Animal Cruelty and Human Violence

Animal cruelty includes an assortment of different behaviors harmful to animals, from neglect to more serious malicious action, and even various forms of brutal killing. Studies indicate that animal cruelty may also be followed by more serious forms of crime, such as drug use, inappropriate violent outbursts, and even in some cases homicide. Many studies in psychology, sociology, and criminology have addressed the issues involving animal cruelty and human violence and have demonstrated that violent offenders frequently have childhood and adolescent histories of serious and repeated incidents of animal cruelty (Henderson, Hensley and Tallichet). Violence directed at animals by young people is a sign that something is erroneous in their behavioral patterns, and often acts as a predictor of future violence, even homicides against other humans.

One way to prevent such occurrences is through regulation and enforcement. Since the early 1960s, Congress has enacted over...
[ View Full Essay]