ANIMAL ABUSERS TO BE REGISTERED AS SEX OFFENDERS
In a world where everyone knows the right thing to do, we’d never have to talk about or be faced with animal abuse and cruelty. Sadly, it is a reality which takes place every day. In an effort to fight against animal cruelty, you should know the signs and symptoms and what you should do if you suspect animals are being maltreated. All domesticated pets deserve a caring home and sometimes, all it takes is just a signal to put the wheels in motion to bettering an animal’s life.
We have so many types of animal abuse and neglect. A lot of animals are abused and neglected simply due to overpopulation. From the statistics received from the Humane Association of the United States, we kill over 4 million companion animals yearly. Some of these animals are adoptable. At some time, this statistic was 17 million, so there has been substantial progress made, but we still need to work harder and smarter so that we can end accidental abuse and neglect. Getting people to take responsibility to spay and neuter pets is serious. Consider the prolific nature of animals. A single cat and her first-year kittens can produce upwards of 150 cats within a period of three years. The statistics for dogs is almost equivalent. This overpopulation creates a difference in supply and demand and leaves several adoptable pets destitute.
There are some intentional abuses which include starvation, death, bludgeoning, mutilation, etc. Whenever you see a pet with unusual injuries, protruding rib cages, or you spy someone ill-treating the animal, call authorities. If your area doesn’t have a special number you can call to report animal abuse, call your local police. In some areas, animal abuse is a felony. Also, there is a project in the University of Washington veterinary school called the “Link.” They are researching the connection between animal abuse and human abuse. In Wisconsin, Senator Fred Risser is working to pass a law that will extend domestic abuse preventive orders and sanctions to include abuse to animals and threats of abuse to animals.
Neglect is very complex and can include intentional or unintentional harm to pets. This could include abandonment, water or shelter, untreated medical conditions, failure to provided food, excessive ground staking, denying the pet social interaction, failure to groom, etc. Neglect such as abandonment can lead to death.
While it is a bad and sad thing to talk about, animal abuse is still on the rise. There are a lot of reasons why some people commit such terrible crimes. In most cases, however, it has been proven time that there is a connection between animal abuse and domestic abuse. Those who commit acts of violence against lovers, children, and animals are likely to do so because they feel authorized. They feel as though they can educate someone because the person or animal they are beating on is weaker than they are. This must be put to an end. But when will it?
Pets are a big part of every home that has children. In fact, 74.8 percent of the homes that have children, ages from six upwards, in them will have at least a pet. The primary caregivers in 3/4 of these homes are women. Analysis received from interviews with women in the United States and Canadian domestic violence shelters show that about 70 percent have been a witness to abuse towards the animals in the home, from the same abuser that attacked them.
Women will try to endure an abusive home just because of a fear of leaving pets behind. They are afraid that the pets will be killed or harmed in some way, and so they stay in hopes of protecting the animals. It’s likely that if the women leave home, the pets could easily become the next targets.
Making a Difference for Animal Abuse
There are other types of neglect that have a direct connection to poverty and disease. Sometimes people who financially live on the edge can no longer feed their pet when they lose a job, have unexpected medical conditions, go through a divorce, or their housing cost goes up. Other people who get ill, or suffer from debilitation diseases such as full body paralysis, major depression, etc., may have times when they forget to feed and water their animals or when they are physically incapable of getting out of bed and care for their pet. By knowing our neighbors and being willing to help each other, we can assist each other with pet care and may be able to help our neighbors and friends keep an animal they love. This type of neglect can typically be corrected if neighbors, relatives, and friends, are willing to pitch in.
Intentional neglect includes dumping them on the streets or in the country, abandoning an animal, failure to provide water, food, shelter, and medical care when the owner (or guardian) has the resources to do so, excessive or casual animal breeding, keeping animals in cruel conditions.
In some occasions, this type of neglect may be stopped by caring neighbors, so it’s always worth a try. Bring together one or two other neighbors who are also concerned, figure out what you will say to the person beforehand, and then approach the person neglecting their pet. Express your concern rather than judgment.
When the police are called to the scene of domestic violence, they now look for animal abuse also. There is special training going on for law enforcement officials so that they can spot animal abuse. And since every home with domestic violence have a high likelihood of animal abuse; it is imperative to ensure that an eye is kept open. If a police officer discovers an abused pet, a call must be placed to an animal shelter for assistance in removing and caring for the animal.
Temporary Pet Housing
Since a lot of women live in abusive homes for longer than they should be fear of leaving their pets, domestic violence shelters, veterinarians, humane societies, and other organizations are teaming up to ensure that there is safe and adequate shelter for the animals. This would just be temporary housing. By providing a secure and adequate environment for the animals, the women can leave faster, and the animals will not be left behind to be abused.
Protection from Abuse Orders for Pets
A lot of people already know that defense from abuse order prevents the abuser from going near the person or persons that they have harmed. This implies that the home, children, place of work, and vehicles must be avoided or the abuser can be apprehended. But up until lately, there was nothing in place that lawfully kept the abuser from the family pets. Now, most states include pets and other family animals, such as livestock, in their protection from abuse orders.
It is not yet an ideal system and who knows if there will ever be such a thing. For now, the only thing we can do is to make changes in the law when we observe that changes are required. The more steps we take to look after our pets, the better the whole world will be, for both human and animal victims.
A National Registry for Animal Abusers
There’s a registry for sexual offenders, so why not make one for animal abusers? Especially, when you consider that most serious violent criminals set off abusing animals and that it has been proven that people who abuse animals, usually also abuse others.
Most studies show that those people who commit brutal and cruel acts; the most horrible of the worst cases on animals; a lot of them later become child abusers, spouse abusers,” said by Doug Jackson, Tennessee State Sen. “They just have a brutal personality. So keeping them on the registry might provide a few degrees of protection.”
Jackson is supporting and sponsoring a bill that would need the names of persons convicted of felony animal cruelty in Tennessee be kept on an animal abuse registry. He equally sponsored the bill that resulted in the state sex offender registry some years ago.
The intention he has would have the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which retains the sex offender registry; also maintain the animal abuse registry. The abuser’s name would be on the registry for 10 years, and after that, if there were no other related convictions, they could appeal the court to remove their name. The abuser would pay a fine which would balance the cost of maintaining the registry.
Jackson said that the registry could help in running background checks on people, just as is the sexual offense registry. Who would want a person who abuses animals to possibly work with animals or children? He also cites it as a deterrent against animal abuse.
He further stated, “If you want to hire someone to work at a daycare center, you might want to check the animal registry and also the sex offender registry.” “It creates another deterrent to those people who commit these acts. Your trial is public; your conviction records are public also, but they’re covered at the court. If your deed is going to be made public with the click of a mouse, I think that creates another deterrent and it does not take up a jail cell.”
Obviously, this is a nice idea! Whether predators prey on people or animals, they are dangerous, and people should have a way of easily discovering what they can do. This is something that should be introduced on a national basis.
Having the knowledge that animal abuse usually leads to worse and even more violent crimes, people should be able to find out about dangerous criminals; murders, pederasts, sexual offenders, animal abusers. These set of people have been and can still be a danger to others around them. Talking about privacy; why should we be concerned about protecting the privacy of someone who has proven in the past to be a threat to society? Indeed, they lost that privilege when they wantonly deprived another living being of their most sacred rights, whether it be their life or their sanctity. Let us give the victims and potential victims some rights, protection and even a safety line!
Reporting any sort of animal abuse is one of the best things that everyone can do to help stop it. It wouldn’t only help the animal that is being maltreated; it will also help prevent any other animals from being abused by that person. As said earlier, animal abuse has a connection with other violence within the families and within society at large. If you observe any type of animal abuse, it is important not to approach the owner yourself, because they might think that it’s okay for them abuse their pet or that it is the only way for them to learn.
Most of those people hurting animals have physiological problems that only a specialist can help them with. So, if you see an animal being ill-treated, call your local law enforcement or your local humane society to report the event. Doing so will ensure that you and the animal are both protected from future cruelty. It is moreover significant to provide as much information as possible when reporting animal abuse since it will be the beginning of a new investigation.
Conclusion
Preventing animal abuse is the best way to help stop it. You can equally assist the project by doing one of two things, making donations to a company who helps prevent it or educating children while they are young to help stop it. Doing some simple researches online can provide so many charities that focus on it, and they don’t need a large amount to donate, so you have no reason not to donate. Stopping animal abuse will not just prevent animals from getting harmed, but it will as well prevent families from getting hurt since animal cruelty and domestic abuse go hand and hand. Stop animal abuse; they also are living creatures.
