Animal cruelty leads to human cruelty

Friday, August 25, 2006 By ALISA MULLINS PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS Every time a serial killer or perpetrator of a particularly violent crime is apprehended, you can bet that, eventually, it will be revealed that the killer "practiced" his crimes on animals. In the case of Steven D. Green, the former soldier accused of orchestrating the murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and her family, testimony at his alleged co-conspirators' court-martial hearing last week revealed that Green had previously set a puppy on fire and thrown the animal off a roof. Chillingly, the young girl who was raped and killed was also set on fire. In Arizona, accused serial shooters Samuel John Dieteman and Dale S. Hausner allegedly shot nearly a dozen animals as well as 17 people during their 2-month-long killing spree in and around Phoenix. I believe that, as officials delve into their backgrounds, more cases of cruelty to animals will be unearthed, as they have been in virtually every serial killer case. "There is not much of a leap between hurting poor defenseless animals to inflicting terror on vulnerable unsuspecting humans," said Phoenix's KTVK-TV anchor Frank Camacho, about the serial shooter case. "Catching an animal abuser early is one reason why the Humane Society has a team of investigators on staff who handle nothing but animal cruelty cases." Legislators and law enforcement authorities need to be aware of the link between cruelty to animals and violent crimes against humans. They need to act swiftly when people abuse animals. Fortunately, cruelty to animals is now a felony in 42 states, with Kansas being the latest to pass such a law in April of this year. Animal cruelty task forces have been set up in several jurisdictions, including Delaware; New Hampshire; Vermont; Kanawha County, S.C.; Marion County, Ind.; Knox County, Tenn.; Los Angeles; and Maricopa County, Ariz., which includes Phoenix. Felony conviction In November 2005, the Los Angeles task force announced its first felony conviction, that of a gang member who scalded a puppy and shot her with a stun gun as a means of intimidating his girlfriend. At a news conference announcing the conviction, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said, "When we protect animals, we are protecting ourselves, we are protecting our communities." Villaraigosa is correct. Consider that Carroll Edward Cole, who was executed for five of the 35 murders of which he was accused, said his first act of violence was to strangle a puppy. Albert DeSalvo, the "Boston Strangler," trapped dogs and cats in orange crates and shot them with arrows. During the sentencing hearing of "BTK" killer Dennis Rader, it was revealed that, as a youth, Rader had captured stray cats and dogs and strangled them — crimes he later re-enacted on humans. Convicted serial shooter Lee Boyd Malvo honed his marksmanship skills shooting cats with a slingshot. "Son of Sam" David Berkowitz, Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer also tortured and killed animals. All of the kids involved in the deadly shootings at Columbine and other schools killed animals before attacking their classmates. It is vital that violent attacks on animals, especially among young people, are taken seriously. Perhaps, if Steven Green's cruelty to animals had been reported and he had gotten the treatment he so desperately needs, Iraq would not be mourning the loss of a girl and her family who appear to have died at the hands of the young men who were charged with protecting them. Alisa Mullins is senior writer for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Norfolk, Va. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.