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Animal Cruelty Study Links Level of Animal Care
to Domestic ViolenceA research study by William Fielding & Susan Plumridge RIP
26 November 2008
The Research Edge Forum for November was a presentation by William Fielding, Director of Planning, on the results of a piece of descriptive research he and the late Susan Plumridge, former Assistant Professor in the School of Social Sciences, carried out earlier in 2008. The study investigated the links between the levels of pet care and domestic violence.
Mr Fielding began by setting the study in its context and by reminding his audience that we are all animals and we share the planet with the non-human kinds. He went on to give a thorough historical review of the link between animal care and domestic violence, beginning with animal rights activist William Hogarth's 1751 engravings, "Four Stages of Cruelty", that trace the "graduation" of Tom Nero from dog beater to murderer of his child's mother, and moving through the nineteenth century to the founding of the Bahamas Humane Society in 1890 and correspondence in local newspapers at the time wondering why "we need to worry about animals - we should be taking care of people." He also drew his audience's attention to a number of other studies that have drawn a clear connection between violence to animals and violence to humans and the finding that violent criminals are very likely to have abused animals when they themselves were children.
He then moved onto the main section of his presentation, explaining that a self-completing questionnaire was administered to over 600 college students of which about 270 lived in homes with pets. Through their responses it became clear that not only was the link clearly seen between intentional harm to pets and domestic violence, but associations between intentional harm to pets and other anti-social behaviours in the household were also noted.
Fielding believes that the study shows that violence towards pets as a disciplinary measure is common and that hitting pets is not seen as inconsistent with the view that pets are well cared for. This suggests that a certain level of violence is accepted and acceptable in the same way that hitting a child as discipline and so as not to spoil him or her is acceptable.
Clearly this study raises a number of issues which will need further research, contends Fielding. Poor care is associated with undesirable activities within the household and this should lead to the flagging of households at risk. The study suggests that animal welfare workers/law enforcement officers need to also monitor households with poor animal care, as opposed to only those where animal abuse/cruelty is present, because there is a clear risk to people in them.
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