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Pet cruelty a pointer to domestic violence

Sep 03, 2015
The first frame of William Hogarth's "Four Stages of Cruelty" depicts cruelty to animals. Image: Mary Evans Picture Library

The first frame of William Hogarth's "Four Stages of Cruelty" depicts cruelty to animals. Image: Mary Evans Picture Library

Cruelty to our four legged and feathered friends is a common act among those who are also committing domestic violence, writes Malcolm King.

According to the Journal of Emotional Abuse, 70 per cent of women who flee violent homes also report pet abuse.

Human and canine fate is intertwined. Research shows that dogs were the ‘technology’ that allowed humans to prosper in prehistoric hunts. Now lashing out at man’s best friend is often a sign that things are going very wrong behind closed doors.

In the 2014/15 financial year, the RSPCA in SA received 4,953 reports of animal cruelty – a 28.2 per cent leap on the year before. Over the same period, the SA Police and the courts issued 3,900 intervention orders relating to domestic abuse. That’s a 60 per cent rise on the year before. Of these cases, 2,200 involved aggravated assault against a child or spouse.

While SAPOL is playing a more active part in recognising and acting on domestic violence, it does not report on the interconnectivity between animal cruelty reports and domestic violence, stating that animal cruelty is a matter for the RSPCA.

Dr Lydia Tong from Sydney University’s Faculty of Veterinary Science, has compared cases of abused dogs and identified common features so that vets can distinguish accidents from abuse.

“US studies tell us that domestic violence perpetrators who also abuse pets are more dangerous — they have increased rates of physical and sexual violence and stalking, and are more likely to kill their partner,” Dr Tong said.

“We need to know more about the relationship between animal and human abuse in Australia so that we can recognise abuse earlier, save lives, and provide appropriate services for victims and their pets.”

Port Arthur massacre gunman Martin Bryant was referred to mental health officials at the ages of seven and 11 for torturing and harassing animals. As a boy, US mass murder Jeffrey Dahmer impaled the heads of cats and dogs on sticks. Mass murder Ted Bundy, told of watching his grandfather torture animals. Ivan Milat tortured animals before the Belanglo State Forest backpacker murders.

Many women seeking temporary ‘safe haven’ shelters report that their partners had threatened, hurt, or killed their animals. Many abuse victims don’t go to a shelter because they fear for the safety of the pets.

Australian of the Year Rosemary Batty’s 11-year-old son, Luke, was killed last year by her estranged partner, Greg Anderson. Anderson had a history of mental illness and was the subject of an apprehended violence order.

Batty’s submission to the Senate inquiry into domestic violence in Australia, said that violence against women and girls was endemic.

“One in three women have experienced family or intimate violence. One in five women and girls have experienced sexual assault and one woman is killed by her partner nationally per week.”

It’s also becoming clear that cruelty to animals is part of this picture.

The RSPCA (Vic) told the Royal Commission into Family Violence that perpetrators of family violence, “use overt threats and actual harm to animals as a mechanism to attain and maintain control of their family. In many cases, animals are abused as a method of controlling partners while in the home.”

There’s little doubt that rising unemployment and hard economic times are contributing factors to both domestic violence and animal cruelty. The RSPCA’s South Australian CEO, Tim Vasudeva, has said that financial hardship was one of the reasons animals come into its care.

“The reality is pets are a big commitment, with food, grooming, training, bedding and vet check-ups are bare minimum of costs involved… Some animals are surrendered by owners who simply can’t afford to care for their pet, or when a serious medical emergency arises, can’t afford the treatment.”

Not every person in struggle town lashes out at their partner or abuses the family pet. Improved community awareness campaigns have also contributed to the rise in animal cruelty reports in SA and police now have the power to issue Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs) as well as the courts.

Even so, animal neglect or cruelty has long been recognised as a signature pathology of the most serious violent offenders.

In a famous series of 1751 engravings, “The Four Stages of Cruelty,” William Hogarth traced the life path of the fictional Tom Nero. Stage 1 depicts Tom as a boy, torturing a dog. Stage 4 shows Tom’s body, fresh from the gallows where he was hanged for murder, being dissected in an anatomical theater. Violence begets violence.

Sadly, victims of domestic violence can remain in dangerous or dysfunctional relationships to protect their pets. Many women seeking temporary ‘safe haven’ shelters report that their partners had threatened, hurt, or killed their animals. Many abuse victims don’t go to a shelter because they fear for the safety of the pets.

The Lort Smith Animal Hospital in North Melbourne offers emergency board to the pets of women fleeing abusive partners. In Victoria, half the cases of domestic violence where women leave a violent partner, the pets that are left behind are either killed or tortured.

In 2012 the definition of domestic violence was expanded in family law to include emotional manipulation, withholding money and harming the family pet.

As Lydia Tong points out, it’s time to examine more closely the terrible link between cruelty to animals, and abuse of humans.

Malcolm King works in generational change. He is an Adelaide writer.

 

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