Children and animals: Joined by wonder, connected in pain

We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we will never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth. —Henry Beston, The Outermost House As you reflect on Beston’s (1928/1992, pp. 24–25) reverent view of animals and the close connection between their spirits and our own, contrast his words with the following headlines culled from daily newspapers and magazines: • “To kill a sweet, furry beast. Who is killing bunnies all over Japan?” (Newsweek, September 22, 1997) 2 •

 “Authorities seek boys who tortured, killed cat.” (San Diego UnionTribune, November 6, 1995) • “Teens charged with torturing and killing dogs, pups.” (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, March 19, 1999) • “Boy sentenced for disfiguring dog. A 13-year-old boy convicted of cutting the eyes out of a dog . . .” (Herald Journal, January 4, 2001) • “Police investigating animal cruelty allegation. A teenage boy has been accused of torturing his puppy before drowning the animal and burying it next to his driveway.” (Ogden Standard-Examiner, July 23, 1996) • “Nevada spree leaves six animals dead. Four wild horses and two wild burros have been shot to death . . .” (Salt Lake Tribune, January 7, 2000) • “Man arrested after dog tossed off cliff.” (Newport, Oregon, Register-Guardian, August 17, 1997) • “Teen accused of pet torture. Novato suspect described as ‘budding young sociopath.’ ” (Marin Independent Journal, November 29, 1995) • “Boy, 13, laughs at law after dog kill.” (Boston Herald, June 3, 1994) This terrible litany only highlights a few of the cases where humans’ relationships with animals have been distorted and become examples of malevolence and cruelty. The perpetrators of such inhumane treatment are often children and adolescents but adults sometimes join their ranks. How common are these incidents? What motivates human maltreatment of animals, often animals we call pets or companions and whom we consider to be family members? Are there cultural, societal, neighborhood, and family contexts that contribute to cruelty to animals? How early in a child’s life does cruelty to animals emerge? Is it always a sign of future interpersonal violence? Are there ways of preventing such cruelty? Can we intervene effectively with children who already have a history of abuse and violence? Children and Animals: Exploring the Roots of Kindness and Cruelty is an offspring of my longstanding desire to bring to the layperson our current scientific and professional wisdom about the relation between the maltreatment of animals and interpersonal violence directed toward other human beings. It was written for parents, teachers, counselors, clergy, animal welfare professionals, foster parents, mental health professionals, youth workers, law enforcement professionals, and any one else whose work or interest crosses into the lives of children and adolescents. Although animal abuse has been an acknowledged problem for centuries, it is only within the past few decades that scientific research has provided evidence that the maltreatment of animals often overlaps with violence toward people. Interpersonal violence is manifest in many—too many—forms. The ways that our young people are affected

 Children and Animals 

 by bullying or assaults in a schoolyard, child abuse in homes, violence between adult intimate partners, community violence in our streets and neighborhoods, and even the context of war are now the subject of concerted research efforts. And very often, the association of these forms of violence with cruelty to animals has been found. Given the considerable research that now exists on this topic, I judged that it was important to present our current knowledge and understanding of the phenomenon to adults whose lives touch those of children and adolescents. Nearly all of the research is published in scientific journals and periodicals that laypersons are unlikely to access on a routine basis. Yet the questions this research addresses are of considerable importance to each of us as citizens, care givers, and community members. “Cruelty to animals” is such an ambiguous term. What do you mean by that? Isn’t animal abuse just a phase that all kids, especially boys, go through in early childhood? Cruelty to animals is mainly a problem for preschoolers, isn’t it? Does animal abuse in early childhood always lead to violence against people at later stages of development? We have such a significant problem with child abuse in our society, doesn’t paying attention to animal abuse divert our attention from “real” problems? Isn’t animal abuse already considered a serious crime, one we can track in national records of criminal activity? There are more shelters for animals in our country than shelters for women who are battered. Doesn’t focusing on animal abuse distract us from dealing with the challenges of serious family violence? Cruelty to animals is only an issue for those radical animal rights people. Isn’t cruelty to people where we need to concentrate our resources? Aren’t psychologists and psychiatrists already trained to address animal abuse with clients who show this problem? Cruelty to animals is mainly an issue for animal lovers and veterinarians. Don’t vets have to report animal abuse to the police? A child who abuses an animal just hasn’t received the right education and training. There aren’t any other reasons underlying animal abuse, are there? I wish I could tell you, the reader, that decades of research in developmental psychology and family science have yielded definitive answers to questions like these