Kaplan 1

Shayla Kaplan

Mr. Wood

English IV, P. 1

27 April 2020

Animal Abuse

Watching an animal struggle to survive is one of the most heartbreaking moments to

witness. They are so helpless and grasp onto the hope that a kind human will be generous enough

to help them. My aunt and uncle live in Placerville, California and have about five acres of land.

My mother and I went to visit them in the summer and she had told us that the cats that live on

her property had kittens. It was the most precious thing I had ever seen as we drove up the

driveway, seeing all the little kittens hopping around on the grass. I noticed that one of the

kittens was extremely smaller than the others and when I asked my aunt why, she explained that

the kitten was malnourished and her mother had neglected to take care of her. That night, we had

gone to sleep, and my mother noticed a small “meow” coming from the front of the house. She

went outside only to discover that the kitten that was malnourished had fallen behind two bricks

placed next to the house, and was ice cold. We quickly wrapped her in a blanket and heated her

up. My mother got some kitten milk and began to bottle feed her. Realizing that she is not

capable of surviving on her own, and seeing that her siblings were twice her size, we knew we

had to take her home with us.

And there went my summer. Wanting to get a job, I was extremely disappointed when

my mother told me that I would have to stay home to feed and help the kitten use the litter box.

Nevertheless, from June to August I got to watch her grow up. I had never experienced anything

like this due to the fact that we always adopt kittens that are at least seven weeks old and not
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three like this kitten was. It was humbling and gave me a sense of responsibility knowing that I

would not be able to leave my house and do what I wanted to do during those three months.

Although this kitten had not been abused, she resembled the signs that one would possess like

fear and the need to feel loved. She is almost a year old now, and finds comfort in being held.

The kitten gets extremely sad when she is home alone. It is almost as if she is fearful of being

left like she had been by her mother. Not only do these patterns occur in this small kitten, but

they also occur in animals that have experienced abuse and neglect. I propose the question;: what

are the psychological effects and what normalization of animal abuse has led to the cruelty

towards animals?Reverse the question How has norma……..led to cruelty to animals and what

are ………..

The origin of animal abuse seems to go back to sometime in the 1400s and the 1500s in

Europe. The Europeans seemed to believe that an animal had the ability to commit a crime. Once

the crime had been committed, they were to be tortured in whatever way seemed fit. However,

they soon realized that they were wrong to assume this. “In the seventeenth century, Europeans

began to have compassion for animals. The royals and Puritans denounced the torture of

animals” (Animal Rights). It was not until the 1800s that they realized that animals could indeed

feel pain. They realized that like themselves, any living creature felt pain and betrayal. Today,

people assume that animal abuse includes the beating and harming of an animal in such a way

that they break a bone or begin to bleed. Sadly, it does not end there. Abuse may include

skinning for clothing, beatings, starvation, neglect, breeding, and any other way that an animal

can be put at risk for death. To discover the psychological mind behind this, there seems to be no

such thing as the “animal abuser disorder”. It just so happens that there are quite a few mental

disorders that contain patterns of abuse, but that is not even the main focus of that disorder.
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Nevertheless, doctors have discovered one of the main disorders being the antisocial personality

disorder, or ASPD. This disorder includes the unknown knowledge between right and wrong.

The reasoning for a person with an antisocial personality disorder to abuse an animal is that they

experience no remorse or guilt toward their actions. This disorder originates from both genetics

and one’s environment. Whether a distraction from the real world, a stress reliever, a revenge

seeking hobby, or a sexual drive, animal abuse can come from practically anyone. Another

disorder that may play a factor in this behavior is a conduct disorder or CD. “This is a mental

disorder in children and adolescents characterized by behavioral and emotional problems. These

problems make it difficult for an individual to behave in socially acceptable ways. Actively

beating an animal, such as a household pet, may lead to other forms of abuse directed at human

beings” (Animal Cruelty). Children who inherit this disorder are most likely products of a

mother who smoked a lot of cigarettes while pregnant. Their behaviors include running away

from home and lashing out at people. They may even lash out towards their own pets. This leads

to the different types of abuse that a fearful animal could be experiencing.

Bad childhoods and childhood abuse have had a huge impact as well. Statistics have

proven that there are direct relations towards the abuse of animals leading to the abuse of human

beings. Sadly, some abusive parents have harmed and even killed their own pets to show their

power over their children. The consequences for abusing an animal may be minimal, depending

on if the abuser had been caught and punished. If they have not, this tricks their mind into

believing that abusing an animal is perfectly acceptable and they can get away with anything.

Due to abuse, no matter what level, an animal will never be the same again. This also goes for

humans being abused as well. They may get treated and healed, but they will never be able to

withhold the same trust in anyone as they once did. “In one survey, 71 percent of domestic
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violence victims reported that their abuser also targeted pets”(Animal Cruelty Facts and Stats).

Multiple serial killers had enjoyed abusing animals before they harmed humans because they had

a mental disorder. Jeffrey Dahmer is a serial killer known for murdering seventeen males, along

with harming them in many different ways. “As a child, Dahmer tortured and mutilated frogs,

squirrels and dogs. A history of cruelty to animals is not uncommon among serial killers and

many less publicized criminals. In fact, animal abuse is so common among this type of criminal

that in the US, the FBI's profile of serial killers includes histories of animal abuse” (Diana). No

one seemed to understand why he had done what he did until animal cruelty came into the

conversation. There are three theories as to why Jefferey along with two other serial killers,

Henry Lee Lucas and Leonard Lake had done this. The displaced theory helps them express their

anger and have control over it. The sexually polymorphous theory means that they get sexual

pleasure from hurting animals. Lastly, the sadistic theory gives the explanation of human and

animal violence for pleasure (Helfgott 224). By not seeking help, this could become someone’s

normal life, which is clearly not healthy.

One of the biggest advocates for anti animal abuse is called the “People for the Ethical

Treatment of Animals”, also known as PETA. They are mainly focused on the cosmetic side of

animal abuse, such as animal testing with makeup and hair products (Animal Cruelty). Many

would think that people take anti animal abuse very seriously, which does not seem to be the

case. Many animal cruelty laws have taken years to pass as if it does not seem like a legitimate

crime. “The PACT (Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture) Act was signed into law in 2019

and outlaws some of the worst cruelties against animals such as burning, drowning, crushing,

impaling, suffocating, and sexual exploitation. Such acts against animals were now listed as

federal crimes” (Preventing). This law came into place only a year ago, therefore, the amount of
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people that have gotten away with harming an animal is uncountable. According to Gale’s

“Animal Cruelty” website, other organizations that are in favor of protecting animals are the

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the American Society for the

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), and Society for the Protection of Animals Liable to

Vivisection (SPALV) (Animal Cruelty). Only one of the three organizations listed is an

American organization. America has not been taking this seriously and it took them about thirty

years for all fifty states to provide at least some form of an animal cruelty law. “Only 4 states had

animal abuse laws before 1986. Today, all 50 states have such laws. Yet, many states do not

include livestock in the cruelty laws” (Welsh). Although all fifty states possess cruelty laws, each

state has their own way of handling the consequences. Just by one state creating a specific law, it

could create this wave effect and allow other states to realize the benefits and intelligence behind

it. According to Laws that Protect Animals, in 2017, California developed a statewide “retail pet

sale ban” and just a year later in 2018, Maryland passed its own version of this law (Laws). As

time has passed, more and more states have been providing new ways to improve their laws like

these two have. The faster this gets publicized, the less an animal will be harmed.

Many pet owners rely on shelters being able to take in their pets when they can no longer

care for them for whatever reason. Cathy Myers, a volunteer at The Contra Costa County Animal

Services Department, explained that the majority of animals found in a shelter have been

neglected because they were either too difficult for a family to deal with, or their family simply

could not afford to keep them. Shelters, however, only hold a small portion of control and care

for the animals with the limited space and facilities that they are given. Myers stated that many

shelters do not have the right to visit a person's home during adoptions and may give the pet to

an unworthy owner unknowingly. Animals tend to be misinterpreted by their body language and
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lack of communication. Myers explained that at her shelter, they have recommendations of what

a pet owner's home should look like and what pet would best suit their family, but they do not

have the right to control whether the customer follows these guidelines. Due to this not being a

requirement, many animals wind up back on the streets, neglected once again. The animals that

her shelter receives are about 25% neglected and undersocialized. This means that they had been

found wandering on the streets or left at the shelter. In the United States alone, about 32.4

percent of animal abuse cases are simply negligence (Welsh). Once an animal has been abused,

their personalities may flip on a person and show something that is completely out of their

character. For example, during Myers’s interview, a dog walked by on a leash with two women

and they explained why they were on their way to euthanize him. Myers was shocked, but they

then stated that the dog had attacked two of the woman's dogs, and one died. None of them could

figure out why the dog had done that. Something could have happened to him when he was

younger and he just lashed out all of a sudden. This dog has been in the animal foster system and

was just a foster dog. He could have been feeling neglected or felt forgotten about and needed to

seek attention. The question is quite confusing, for how could a sweet and innocent looking dog

like that, maul two other precious looking dogs in minutes?

Myers had been asked whether previously abused animals get adopted more, less, or

about the same. She, at first, thought that non abused animals get adopted more, but then

shockingly confirmed that it is actually a little bit of both. Between the sob stories and people

wanting to help them, many adopt the abused animals. Then again, these animals are extremely

timid and do not work well with most families, therefore, animals that had an easier upbringing

are also adopted quite often. Patrick McHugh, a neighbor of mine, adopted a dog about nine

years ago who had been abused before then. He stated that the vet told him the dog was about
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three years old, considering she already had babies. “Because of her trauma” he stated, “we give

her special treatment like not yelling at her as much when she gets in trouble, and taking her on a

walk every night”. This is sad because he often sees the fear in her eyes when coming in contact

with a stranger, and knows that for the most part, there is nothing he can do to help her. She has

been traumatically scarred before she was even three years old. Just like humans, many animals

who have been involved in the war develop what is called PTSD. They have similar symptoms

like humans, for example, eating less and isolating themselves from reality. “According to

Kumar (2017), the U.S. military has seen this reaction to stress in its working dogs. About 5

percent of the dogs that have served in Afghanistan and Iraq suffer from “canine PTSD,” making

some dogs aggressive, timid, or unable to do their jobs” (Ahlittle). Although this is not direct

abuse, this still contributes to humans using animals for their own benefit. Most of the time, they

bring dogs into the war zone to smell if there are any bombs around. Once grown and may no

longer be able to work in war zones, they often live with war veterans for the rest of their lives.

By living together, they give each other emotional support, having gone through the same

experience.

Due to the new knowledge that I have received, it is clear to me that humans use animals,

for the most part, for their own benefit. Depending on which category of animal cruelty, it can be

concluded that most of them occur from psychological disorders in the brain.IS this the humans

you are talking about? Along with many more reasons as to why animals are abused every day, a

little goes a long way. Many consider a small way to help is to become a vegetarian, which is a

person who does not eat meat. Another way which is quite similar to the one before is becoming

vegan, which means not consuming any animal products. This is because of the conditions that

most animals go through before they get slaughtered for their meat. If and only if you are
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financially stable and have a home that is animal proof, adopting a pet could save a life. Shelters

do as much as they can to make sure that they are taking care of these rescued animals and

potentially giving them a home that they deserve. However, sometimes shelters will get over

crowded and may have to euthanize them.

Animals have not been given a fair chance, as their rights have only been given recently, I

realized that all an animal can do is rely on the kindness of a human being. Some animals start

out with trusting a person and expect that we will be giving them the same in return. Sadly, even

if a person has brutally abused and neglected an animal, they may still run back to their owner.

This has occurred mostly in dogs. If there is a child that you know that has either a conduct

disorder or an antisocial personality disorder, keep an eye out on how they treat animals. If they

seem to even shove them around, telling their parents or talking to them about it could prevent

another incident.

To help, anyone can donate to the following organizations: PETA, PACT, SPCA,

RSPCA, etc. One way to make an animal’s day, is to go to a local shelter and ask them if they

will let you take out a dog for a day. The shelter that Myers works at allows for dogs to go on

playdates and sleepovers for some extra love. I intend to do this very soon. They hope that this

brings a message and shows the great love that they and everyone else should have for their pets.

Lastly, if there seems to be an animal that does not look like they are in a safe environment, it

should be reported. An animal could be being abused on the other side of your fence and if it is

not reported, today could be their last. Another generous favor anyone can do to save a life is

either foster or just rescue in general like my family did with the kitten. One act of kindness

towards an animal can leave a huge impact on not only their life, but yours too. I would bring

your kitten bakc in at the end.

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Work Cited

Books:

Diana Lambdin Meyer. "Animal abusers more likely to abuse people." Herizons, vol. 10, no. 4,

Fall 1996, p. 9. Gale In Context: High School,

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https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A30214996/SUIC?u=wal55317&sid=SUIC&xid=7453768

9. Accessed 27 Feb. 2020.

Helfgott, Jacqueline B. Criminal Behavior: Theories, Typologies, and Criminal Justice. SAGE,

2008, pp. 224.

Electronic Sources:

Ahlittle. “Post-Traumatic Stress in Animals.” Post-Traumatic Stress in Animals | Danielle

Rousseau, 1 Feb. 1969,

sites.bu.edu/daniellerousseau/2019/04/30/post-traumatic-stress-in-animals/.

"Animal Cruelty." Gale In Context Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Gale In Context: High School,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/JADWBH344738173/SUIC?u=wal55317&sid=SUIC&xid

=67a1d8d7. Accessed 27 Feb. 2020.

“Animal Cruelty Facts and Stats.” The Humane Society of the United States,

www.humanesociety.org/resources/animal-cruelty-facts-and-stats.

"Animal Rights." Gale In Context Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Gale In Context: High School,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/LLMWBQ166974929/SUIC?u=wal55317&sid=SUIC&x

d=7dbe8138. Accessed 16 Mar. 2020.

“Laws That Protect Animals.” Animal Legal Defense Fund,

aldf.org/article/laws-that-protect-animals/.

"Preventing Animal Cruelty." Gale In Context Online Collection, Gale, 2020. Gale In Context:

High School,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/JBSYZP420533744/SUIC?u=wal55317&sid=SUIC&xid=

0c13ff84. Accessed 16 Mar. 2020.

Welsh, Cheryl. “Animal Abuse Statistics Show Improvement But There's Still A Long Road
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Ahead.” Fabiosa,

fabiosa.com/ctani-rsyhv-auyhv-pbolk-phavn-animal-abuse-statistics-show-improvement-

but-there-s-still-a-long-road-ahead/.

Primary Sources:

McHugh, Patrick. Personal Interview. 24 February 2020.

Myers, Catherine. Personal Interview. 29 February 2020.