizona, intentional cruel neglect or mistreatment could lead to up to 18 months in jail.
- In California, first-time animal cruelty charges have a maximum fine of $20,000 and imprisonment up to one year.
- In Washington DC, intentional cruelty has a minimum fine of $2,500 along with psychological treatment.
- In Illinois, animal torture can be punished with fines up to $25,000, up to five years imprisonment, and one year of probation.
- In Texas, killing or even fighting an animal can lead to a two year jail sentence along with a $10,000 fine.
Videos of animal cruelty protected as free speech
In April, the Supreme Court rejected a law making it a crime to sell videos of animal cruelty. By an 8-1 vote, the Supreme Court said the law was too broad, leaving the door open for acts like videos of legal hunting to be considered a crime.
The same law was used to prosecute Robert J. Stevens, a Virginia man who advertised videos of dog fights. Stevens claimed his videos were meant to provide education videos about the pit bull breed, not to promote illegal dog fighting. The Supreme Court’s actions sided with Stevens’ claim that his video was protected as free speech.
What do you think?
Based on the statistics and current laws across the country, do you think animal abusers should be given lengthier sentences? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.
10 comments
Frosty Kane
Without question it should all be the same. I get just as sad when I hear a story about humans being tortured as animals. Everyone knows it's wrong yet they still continue doing it. It probably leads to worst crimes if harsher punishments aren't handed down.
Rose
I think that those who abuse animals should be murdered in the cruelest way possible.
Donna
I think a animal abusers should get prison time and a huge fine I would love to be their voice and make sure that every abuser pays. And it should be a felony. My dog is family. These abusers are cowards and in my mind criminals and should be punished as such.
animal lover
if someone can hurt an animal who knows what they'd do
Cy
Animal abusers should get the same treatment that they gave to the animals.
Denelle Ergh
People must be punished for the intentional cruelty and abuse of an animal. This is the sign of a very sick person to harm a defenseless animal. Yes it can lead to the abuse of humans and even to killing humans, but the act of torturing and abusing or killing an animal should be punished severely just for the act of harming an animal when not in self defense just like killing a person is. Animals can seldom defend themselves and it is becoming increasingly obvious that the persons who commit acts of cruelty and violence to animals are just sick individuals in general; harming an animal is just a control issue with them their cruelty and depravity points to serious mental issues.
Solun
Yes, everyone should be persecuted very strictly in case of animal abuse. When someone hurts an animal, it is only matter of time when they harm human.
Craig M.
Here, from the dallas news website, dated 3/14/2011:
"A Dallas man faces animal cruelty charges after police said he beat his neighbor’s dog and fed her anti-freeze, killing the pug mix.
Dallas police arrested Larry Washington, 49, on Saturday evening at his east Oak Cliff home. He posted $1,000 bond on the misdemeanor charge and was released"
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/dallas/headlines/20110314-dallas-man-faces-charges-after-police-say-he-killed-dog.ece
A misdemeanor ? What more could he have done to this innocent little dog to deserve a felony ?!
Alysia Salter
YES ABSOLUTELY...Some may say there just dogs others say they are my pet and others like myself say that they are my family. A dog-cat-any animal is like a child that never goes up and had to be watched. They listen and learn from there Owners or Trainers.That is why any person that has a dog or animal to do harm to others and other Animals should have a stiffer Lawson the OWNERS not the animal. They learned and were taught from someone. Remember that when you say Rottweilers, Pit bulls,Cane Corso,German Shepard, Bull Dog, Jindo,Doberman and many more. They are trained by people They just dont come that way to hurt kill maul . All my Animals i have rescued..2 Rottweilers 1 Long Haired German Shepard and 2 Bull Dog/Pit Bull (Bully Breed). And they were the most loving dogs i could have ever rescued. My Mother Flipped when i came home with Chrissie Girl (Princess) from the Human Society. What are you doing with that kind of dog. She will bite you and do all sorts of stuff. I told her i will prove you wrong. And i did. She Loved her so much. Even when i adopted the 2 Bull Dogs/Pit Bulls she came out and said this time Those dogs will KILL YOU and UR NEPHEW . No they won't 1 boy named Thor and 1 Girl named Pandora. Brother & Sister. So my brother picked him up and brought him home cause his 5 years old son wanted a dog for him and Daddy.SO being the sister i got the sister. They are big Not Tall but very muscular cause of the breed. But they wouldn't hurt a fly on your heard. They are total LOVE BUGS.I actually rescued myself the Long Haired German Shepard (Chance) He was to be a Grad Dog for a business in Asbury Park NJ nope i took him home with me also. Now this is 1 at a time doggie except for the sister and brother. I got someone to rescue him and take him.He is living the GREAT Life. Chrissie Girl died at 14 years old. Old age My 2nd Rottweiler Max i adopted from the Human Society but only after i only had him for 3 years He was 5 when he died from Cancer. I even got him into treatments and stuff but it spread so fast I had to put him to sleep. I spent Thousands to help him but it was well worth And the others we still have now for almost 8 years. My Mother again fell in LOVE with these dogs. Christmas they get gifts from Grandma and gifts when she just come here to hang out and see our son. And i told her again You will change ur mind. The OFFENCES are NOT strong enough or hard enough for the people out there Fighting these dogs /Chickens/Roosters and so on.(Abuse to Animals) The people that just go and hurt a animal of any kind should get the same offence as the people that do not feed or give them water or house them right. EVERY SINGLE PERSON THAT HURTS A ANIMAL DOMESTIC OR NOT SHOULD BE HELD ON A FEDERAL OFFENCE AND A OFFENCE ON WHERE IT HAPPENED AT. Its not strong enough cause so many people are still doing it. Maybe if they get caught or know someone that has gotten caught they will stop cause i don't think they really want to go to Federal Prison and pay huge amounts of fines and got to go to a Federal Prison Make it a FEDERAL Offence thro out the US and make it a hard one so when they go away they WILL NOT WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN. OH and for a FACT the dogs that bite the most (i looked on the net for many days) Is a Cocker Spaniel . Go figure a Cocker Spaniel was Ranked #1 for biting people. I see its the smaller dogs that you have to watch not the bigger dogs. NO BSL (Anti-Breed Specific Legislation) AND HARDER HARDER ANIMAL OFFENCES AND ALOT MORE MONEY THAT THESE BAD VERY VERY BAD DISGUSTING PEOPLE HAVE TO PAY!@!!! Thank you for reading and letting me vent some
raina krief
Yes! Animals are at our mercy, like children they are innocent beings who deserve respect. Studies show that even fish have an almost identical nervous system to ours. They feel pain and fear as do all animals. I think I should state that I'm not a vegetarian, I eat meat. But whether it's a puppy or a cow animals deserve to live and die as peacefully as possible. I agree that someone who tortures or abuses animals i.e. Puppy mills. Require harsher punishment, counseling and in the case of Mill's never allowed to be a breeder again.I think the federal government needs to step up to the plate and make puppy mills illegal and regulate breeding practices.
Obviously someone who abuses animals has control and esteem issues. Send the abusers to prison and rehabilitation, prison is not enough as they will absolutely abuse again or worse start preying on children.
This subject like so many others upsets me but what can I do about it? Please if you know a way to make a difference in this area let it be known. Writing this reply is nice but again not accomplishing anything for the abused. How does one go about getting on the legislatures case? In Nevada.
Thank You