Friday, July 23, 2004 10:47 AM
HURT PETS SIGNAL VIOLENT HOMES
By Stephen Gibbs
A family takes its pet kitten to a veterinary surgeon, who finds it
has broken ribs. The vet doubts the father's explanation that the
injuries were sustained in a fall.
The vet treats the pet and sends it home with the family, harbouring
fears for the kitten's safety. With no obligation to report those
concerns, his suspicions stay with him.
An expert on links between cruelty to animals and violence against
humans says the vet might also have seen evidence of domestic
violence, incest or a budding serial killer.
Professor Frank Ascione, a psychologist at Utah State University,
says that as the law stands in most countries, including Australia,
the horrors of that kitten's human household may never be exposed.
Research increasingly shows it is likely a cruelly treated pet will
live in a home where physical, sexual or psychological harm is
inflicted on humans. Professor Ascione suggests Australia should
follow countries such as New Zealand and Britain, where vets have the
power, and obligation, to report suspected animal abuse.
In Sydney as part of a national lecture tour for Delta Society
Australia, Professor Ascione compares the lack of public awareness of
animal cruelty to that of child sexual abuse 20 or 30 years ago. He
says an abused animal might indicate a husband who is also bashing
his wife, a parent who is also molesting children, or a child who is
the victim of - or witness to - abuse, and consequently attacks the
pet.
The harming of animals by children can be an omen of adult
criminality and provide an opportunity for intervention.
In NSW, a criminal profiler and psychologist, Dr John Clarke,
interviewed 20 serial killers and rapists in jail. All admitted to
torturing and killing animals as children.
In Scotland, before veterinary surgeons were required to report
suspicious injuries to pets, a survey found 48.3 per cent of them had
seen what they believed were non-accidental injuries to animals they
treated.
Professor Ascione's research among Utah prisoners sentenced for
violent and sexual offences found 55 per cent had committed animal
cruelty since childhood.
Professor Ascione will deliver a free public lecture at the Greenway
Building, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, tomorrow at 6pm.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/18/1090089038603.html