Animal Abuse as a Type of Trauma: Lessons for Human and Animal Service Professionals

Factors regarding the dog owner's household situation, antisocial behaviours, animal views and animal treatment in a population of dogs confiscated after biting humans and/ or other animals

To examine the dog ownership factors characteristic to a population of dogs confiscated after a human and/ or animal-directed biting incident, we compared bite risk assessment reports of 159 confiscated dogs in the time frame 2008, 2009, 2010 (tf1) and of 215 confiscated dogs in the time frame 2020, 2021, 2022 (until mid-May; tf2). The reports were compiled by the same institute in a standardized format. We studied frequencies and chi-square pairwise comparisons (P<0.05) for 30 identified ownership factors. Overall (tf1 and tf2), 1,308 ownership factors were mentioned in the reports and reports mentioning ≥5 factors were twice as frequent in tf2 (38%) than tf1 (16%). Our data suggest that nine factors may in particular serve as a warning signal for biting incidents, as these factors were most frequently (≥15%) prevalent in the total of reported cases: having a multiple dog household, a dog reportedly roaming a neighbourhood without an owner, a dog's care tasks being transferred, a short leash and muzzle obligation served to the owner for a dog, an isolated and/ or confined keeping of a dog, a dog owner's (suspected) substance abuse, a dog owner's (suspected) animal abuse, a dog owner aggressing at confiscation of the dog and a dog owner being reported on for antisocial behaviours such as intimidation. Particularly, a dog owner's aggressive or antisocial behaviours and previous obligations to muzzle and short leash a dog (in our dataset often inappropriately adhered to by owners), may indicate that a proportion of owners of confiscated dogs, may not always be willing and/ or capable to guarantee societal safety. The results show that identification of dog ownership factors, might be useful for establishing biting incident policies and further studies should be done on preventive measures and controls.

Childhood Experiences of Companion Animal Abuse and its Co-Occurrence with Domestic Abuse: Evidence from a National Youth Survey in Norway

It is increasingly acknowledged that companion animal abuse often occurs in the same contexts as other types of abuse, particularly domestic abuse. However, the co-occurrence and strengths of these associations in the general population have not been well established in research. With data from a large representative sample of Norwegian adolescents, we aimed to determine 1) the extent to which Norwegian children are exposed to companion animal abuse in the family, 2) whether and how companion animal abuse is linked to other forms of domestic abuse that children experience, and 3) background factors associated with companion animal abuse. A total of 9240 adolescents aged 12-16 years (M_age 14.7) participated in the digital school-based survey. Four percent (n = 380) reported that they had ever witnessed a parent being violent towards a family companion animal, whereas 1% (n = 125) had experienced that an adult in the household had threatened to harm a companion animal. There was a substantial overlap between companion animal abuse and child abuse, and it most frequently co-occurred with psychological abuse and less severe forms of physical child abuse. This resonates with conceptualizations of domestic abuse as an ongoing pattern of psychological abuse and coercive control. The risk factors identified for companion animal abuse in this representative sample of adolescents were similar to known risk factors for domestic abuse. Low socioeconomic status and parents' substance abuse, parents' psychiatric illness, and parents' history of incarceration entailed a greater risk of experiencing companion animal abuse. We conclude that companion animal abuse co-occurs with other forms of domestic abuse and that it may be considered a part of the repertoire of domestic abuse that impacts children.

Pilot Study of Attitudes of Taiwanese Veterinarians and Undergraduate Veterinary Students toward Animal Abuse and Interpersonal Violence

There is a strong association between animal abuse and interpersonal violence; therefore, veterinarians may encounter both. Dealing with animal abuse cases is beneficial for advancing animal welfare and the overall public health. Veterinarians play an important role in identifying and responding to this relationship. This study estimated the incidence of animal abuse encountered by veterinarians, examined veterinarians' awareness of the relationship between animal abuse and human abuse, examined veterinarians' attitudes towards how they deal with abuse cases, and related demographic characteristics to their attitudes of intervention and the frequency of encountering abuse cases. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was designed and distributed through social media. Our results show that respondents' motivation to interfere for animal abuse cases was positively related to their moral or legal responsibility, willingness to assist, and agreement of mandatory reporting. Our results indicated that respondents who believed they had been provided with adequate training were more willing to deal with animal abuse, more capable of distinguishing abuse cases, and did not believe that dealing with abuse cases was beyond their ability. However, more than 60% of our respondents self-evaluated that the animal cruelty awareness training courses were insufficient. Hence, in addition to the traditional role of veterinarians, identifying and responding to animal cruelty should be enhanced through education.

Animal Abuse as an Indicator of Domestic Violence: One Health, One Welfare Approach

For years now, the importance of animal cruelty has been gaining recognition in the industrialized cities of the West. Animal cruelty encompasses any act that causes a non-human animal unnecessary pain or suffering, including negligence, abandonment, abuse, torture, bestiality, and even theriocide. This represents a red flag for society as a whole because people who commit such acts can escalate violence and direct it to other individuals. Animal cruelty and interpersonal violence—as well as other socially undesirable conduct such as bullying, antisocial personality disorder, rape, and serial murder—are closely related, so timely diagnoses of either one can help prevent acts of aggression. It is necessary, therefore, to analyze and try to understand whether there are early indicators that may help identify potentially violent individuals. It is well known that kids from homes with actual violence in their homes show a high tendency to reproduce such behaviors with both animals and other people. In conclusion, much research and rethinking of the importance of the veterinarian in detecting animal abuse and cruelty is needed to help detect and prevent cases of interpersonal violence that may arise over time.

The Intertwined Well-Being of Children and Non-Human Animals: An Analysis of Animal Control Reports Involving Children

The well-being of children and non-human animals (subsequently referred to as animals) is often intertwined. Communities are unlikely to be able to best protect humans from abuse and harm unless they are working to ensure the safety of animals who reside there as well. This study is the first to utilize U.S. animal control report data and narratives to explore how children are involved in cases of animal cruelty. Children engage in abusive acts toward animals, alone, or along with peers and/or adults. Children were found to inflict abuse most often with their hands or feet as opposed to with a weapon or other object. A total of 85% of animal cruelty perpetrated by children was toward a dog or cat. Key differences between how children are involved in acts of cruelty to companion animals compared with acts involving wild animals are described and warrant further study. The cases of animal abuse or neglect reported by children were among the most severe in the study, and often involved an adult perpetrator known to the child. Neighbors rarely report child abuse or intimate partner violence in the United States, but 89% of the animal cruelty cases involving children in this study were reported by a neighbor or passerby. Although children involved in reports as a perpetrator or reporter were most often in early adolescence, children involved in cross-reports between child welfare and animal control were often under the age of 5. Improved cross-reporting and stronger partnerships between human and animal welfare agencies may provide opportunity for earlier intervention and is likely to better many human and animal lives.

Just Love Me, Feed Me, Never Leave Me: Understanding Pet Food Anxiety, Feeding and Shopping Behavior of US Pet Owners in Covidian Times

The study provides insights for pet food retailers, vets and managers and volunteers at animal shelters, pet food pantries and food banks into the behavioral changes in feeding and pet food buying resulting from pet food anxiety in Covidian times. This study proposes a model that investigates the impact of pet owner's perceptions of their pet, their engagement with their pet, sociodemographic factors and the frequency of incidences where pet owners could not provide sufficient food for their pet. For this purpose, an online survey with a sample of 206 US residents was conducted. Partial least squares structural equation modelling shows that perceiving the pet as an animal or family/friend, as well as active engagement with the pet, heightens a sense of pet food anxiety. Similarly, past experiences where pet owners could not provide sufficient food for their pet impacts pet food anxiety, which leads to changes in pet food shopping and pet feeding behavior. Sociodemographic factors (biological sex, age, income and education) were not found to impact anxiety.

Using the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to Study Animal Cruelty: Preliminary Results (2016–2019)

On 1 January 2016, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began collecting data on crimes involving animal cruelty from law enforcement agencies that participate in the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) in the United States (U.S.). Prior to 2016, such crimes either went unreported or were lumped into an “all other offenses” category, making it difficult to understand who was committing these crimes and whether there were any connections between crimes perpetrated against animals and crimes in which there was a human victim. Animal cruelty has cruelty has been linked to certain types of human violence and, therefore, it is important for authorities to know more about the people committing these crimes. Preliminary results from an analysis of the first four years (2016–2019) of data are presented. The age and gender of animal cruelty offenders, the time of day when most crimes occur, and the most common locations where offenses take place are presented. The type of animal cruelty involved and details of the other crimes that co-occur with animal cruelty are discussed. The limitations of the data are shared and recommendations are made about other types of data that could be collected in the future to add value to the data.