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Abuse of animals may lead to murder By Jason Dowling People who abuse animals are more likely to commit domestic violence and child abuse, a conference in Canberra will hear this week. Veterinarians and politicians at the Australian Veterinary Association's annual conference will call for the mandatory reporting of violence against animals and the establishment of a government-backed authority to receive and act on the reports. "There has now been established a pretty clear link that people who abuse animals often - not always - have a history of going on to child abuse or domestic violence," Kersti Seksel, a veterinarian specialist in animal behaviour, will tell the conference. Dr Seksel said research into violent offenders demonstrated that many had a history of "not only abusing animals, but of torturing them and killing them when they were younger". She said mass murderers Jeffrey Dahmer, Son of Sam and Martin Bryant all had a history of violence against animals early in life. Long-time animal rights campaigner and Democrats leader Andrew Bartlett, who will also present a paper on the subject at the conference, said the abuse of animals was a warning sign of a wider pattern of violence. "There is a clear link between cruelty and abuse of animals and abuse and violence towards humans - we should be acknowledging that more clearly," Senator Bartlett said. He is proposing legislation and the establishment of a new body to deal with the issue. He said he would act quickly in pursuing new legislation once the Veterinary Association and family violence specialists had developed the necessary framework. Dr Seksel said action by Parliament was appropriate and the veterinary community should embrace its wider responsibility. "As veterinarians it is very important for us to recognise that if an animal has been abused - physically, sexually or emotionally - that we might want to take it into consideration that there might be problems within the whole family." also see Animal Cruelty and Human Violence |
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