photo: benjamin site
This would be historic. The Animal Legal Defense Fund has launched a grassroots campaign to try to create an Animal Abuser Registry in the United States. Very similar to a Child Abuser Registry, offenders would have to register as soon as they moved into a neighborhood, alerting communities as to their whereabouts. And these offenders do heinous crimes against animals-like putting kittens in a hot oven, beating a puppy to death with a rock, cutting the paws off of cats until they bleed to death, and chasing down horses and savagely killing them. People capable of extreme violence, and no compassion. I would want to know if someone like that was living next door to me.
And there are some frightening statistics when it comes to serial killers. Many have had a history of first torturing and abusing animals before they murdered people. For example, Jeffrey Dahmer used to impale the heads of dogs, cats, and frogs on sticks. Albert de Salvo (The Boston Strangler), Ted Bundy, Dylan Klebold & Eric Harris (The Columbine High School Shooters) and Dennis Rader (The BTK Killer) all had histories of abusing animals before torturing and killing humans. In fact, according to the Humane Society, in a 2003 study of 354 serial killers, 21% were known to have committed animal cruelty, but the number is thought to be higher with unreported incidents. Also, the Humane Society points out a Massachusetts study that found out of 153 convicted animal abusers, 70% were charged with other crimes that included: 38% were charged with violent crimes, 44% were charged with property crimes, 37% were charged with drug offenses, 37% were charged with disorderly offenses.
Click here to read about and sign the petition for lawmakers to enact the legislation that would create The Animal Abuser Registry.
Click here to urge your local lawmakers to sign the petition.
