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Animal Abuse Chat Transcript
Dr. Randall Lockwood, ASPCA Senior Vice President, Anti-Cruelty Field Services—September 5, 2008
News of animal abuse is warranting more of the public’s attention than ever, with increasing interest in discovering what’s behind the cruelty. Here to discuss how we can fight animal cruelty by better understanding what drives humans toward it is the ASPCA’s Dr. Randall Lockwood, Senior Vice President, Anti-Cruelty Field Services, who draws from 25 years of partnership with humane societies and law enforcement agencies. For more information on what you can do to fight cruelty, visit the ASPCA's Advocacy Center.
There is a woman in my neighborhood whom several people have caught sprinkling a white powder near a vacant lot that is the home to several feral cats. I have seen many dead cats in the area. It's hard to get the authorities involved because we really don't know who she is.
—Trisha
You say that several people have caught her—but authorities don't know who she is. It is important in any case of suspected cruelty that you first provide local law enforcement with as much detailed information as possible about the situation you want them to respond to (who, what, where, when) and to be prepared to testify. Police will accept anonymous tips, but they do not carry as much weight as a detailed report that gives them something to act on.
I do a lot of things on my own to stand up against animal cruelty (walk my neighborhoods, report things that seem neglectful/cruel, write letters and make phone calls to support legislation that can increase penalties, write media to praise them for running stories involving these issues, etc.) and I forward information to my friends/family and encourage them to get involved, but what can I/we do on a bigger level? I would like to start on a citywide level in my area. Do you have suggestions?
—Cari
Wow—it sounds like you are doing a lot of good things already. The next step can be to organize an animal cruelty task force in your community. The mayor’s office and the local district attorney have started such city or countywide groups. This group should try to meet regularly and should involve all those who are potentially impacted by animal abuse and neglect in the area—including law enforcement, animal care and control, the health department, rescue groups, Child Protective Services, domestic violence responders, veterinary groups and others.
This group can try to determine the hottest issues in your community (dog fighting, stray animals, needs of pets who are victims of domestic violence, etc.) and then try to identify things that the group can work together on. A first step would be to try to interest community leaders in sponsoring an initial meeting to establish such a task force. Good luck!
I have tried getting our mayor's office and local law enforcement involved in something like this [see above], but they are not interested because "dog fighting and those issues are not a problem here." I live in an upper middle class town in California. What do you suggest if one's town is not interested?
—Tony
If local authorities deny that problems exist, a good place to start is to work with the local media. Most local TV or newspapers have reporters with an interest in animal issues, and they can often help document problems that are being ignored. If local animal advocates can document that the problems really do exist, the media can be very helpful in getting the public motivated to put pressure on elected officials to respond. If you can't educate officials, sometimes it is necessary to embarrass them!
Most hoarders who’ve had prior intervention start to collect animals again. In thinking they are saving the animals, neglect usually becomes an issue. Should we treat serial hoarders as abusers? Should they face criminal charges or mandatory treatment with subsequent violations of laws?
—Laura
You’re right that almost all animal hoarders start up again without intervention, treatment and monitoring. The best response is to aim for "relapse prevention" by using multiple agencies (police, animal care, mental health, social service) to share the burden of monitoring the hoarder. I favor criminal prosecution of serious hoarding cases because it can result in lengthy periods of probation, during which time the court can monitor the situation and impose sanctions (including jail) if more animals are subjected to abuse and neglect. The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium has lots of resources for understanding and dealing with hoarders.
Here in Tennessee where I live, a man in a wheelchair has a large German shepherd. The poor dog is tired; you can see he’s hurt and needs rest. I have reported this but the man still has the dog.
—Bonnie
People often report instances that involve someone not providing the kind of care they would provide. But the actions may not be violating any laws, so animal control or law enforcement may be unable to respond. Sometimes it can be helpful to try to educate the person about the animal's needs and perhaps enlist the aid of other humane groups or rescue organizations in the area.
I've always wondered why and how people can have such disregard for life. If I can understand abusers more, perhaps prevention strategies would become more clear.
—CC
Much animal cruelty is really about power and control, which is why it is so strongly connected to other forms of violence like domestic violence, child abuse and general criminal behavior. People responsible for intentional acts of abuse can have many different motivations, but often the central motive is to try to show that they can have an impact on others—that they can coerce, control, frighten or intimidate. Often the act of cruelty has been triggered by something that has challenged their sense of power; someone (animal or person) has acted in a way that calls their power into question.
Some forms of intentional cruelty stem from true mental illness, such as psychopathic personality or conduct disorder.
The most common form of animal cruelty, however, is neglect, which can include everything from keeping animals in inadequate conditions—like many of the stories here—to abandonment, starvation and hoarding. The motives for neglect are different. Sometimes it is lack of resources, sometimes physical or psychological limitations, sometimes lack of basic knowledge of what animals need, and sometimes simple laziness.
It is the intentional acts that are of course the most disturbing and which can carry the highest penalties, since we know such acts can also be associated with serious crimes against people.
Is there any organization out there working on amending the Animal Welfare Act to remove the words "minimum standards"? If so, how can we help move this along in our political arena?
—Bernie
It is interesting that you bring this up. We had a strategic planning meeting this week and that idea was one we specifically put on the table for possible action in the coming year—particularly with respect to the regulation of puppy mills. It may be easier to insert such a change in wording into the Animal Welfare Act than to try for major revisions—yet it could have significant impact. It is a good idea!
Hi, Dr. Lockwood! Are the various HLE programs around the country coordinated in any way or do they each operate independently? How do these individual programs get funded? Also, what do you think is most effective in tackling animal cruelty: enforcement or education/awareness/prevention? It seems that enforcement is enormously important to make people aware of the consequences of their actions, i.e., that it is a crime to hurt an animal, just as it would be (though differently prosecuted) when one hurts another human being. What is the ASPCA’s point of view? Thank you.
—Jennifer
There is no formal coordination of the various HLE programs around the country, but we often share in training and resources. For example, I have done training for the Houston SPCA (the Animal Cops Houston group) on hoarding and veterinary forensics. We have also done training at national conferences attended by agents from the various groups, including meetings of the National Animal Control Association, the Animal Care Expo, the Society of Animal Welfare Administrators and many others.
The ASPCA's approach to tackling cruelty is very comprehensive. Obviously, prevention through humane education is an important component. Next we see the need for community education about how to report animal cruelty. We feel Animal Precinct and its counterparts have done a great job of raising public awareness about animal cruelty. The next step is to get regular police to respond to the reports of cruelty. We do training for many police academies within New York and around the country. We also have online and CD-ROM based training for police in about 40 states. The next step is to train prosecutors to take on these cases and prosecute them effectively. We have worked with the National Association of District Attorneys to develop a manual for prosecuting animal cruelty cases. Next, we have to train veterinarians to effectively document cruelty so these cases can be won, and we do such training at every major vet conference. Finally, we have to get judges to apply appropriate sanctions in the cases that are brought before them. We have done many trainings for various judicial groups. All in all, we see the need to address the issue of cruelty from as many angles as possible.
How can we change laws to make harsher penalties for those who actually do get convicted of cruelty? Where do we start?
—Dalo
Penalties have increased dramatically in the last few years. We now have felony animal cruelty penalties in 44 states—when I started in the field in 1984, this was the case in just four states. Still, some of these only apply on the second or third offense in some states, some do not apply to all animals and some have unnecessary exemptions. To see what changes are most needed in your state, check the “Ask the Lobbyists" section of aspca.org to find out what our legislative specialists think is most needed and what actions are already underway.
Isn't horse slaughter a form of animal cruelty? I know we have stopped here in the USA, but now the horses are trucked to Mexico and Canada for slaughter in horrid conditions. I know a law concerning this has been discussed in Congress, but why can't the current animal cruelty laws in place take care of this problem?
—Paulette
Problems associated with interstate transport need to be addressed at the federal level. New legislation regarding horse slaughter and transport has been proposed, but in a season where all focus is on elections, there may be little movement. Be sure to check in regularly with the “Lobby For Animals” section of our website and, if you have not already done so, join the Advocacy Brigade to get the latest alerts and info.
My wife and I recently adopted a second dog from the local pound. We have many animal rescues near us, but we wanted to rescue a dog from a kill facility. While we were there, we saw so many dogs that we wanted to take home, but with an apartment, we can't have more than two. I was left with a bittersweet feeling—we had a new addition to the family, but there were still so many animals there who may not be adopted. How do we deal with the fact that there are so many animals who are homeless and/or being cruelly treated? It breaks my heart.
—Xander
This is the challenge of working in animal sheltering and working against animal cruelty—you can't help them all. But we have made incredible strides in recent years in reducing shelter euthanasia, strengthening cruelty laws and enhancing enforcement of those laws. The place to start is in your own home and community, as you have done, and continue to support the local and national groups that share your concerns as best you can through action, volunteering, financial support or in whatever way you can. The biggest enemy is apathy, so caring about animals and getting others to share even a little in the care that you have shown can go a long way.
Last night I witnessed something that chilled me to my marrow. I saw my neighbor's young son with their small dog on a leash in front of his house. This boy was roughly jerking the dog around. He then dragged the dog over to the driveway right up against a vehicle and started hitting this poor dog! It gets worse—he then dragged and jerked the dog toward the street, stopped and pulled the dog's back against his legs and pulled up, both choking the dog and bending him almost in half backwards until he cried out. Watching in absolute horror and disbelief up to this point, I started screaming at him to stop. At that moment, his mother burst through the storm door and started yelling—no, not at him, mind you, but at me! After this happened, I called my local SPCA to file a report, but then had to beg them not to dispatch an officer because I'm terrified these people would retaliate by somehow hurting my dogs. I can't imagine how dysfunctional a family would have to be to have a young child be so obviously cruel to an animal, and yet, their track record makes it no real surprise. I can't live with knowing this sweet dog is being mistreated, but don't know how to take action without them guessing it's me, and possibly doing something terrible to my babies. What can I do?
—Virgil
You are facing one of the most common problems—where and what to report. If the local SPCA is not responsive, you should report this act (which is a crime) to the local police or sheriff's dept. Your fear that such an act might cause retaliation is legitimate and that fear should be shared with law enforcement so that they can reinforce the message that any criminal actions by any members of the family will have serious consequences. Still, if you decide to take the necessary action, you should take steps to further protect your own animals—perhaps even to the extreme of finding them temporary safe housing until the problems are dealt with.
I feel that a report should also be made to Child Protective Services, since my own work has demonstrated that children capable of such actions are frequently themselves victims of family violence. This could also provoke retaliation—but nothing will change with this family without intervention.
I recently reported two small pit bulls who were tied with a huge chain in a yard. They had just a dirty creek to drink out of and no food. They had to live in mud, in a half-barrel and a crate. They were fed gunpowder. The animal shelter said they would send someone out to check on the dogs, but they didn’t. The people finally just moved and took the dogs. It really made me mad that the animal shelter wouldn’t check on them.
—Connie
The situation you describe would be a crime in practically every state. It is frustrating that local animal control often lacks the resources, manpower or will to respond in such cases. When you encounter such a lack of response it is important to move up the chain of command. If the individual officer is unresponsive, insist on talking to a supervisor or director. If animal control is within the police or health dept, work your way up that chain as well if necessary. As I have suggested to several other people today, it can also be helpful to describe the situation and the unresponsiveness of officials to the media—who are often in a position to make them do the right thing.
Hi, Dr. Lockwood. You've testified in many courtrooms. Do you find that in general, when you talk about the relationship between animal cruelty and other crimes—especially domestic ones—judges are taking you more seriously than they might have in the past?
—Elyse
I think we are being taken more seriously, certainly by prosecutors who understand the connection. Remember, the majority of judges and prosecutors have pets themselves and are inclined to find animal cruelty truly disturbing. The fact that there is good scientific evidence to support their intuitive feeling that these are people we need to be concerned about makes them more comfortable in doing the right thing.
Also, the general public demands action in cruelty cases. Most District Attorneys are elected and/or have higher political aspirations, so they cannot ignore public opinion.
Someone told me about a horrible new practice called “trunking.” She said that two dogs are put into the trunk of a car, the music is turned up loud and the dogs fight until one comes up dead. Have you heard of such a thing before?
—Lenny
I have learned never to say "Now I've heard everything." In the world of blood sports, there are many sick and twisted variations. This would meet the legal definition of "dog fighting" in most, if not all, states and could be prosecuted as a felony offense in every state. We are currently developing resources for local police in responding to animal cruelty in general and dog fighting in particular. We will make officers aware of the fact that such a practice should be considered a serious and violent crime.
Can you videotape an act of cruelty?
—E
This can be a good approach. We have seen a growing number of cases pursued because private citizens have documented the offense with their own video cameras or even cell phone cameras. It is a start that can often get the interest of law enforcement authorities
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