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Protecting Animal Rights: A Quiet Revolution

2 years ago

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The querulous political scene seems to have blocked progress on many social issues, but there's a quiet social revolution underway that no amount of partisan bickering appears able to stop: the movement toward more compassionate treatment of animals and the increasingly serious punishment of animal abusers.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, every state in the nation has enacted some sort of anti-cruelty law to protect animals from abuse. Misdemeanor laws have been commonplace for decades, but here's where the revolution starts to roll. As of last month, 46 states had approved felony-level penalties for certain acts of animal cruelty, and 31 of those states upped the animal cruelty ante from misdemeanor- to felony-level charges during the last 10 years.

It would be lovely if this revolution toward compassion protected animals as much as the felony laws protect people -- in the long run -- but it does not. Ah, the conceit of man. In the guise of aiding animals we pass laws benefiting humans more than the creatures they were designed to help.

Here's why. The movement toward felony penalties for animal abuse only began after law enforcement officials noticed a pattern. Many mass murderers, it was discovered, began practicing on animals while they were children, then moved on to human prey as adults. The list is lengthy. Here's a small part:

* Mass-murderer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer killed neighbors' pets and impaled a dog's head on a stick.

* Patrick Sherrill, who murdered 14 co-workers and then killed himself, stole pets, then tied them up and allowed his own dog to mutilate them.

* David Berkowitz, the so-called "Son of Sam," shot his neighbor's Labrador retriever.

* Albert DeSalvo, the "Boston Strangler," shot arrows into boxes of trapped cats and dogs.

This information was compiled and researched by Eleanor Shelburne of the Portland Veterinary Medical Association's animal welfare committee. Dr. Shelburne's research also reveals that as many as 75 percent of violent offenders in prison have earlier records of animal cruelty. And she cites a 1983 study of New Jersey families involved with child abuse; in 88 percent of the cases at least one member of the household had physically abused animals.

A paper presented to the American Sociological Association in 2007 revealed strong correlations between the openings of slaughterhouses in rural areas and drastic hikes in the violent crime rates in those communities.

So the nexus seems clear: Children who exhibit excessive cruelty toward animals have severe mental health issues and are at risk of imposing that irrational anger on people when they come of age. Similarly, otherwise non-violent adults can become violent towards other people when forced to participate (for need of an income) in the daily killing, mangling, and maiming of living creatures.

Why, then, is this quiet revolution more for the benefit of man than of animal? There are several reasons. As the Humane Society points out, many of those felony-level penalties for animal abuse stem from a hodgepodge of laws, only some of which are effective in terms of animal protection. Some, for example, "restrict felony-level penalties to crimes against zoo or companion animals."

Instead, animal abuse laws should apply to all animals, should apply to first-time offenders, require large fines and lengthy prison terms -- with no exceptions. They should also bar abusers from owning animals ever again. Needless to say, few of these laws are that tough.

Despite America's progress toward compassion, we still have a long way to go. One beacon of hope emanates from the rising number of young vegetarians, and young Americans' attitudes toward animals.

That said, society, for the most part, continues to view animals as income-producing vehicles. Over-breeding of cats, dogs, horses, and other domestic animals is rampant. This is without regard to the market's ability to absorb and care for these animals, especially in old age. And breeders rarely screen purchasers to see if they have the financial means to care for the animals they buy.

Over-breeding in the horse industry is epidemic. I commend to you this New York Times video about the sad end met by most retired thoroughbred race horses. It's much worse for many other horse breeds. And we all know about the millions of dogs and cats that are "euthanized" in kill shelters each year.

A truly compassionate society would limit breeding to the number of animals that can be sold to responsible owners each year. Laws governing this would crack down severely on abusers. Are we closer to that goal than we were two decades ago? Yes. Are we to the point where we recognize animals as the individuals they are with the right to live free of cruelty? Not by a long shot.

Filed Under: Woman Up

Tagged: animal rights, AnimalRights

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