Bridging the Gap: The Connection between Violence against Animals and Violence against Humans
![handle is hein.journals/janimlaw11 and id is 129 raw text is:
Bridging The Gap: The Connection Between Violence AgainstAnimals
and Violence Against Humans 115
BRIDGING THE GAP: THE CONNECTION
BETWEEN VIOLENCE AGAINST ANIMALS AND
VIOLENCE AGAINST HUMANS
REBECCA L. BUCCHIERI*
Compassion for animals is intimately connected with goodness
of character; and it may be confidently asserted that he who
is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.
I. INTRODUCTION
A behavioral warning sign exists that serves as an indicator of
an individual's future propensity for violence, yet this warning sign is
rarely incorporated into the legal framework used to deter these crimes.2
Although a robust legal and scientific discourse firmly establishes a link
between individuals who abuse animals and the perpetrators' proclivity
to commit violent crimes against humans in the future, little has been
done to use this connection as a platform for animal law reform.3 This
predictor, if properly used as a legal tool, promises to not only help
achieve earlier deterrence of crimes against both animals and humans
alike, but also to promote a better understanding of animals as sentient
victims in need of broader protections. However, just as animal abuse is
a strong indicator of future violence, state neglect in strictly enforcing
animal cruelty laws indicate the unfeasibility of imminent animal law
reform.4
. George Mason University School of Law, J.D. Candidate, May 2015;
American University, B.A. Law and Society, Magna Cum Laude, 2012. I would like
to thank my friends and family for their eternal support.
'ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, ON THE BASIS OF MORALITY 223 (1965).
2 Frank R. Ascione, Animal Abuse and Youth Violence, JUVENILE JUSTICE
BULLETIN 1 (Sept. 2001), 1 ttps:iipe ra.cc/4V8T-P9XP ([A]nimal abuse has received
insufficient attention-in fact, is sometimes explicitly excluded...-as one of a number
of 'red flags,' warning signs, or sentinel behaviors that could help identify youth at risk
for perpetrating interpersonal violence....).
3 See, e.g., Douglas F. Gansler, First Strike: The Violence Connection, THE
HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES (2008), http://penra.cc/P2ZM-MJ6E.
I Joyce Tischler, Zero Tolerance for Cruelty: An Approach to Enhancing
Enforcement of State Anti-Cruelty Laws, in CHILD ABUSE, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, AND
ANIMAL ABUSE: LINKING THE CIRCLES OF COVASSION FOR PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION
298 (Frank R. Ascione & Phil Arkow eds., 1999) (There is no single or simple reason
why we see systematic refusal to prosecute and punish animal abusers aggressively.
Perhaps it is because our society as a whole has mixed feelings about animals.).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/janimlaw11&div=8&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Bridging the Gap: The Connection between Violence against Animals and Violence against Humans
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