What Is a Good Age to Start Killing Animals?

What threats do people who abuse animals pose to society?

Three pups, eight ‘kids’ and one big bonfire... that’s was what it took to roast those crying pups alive.  Someone also had the audacity to shoot this video, very proudly. A few weeks back there was a case of two young, (though not juvenile) medical students throwing a dog from the terrace for fun. They left trails of evidence in their video. Thank God for social media and the perpetrator’s chest-thumping “pride”, animal activists had enough material to trace them.

There are millions of others who kill dogs, run over animals for fun, stab pigs and feel happy, cut tails and torture animals and enjoy it. The stories of the kids whipping pups in our building, stories of puppies dying, stories of the building lady dropping kittens from the terrace – all of it doesn’t make it to the news, but for advocates of animal welfare it is a familiar story.

What does science say about people who abuse animals? Do we have case studies of people who abuse animals? How is their interaction their own species - homosapiens?

Well, thanks to the poor “victim” of Bollywood fame, we have an “alleged” animal abuser. Though, the other damsels and rascals, who accompanied him to the hunting trail, need to be re-questioned too, I have no problem that this thing is questioned more.  Let’s look at “its” life more closely. A few thousand moons ago, he allegedly hit his female partner, then allegedly ran his car over pavement dwellers, then allegedly got embroiled in some ‘silly’ controversy for killing wildlife.

The court acquitted him, hence I am forced to use the word “allegedly”, to add political and legal correctness. (I can already hear his fans saying, “this is some ploy by the world to target this charitable gem of a boy”)

Coming back to all the recent attacks on animals, I decided to see what the threats are that people who abuse animals could pose.

Can Animal Abusers Turn Human Abusers?

Yes, there has been considerable amount of research done. According to a research by Allie Phillips, an attorney licensed in Michigan and Maryland :

Animal abuse presents a risk of child abuse.
Animal violence may predict future violence.
Animal abuse is used to threaten human victims.
Animal abuse is used to prevent families from leaving the abusive home.
The co-occurrence of multiple forms of violence increases future violence.

I quote from her research “When an intimate partner is being battered, the pet may be targeted to maintain silence and compliance from the human victim.” She also mentions “Children who grow up exposed to chronic violence may develop beliefs that harming an animal, bullying, misbehaving and other criminal activity is the norm. It is not.”

I would recommend that you read the entire article Understanding the Link between Violence to Animals and People: A Guidebook for Criminal Justice Professionals and not just extracts. If you think these are about animal advocates who are trying their cause, Gail F Melson, Professor Emerita in the Department of Human Development & Family Studies, Purdue University in her article in Psychology Today, titled “Do Mass Killers Start Out by Harming Pets?” says:

Troubled children are much more likely to mistreat animals. While less than 5% of US children are estimated to have intentionally hurt an animal, for children at mental health clinics, animal cruelty rates range from 10 to 25%.

Professor Gail F Melson

As you can see the problem is severe. The issue is more intense when the person who abuses animals has a stethoscope around his neck or is a child who has missed is school lecture to play with fire and pups or for that matter is a jumbo movie star with a massive fan following. Fans who are so obsessed with him and look beyond everything.

Such abusers, need our love and supervision.  I believe, punishment, if any, ideally, should be reformatory.  But we all know how the poor are oppressed and the rich get away – by donating money to charity and their self-funded PR machinery.

I also wanted to share something deeply personal about the company such “alleged” killers keep, I have always stood by my host-dost Aamir Khan and know that every social activity he is involved in is heartfelt, and not a publicity stunt, in the same vein, I should also be brutally honest when I say that I am ashamed of Aamir’s silence here. Like Edmund Burke says “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

And yes, while the world is figuring out, whether the car has a mind of its own to drive over pavement dwellers or whether the endangered animals committed suicide and Salman was just “being human” and was out there to stop the chinkaras from committing suicide, we have a bigger question to answer – do we want these animal abusers to turn into human abusers to finally realise how grave the situation is?

(Harish Iyer is an equal rights activist working for the rights of the LGBT community, women, children and animals. ‘Rainbow Man’ is Harish’s regular blog for The Quint)