http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3P0HXRmfKg

It can be hard to resist the cute puppies and kittens for sale in pet store windows. But a closer look into how these stores obtain animals reveals a system in which the high price that consumers pay for “that doggie in the window” pales in comparison to the cost paid by animals who are sold in pet stores or forced to produce them.
 
That adorable little scamp in the store probably came from a “puppy mill,” a breeding kennel that raises dogs in cramped, crude, filthy conditions. The majority of these facilities are in the Midwest, but kennels can be found throughout the country, and some dealers even import puppies from other countries.(1) Constant confinement and a lack of adequate veterinary care and socialization often result in animals who are unhealthy and difficult to socialize. As a result, many are abandoned within weeks or months of their adoption by frustrated buyers-further exacerbating the tragic companion animal overpopulation crisis.

Cages, Filth, and Neglect

Puppy mill kennels can consist of anything from small cages made of wood and wire mesh to tractor-trailer cabs or simple tethers attached to trees. One Arkansas facility had “cages hanging from the ceiling of an unheated cinder-block building ….”(2) Female dogs are bred twice a year and are usually destroyed when they are no longer able to produce puppies.(3) Mothers and their litters often suffer from malnutrition, exposure, and a lack of adequate veterinary care.
 
Puppies are taken from their mothers and sold to brokers who pack them into crates for transport and resale to pet stores. Puppies who are shipped from mill to broker to pet store can travel hundreds of miles in pickup trucks, tractor trailers, and/or airplanes, often without adequate food, water, ventilation, or shelter. Two men faced charges after 38 puppies were found to be confined to a feces-filled van without food, water, or space to exercise. The men were transporting the animals from Oklahoma to Florida when a passerby noticed the dogs’ distressed barking and the foul stench emanating from the van, which was parked at a Daytona Beach motel.(4) In Tennessee, 150 overheated puppies, who were traveling from a Missouri puppy mill to pet stores on the East Coast, were found in a cargo truck without air conditioning; four died.(5) Even if a store claims that it doesn’t buy from puppy mills, there is a good chance that it buys from a broker who does.(6) 

Young puppies who survive the unsanitary conditions at puppy mills and endure the grueling transport to pet stores have rarely received the kind of loving human contact that is necessary for them to become suitable companions. Breeders, brokers, and pet stores ensure maximum profits by not spending money for proper food, housing, or veterinary care.

Conditions don’t improve much when the puppies reach pet stores. Dogs who are kept in small cages without exercise, love, or human contact tend to develop undesirable behaviors and may bark excessively or become destructive and unsociable. Unlike many humane societies and shelters, pet stores do not screen buyers or inspect the future homes of the dogs they sell. Poor enforcement of humane laws allows shops to continue selling sick animals, although humane societies and police departments sometimes succeed in closing down stores where severe abuse is uncovered.

Farms and Brokers Do Big Business

When PETA conducted an undercover investigation at Nielsen Farms, a puppy mill in Kansas, PETA’s investigator found that the dogs had no bedding or protection from the cold or heat. Some dogs were suffering from untreated wounds, ear infections, and abscessed feet. Confinement and loneliness had caused some mother dogs to go mad. PETA’s investigator witnessed one USDA inspection, during which the officer glanced at the cages but did not examine the dogs. Our investigation led to the Kansas facility’s closing and a $20,000 fine from the USDA. The Nielsens are also “permanently disqualified from being licensed” by the USDA.(7)

There are thousands of breeders and dealers across the country. In Missouri alone, there are more than 1,400 licensed dog-breeding operations, although so many illegal breeders are in business that a state audit advised that the program designed to regulate commercial breeding was ineffective.(8) The nation’s largest puppy broker is the Hunte Corporation in Missouri, which also exports dogs overseas.(9) The company has been linked to numerous negligent pet stores and breeders and has sponsored American Kennel Club (AKC) meetings.(10) The USDA has loaned the company more than $4 million for expansion and upgrades in recent years-taxpayer money being used to bring more misery to dogs and puppies.(11)

The Plight of Purebreds

Some people impulsively obtain purebred dogs, even though they may not be educated about the breed or ready for the commitment that animal companions require. Movies such as 101 Dalmatians and Beethoven, TV shows like Frasier, and commercials such as those for Taco Bell have caused a jump in the popularity of certain breeds, yet very few potential dog caretakers take the time to investigate the traits and needs of the breed that they are considering. “Every time Hollywood makes a dog movie, the breed goes to hell,” says one caretaker of Bouvier des Flandres dogs. A Dalmatian fancier concludes that “… the unscrupulous breeders will see there’s a profit margin there.”(12) When there is a surge in demand for a particular breed, puppy mills try to meet that demand, but when Jack Russell terriers don’t turn out to be just like Frasier’s “Eddie” or St. Bernards don’t act just like “Beethoven,” rescue groups and animal shelters become flooded with these breeds. 

The AKC, which opposes mandatory spay/neuter programs for purebred dogs, receives millions of dollars from breeders who pay AKC registration fees.(13) The AKC registered more than 421,000 dogs in 2005, some of whom will join the millions of animals who end up in animal shelters every year.(14) Buyers may be swayed by talk of “papers” and “AKC registration,” but these papers cannot ensure good temperament or good health. Says one veterinarian, “The best use of pedigree papers is for housebreaking your dog. They don’t mean a damn thing.”(15) The AKC has minimum care standards for “high-volume breeding” facilities, but with 14 inspectors and an operating budget that is directed toward registration and dog shows, the AKC can only manage to inspect its registered kennels once every two years.(16) By its own admission, some of the more problematic kennels have simply sought registration services (such as Dog Registry of America, Sporting Dog Registry, American Hunting Dog Registry, and All American Dog Registry, to name a few) that don’t perform inspections.(17)

At puppy mills, dogs are bred for quantity, not quality, so unmonitored genetic defects and personality disorders that are passed on from generation to generation are common. This situation results in high veterinary bills for people who buy these dogs and the possibility that unsociable or maladjusted dogs will be disposed of by their unprepared “owners.” “There is virtually no consideration of temperament,” says one dog trainer. “I wish legislators could sit in my office and watch … people sobbing in extreme emotional pain over having to decide whether to euthanize their dog because of some serious behavioral problem.”(18)

Inadequate Inspections

The USDA is supposed to monitor and inspect kennels to ensure that they are not violating the housing standards of the Animal Welfare Act, but kennel inspections are a low priority. In the U.S., there are more than 1,000 research facilities, more than 2,800 exhibitors, and 4,500 dealers that are supposed to be inspected each year.(19)

There are three APHIS sector offices with a total of approximately 70 veterinary inspectors who are supposed to inspect, unannounced, the various types of facilities covered by the AWA.(20)

This means that 70 inspectors have to cover more than 8,300 facilities nationwide.

Puppy mills are rarely monitored by state governments, and existing regulations vary from state to state. In Missouri, for instance, each of the 2,100 facilities is supposed to be inspected once a year, but there are only 12 inspectors employed to handle the task.(21) Even with an estimated 1,300 puppy mills in Wisconsin, inspections of breeder facilities that sell at least 50 dogs and cats are voluntary, and there is no funding for enforcement of these regulations.(22,23)

The Puppy Pipelines

Dealers who want to avoid relevant U.S. laws-the few that exist-look elsewhere to continue doing business. Says one Canadian lawyer, “[P]uppy mill operators in the States buy from us. And crossing the border isn’t a problem either. They cross them all the time.”(24) For example, there is a network of breeders and smugglers who bring puppies into the U.S. from Mexico. A Los Angeles woman was arrested during a sting operation on suspicion of selling underaged puppies and for failure to provide proper veterinary care for the animals; one of the officers involved in the capture of the woman said that the smuggler fit the description of a puppy smuggler: The person uses an alias and a throwaway cell phone and sells puppies from the backs of cars or on street corners.(25) A New Hampshire breeder, who was arrested for cruelty to animals when dozens of dogs and cats were found living in filth, was selling puppies from Russia for as much as $1,900 each on the Internet.(26)

While no federal agency tracks the number of puppies that enter the U.S., an investigation by a New York TV station concluded that thousands of puppies arrive every year and that many are sick or dead when they get here. A staff member at a private veterinary clinic at John F. Kennedy Airport told the CBS affiliate that she had seen “a couple of cases where they (puppies) were shrink-wrapped.” The station also found that although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal agencies have been alerted to the problem of underaged, sick puppies who are crammed and shipped into filthy, crowded kennels for hours at a time, none has jurisdiction over the animals’ care. The CDC only checks animals for rabies, and the USDA regulations for dogs’ age and transport conditions do not apply to foreign shipments.(27)                                                                                                                               

Some states have enacted “puppy lemon” laws that give caretakers the right to return sick or dead puppies for replacement or that offer the option of having veterinary expenses paid by the seller. Unfortunately, depending on the state, the law may not clearly say to whom it applies, or it may affect only pet stores or breeders that sell a certain number of animals each year. Check with your state’s attorney’s office to find out about your state’s laws.

What You Can Do

With millions of unwanted dogs and cats (including purebreds) dying every year in animal shelters, there is simply no reason for animals to be bred and sold for the pet-shop trade. Without these stores, the financial incentive for puppy mills would disappear, and the suffering of these dogs would end. The best way to find an animal companion is through an animal shelter or rescue group.

For more information on pet stores and puppy mills, please visit HelpingAnimals.com.

References

1) Josh Shaffer, “Law Meant to Reduce Puppy Farms Raises Alarm From Kennels,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram 17 Apr. 2002.
2) “Humane Society Takes 77 Dogs From Owner. Animals Missing Toes, Chewed Ears,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 20 Dec. 2002.
3) Natalie Lariccia, “A Warning on Puppy Mills,” The Vindicator 25 Apr. 2000.
4) Charlene Hager-Van Dyke et al., “4 Testify in Animal Neglect,” Orlando Sentinel 16 Apr. 2003.
5) “Puppies Rescued From Cargo Truck,” Associated Press, 11 May 2000.
6) Lariccia.
7) U.S. Department of Agriculture, “Recent USDA Animal Welfare Act Case Actions,” press releases, 14 Sep. 2001.
Miglena Sternadori, “Officials Seek to Collar Illegal Dog Breeders,” Columbia Daily Tribune 20 Jun. 2004.
9) “USDA Approves Loan to McDonald County K-9 Distributor, Blunt Announces,” Blunt news release, 5 Sep. 2001.
10) American Kennel Club, “AKC Statement on Relationships With High Volume Kennels,” 2003.
11) Shaffer.
12) Chuck Haga, “Every Dog Has Its Day,” Minneapolis Star Tribune 7 Sep. 1999.
13) “Boise, ID Faces Breeding Restrictions,” AKC, 8 Nov. 2002.
14) American Kennel Club, Registration Statistics, 2006.
15) Michael D. Lemonick, “A Terrible Beauty,” Time 12 Dec. 1994.
16) High Volume Breeders Committee, “Report to the AKC Board of Directors,” AKC, 12 Nov. 2002: 5.
17) High Volume Breeders Committee, 12.
18) Richard P. Jones, “Panel Weakens Pet Industry Rules,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 19 May 2003.
19) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, “Animal Care Report” (Riverdale: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2004).
20) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, “Compliance Inspections” (Riverdale: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Jun. 2005).
21) “Missouri’s Animal Care Facilities Act Ensures Proper Animal Care,” MVMA Messenger Jul./Aug. 2002.
22) “Curb State’s Puppy Mills,” Wisconsin State Journal 14 Mar. 2003.
23) Franzen, “This One’s All Bark,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 26 May 2003.
24) Peter Mansbridge, “Puppy Mills,” The National Show, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 30 Jul. 2001.
25) Sandy Mazza, “Puppy Pipeline Plugged,” Pasadena Star-News 16 Mar. 2006.
26) Doug Hanchett, “N.H. Dog Dealer Busted; Cop: ‘The Odor Was Indescribable,’” Boston Herald 14 Jun. 2003.
27) “Puppy Pipeline. Many Shipped to America Are Abused,” WCBS TV, 17 Feb. 2006.

Reprinted from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA).

WASHINGTON - In the first study of its kind, Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that companion cats and dogs are polluted with even higher levels of many of the same synthetic industrial chemicals that researchers have recently found in people, including newborns.

In addition to being guardians, playmates and even beloved family members, dogs and cats may also be serving as sentinels for human health problems that can arise from exposures to industrial chemicals.

In recognition of the unique roles that pets play in our lives, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) undertook a study to investigate the extent of exposures dogs and cats face to contaminants in our homes and outdoor environments. What we found was startling.

Dogs and cats were contaminated with 48 of 70 industrial chemicals tested, including 43 chemicals at levels higher than those typically found in people, according to our study of blood and urine from 20 dogs and 40 cats. Average levels of many chemicals were substantially higher in pets than is typical for people, with 2.4 times higher levels of stain-and grease-proof coatings (perfluorochemicals) in dogs, 23 times more fire retardants (PBDEs) in cats, and more than 5 times the amounts of mercury, compared to average levels in people found in national studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and EWG.

“Like humans, pets are also exposed to toxic chemicals on a daily basis, and as this investigation found, are contaminated at higher levels,” said Jane Houlihan, VP for Research at EWG. “The presence of chemicals in dogs and cats sounds a cautionary warning for the present and future health of children as well. This study demonstrating the chemical body burden of dogs and cats is a wake-up call for stronger safety standards from industrial chemical exposures that will protect all members of our families, including our pets.”

“This study is valuable in that it used pet animals that live in nearly fifty percent of all US households as environmental sentinels to measure the level of contamination with a wide variety of industrial chemicals that have also been shown to be present in human tissue. Because pet animals tend to have similar or higher concentrations of these chemicals in their body than humans, epidemiological studies of pets can be used to identify potential adverse health effects at a lower cost and in a much shorter period of time than it would take to perform similar studies in humans,” said Dr. Larry Glickman - a leading veterinarian and distinguished scientist who for the past three decades conducted research in veterinary epidemiology.

“This study shows that our pets are susceptible to the absorption of potentially harmful chemicals from our environment just as we are. Perhaps even more troubling is that these chemicals have been found in higher levels in pets than in humans implying potential harmful consequences for their health and well being and the need for further study,” said Dr. John Billeter, DVM, the veterinarian who conducted the blood and urine tests.

Just as children ingest pollutants in tap water, play on lawns with pesticide residues, or breathe in an array of indoor air contaminants, so do their pets. But with there compressed lifespans, developing and aging seven or more times faster than children, pets also develop health problems much more rapidly. Pets, like infants and toddlers, have limited diets and play close to the floor, often licking the ground as well as their paws, greatly increasing both their exposures to chemicals and the resulting health risks.

In America there are 8 times more companion dogs and cats than there are children under five. Seventy percent more households have dogs or cats than children of any age. These pets are often beloved family members, and yet they can be subjected to chronic, constant exposures to chemical contaminants in homes, yards, and parks that pet owners cannot always prevent.

Scientists Link Chemical Exposure to Increased Rates of Cancer, Other Diseases in Pets:
Under current federal law, chemical companies do not have to prove chemicals are safe before they are used in products, including pet toys and other products for our companion animals. For pets as for people, the result is a body burden of complex mixtures of industrial chemicals never tested for safety. Health problems in pets span high rates of cancer in dogs and skyrocketing incidence of hyperthyroidism in cats. Genetic changes can’t explain the increases in certain health problems among pets, leaving scientists to believe that chemical exposures play a significant role.

###

EWG is a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, DC that uses the power of information to protect human health and the environment.

Read Full Report here.

Video from the Humane Society of the United States

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Dogfighting—a blood “sport” in which two dogs are pitted against each other in a fighting pit and forced to rip each other to shreds in a fight to the death for the “amusement” and monetary gain of onlooking gamblers—is illegal in the United States and is a felony in every state except Idaho and Wyoming.(1) Experts estimate that tens of thousands of people are involved in professional dogfighting, while an additional 100,000 may be participating in so-called “streetfighting” or informal dogfights.(2)Forced to Fight and Left to Die

The most commonly bred dogs for fighting are Staffordshire terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American bulldogs, and American pit bull terriers. All of them are usually referred to as pit bulls. Dogs are highly social pack animals who need and deserve love, attention, and exercise and thrive in an environment that offers the companionship of other dogs and human guardians. Dogs who are used for fighting are chained, taunted, and starved in order to trigger extreme survival instincts and encourage aggressiveness.Typically, before their first birthdays, puppies bred for fighting are placed in front of other dogs in order to test their aggression. At around 15 months, two prospective “fighters” are forced to participate in a “roll”—their first fight, which lasts about 10 minutes—followed by a second fight that lasts an hour. Survivors are chained again (sometimes with weighted logging chains) for a couple of months until they are ready for their first “show.” Breeders “train” dogs by forcing them to tread water in pools; run on a treadmill while a cat or another terrified animal, who may be someone’s stolen companion animal, is placed in a cage in front of the dog (to be caught and mauled to death as a reward afterward); and hang on with their jaws while dangling from a chain baited with meat.(3,4) The dogs are likely injected with steroids, and some breeders go so far as to sharpen their dogs’ teeth, cut off their ears (in order to prevent another dog from latching on), and add roach poison to their food so that their fur might taste bad to other dogs.(5,6)

Dogs that “win” fights are forced to fight again and again and are bred to produce profit-making puppies. One breeder who was claimed to be a particularly successful fighting dog earned $100,000 in stud fees in a single year.(7) “Rape stands,” which are routinely confiscated from large-scale dogfighting operations, are contraptions used by breeders to strap down resistant female dogs so that males can impregnate them. Dogs that do not fight or lose fights may be used as “bait” animals or may be abandoned, tortured, set on fire, electrocuted, shot, drowned, or beaten to death.

What Happens at DogfightsA dogfight could be a street fight, which lasts only a few minutes and takes place in an alley or a back yard, or it could fall under one of two levels of organized fights: hobbyist and professional.(8) Organized fights tend to be highly secretive, with word spreading by mouth or via the Internet. Participants may meet in one place and be taken en masse to another location so that even they don’t know where they’re going until they arrive.  Abandoned houses, garages, warehouses, and fields all serve as sites for dogfights—places that can be easily scouted by lookouts and quickly evacuated in advance of a raid.(9)A “pit” consists of a dirt or carpeted floor that is anywhere from 8 to 16 square feet and is surrounded by a wooden—and often portable—enclosure that is about 3 feet high. Dogs are taken to either end of the ring and released at the “face your dogs” command. Break or parting sticks are used to pry apart fighting dogs, who clamp down so fiercely that it is not uncommon for dogs to “fang” themselves (i.e., bite through their own lips).(10) The fight could go on for hours—until one dog is seriously injured or dies or, “[s]hould the police interfere, the referee … name[s] the next meeting place,” according to rules posted on a breeder’s Web site.(11)

Dogs are ranked by their “gameness”—the ability to keep fighting even when pain and loss of blood have caused their bodies to go into shock.(12) A federal prosecutor recalls a case in which one of 18 dogs found in a raid had 70 open wounds and was missing half a jaw while another dog’s body was 75 percent covered in scar tissue.(13) A Louisiana state police officer who conducts dogfighting investigations says, “When you go to where these fights have happened, you’ll find a couple of dog corpses or a pit full of blood.”(14)

The Tip of a Criminal IcebergDogfighting usually involves other crimes in addition to cruelty to animals. One infamous breeder planted “directional mines” on his property in an attempt to keep people away; a land surveyor was injured when one of these devices exploded.(15)Gambling—which is frequently illegal and often involves large sums of money—is found at many dogfights, as are firearms and other weapons that are sometimes used in violent crimes, including murder, as occurred at a Texas home when three intruders bound the wife and children of a well-known pit bull breeder and killed him for the $100,000 that he had won at a fight.(16) A detective told the

New York Daily News that “you can get more drugs and guns off the street by breaking up dog rings than you would breaking up drug rings.”(17) An Ohio sheriff says that “just about every dogfighting search warrant we’ve done, we’ve found drugs.”(18)A review of Chicago dogfighting incidents over a three-year span found that in the nearly 400 cases, more than half the dog owners had gang affiliations and almost all had been arrested at least two times.(19)

Young children are sometimes present at dogfights; Baltimore’s Health Department lists dogfighting as a child welfare issue on its Web site and cautions parents that “[c]hildren are exposed to exhibits of extreme brutality, illegal gambling, drugs, and guns associated with these cruel events.”(20)

These tortured dogs do not make good companions, as breeders commonly mate close relatives together in an effort to pass on the traits of dogs that are especially aggressive and whose instincts and training motivate them to kill other animals. “We’re sitting on a powder keg,” says one Ohio dog warden.(21)

What You Can DoFederal law bans interstate commerce import and export of fighting dogs, and the penalty is three years in jail with a $250,000 fine.(22) But as a Texas sheriff remarked, “If you don’t know it’s going on, there’s not a whole lot you can do. It’s organized crime.” Officials often stumble across dogfighting operations accidentally while searching property for other reasons. For instance, in 2007, authorities were searching Michael Vick’s property in rural Virginia for suspected drug activity when they discovered dogs who were tied to car axles with logging chains as well as dogfighting equipment, including treadmills, chains, whips, and injectable drugs.(23)Dogs raised for fighting are usually chained (or “tethered”), which is a safety hazard for the dogs and the community. A study published in

Pediatrics magazine reported that “[b]iting dogs were significantly more likely … to be chained” and nearly three times as likely to attack than dogs who were not tethered.(24) While many cities and counties have addressed this cruel and dangerous practice in an effort to prevent tragedies from striking near home, others consider such legislation only after chained dogs maul children in their areas. For more information on how you can get your community to enact an ordinance that bans or at least restricts tethering, please visit HelpingAnimals.com.If you suspect that dogfighting is happening in your neighborhood, contact local law enforcement authorities.

References1) CNN.com, “Dogfighting a Booming Business, Experts Say,” 18 Jul. 2007.
2) CNN.com.
3) Bill Burke, “Bloodsport. Dogfighting Once Had a Following Limited to the Rural South. But in the Age of the Internet, This Violent, Illegal Activity Has Seen a Cultural Shift,” The Virginian-Pilot 17 Jun. 2007.
4) Julian Walker and Tom Campbell, “The Growth of Dogfighting,” The Richmond Times-Dispatch 3 Jul. 2007.
5) Burke.
6) Childs Walker, “Dogfight ‘Culture’ Reaches to Baltimore; Officials Link Bloody Pastime With Drugs, Gun Dealing, Gangs,” The Baltimore Sun 1 Jun. 2007.
7) Burke.
Walker and Campbell.
9) Renée C. Lee, “Dogfight Culture Thrives on Secrecy: Lack of Police Training Hinders Enforcement, Animal Welfare Experts Contend,” The Houston Chronicle 4 Sept 2007.
10) Drew Jubera, “Dogfighting: A Shadow World of Bloodlust,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 20 Jul. 2007.
11) G.A. Trahan, “American Pit Bull Terrier ‘Cajun Rules,’” Balkan Boys’ Kennels, 25 Jun. 2007.
12) Associated Press, “Vick Case Latest Stain on Pit Bull’s Changing Image,” 25 Jul. 2007.
13) Tom Weir, “Vick Case Sheds Light on Dark World of Dogfighting,” USA Today 7 Jul. 2007.
14) Weir.
15) Burke.
16) Lee.
17) Lisa Olson, “Dogfighting World Is Inhumane Society,” New York Daily News 19 Jul. 2007.
18) Mark Gillispie, “Brutal Underground Sport Comes to Light; Secrets of the Dogfighting World Unleashed as Federal Officials Look at Case of NFL’s Vick,” Plain Dealer 10 Jun. 2007.
19) Walker.
20) Baltimore City Health Department, “Dog Fighting: Why You Should Care,” 25 Jul. 2007.
21) Gillispie.
22) CNN.com.
23) WAVY-TV 10, “Vick Claims No Knowledge of Situation on His Property,” 28 Apr. 2007.
24) Kenneth A. Gershman et al., “Which Dogs Bite? A Case-Control Study of Risk Factors,” Pediatrics 93 (1994): 913-7. 
Article from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

In particular, perceptions about the need to regulate cat overpopulation in Ohio tend to differ among rural and urban dwellers and among cat owners and people who do not own pets.

Compounding the problem is that a quarter of Ohio households are feeding free-roaming cats, but most of those residents aren’t ensuring that the outdoor cats they feed are spayed or neutered.

The Ohio State University survey indicates that about 40 percent of cat owners allow their cats to go outdoors. At the same time, almost half of the survey respondents believe laws should prohibit owners from letting their cats roam outside and nearly as many believe local governments should be responsible for controlling free-roaming cats.

Sixty percent of all respondents support spay-neuter laws for cats and 48 percent support using tax dollars to subsidize those programs. However, fewer rural residents support mandatory spaying and neutering or the use of tax money for that purpose.

And while 49 percent of all respondents believe in prohibiting cats from roaming freely, only one-third of cat owners agree with such prohibition. Cat owners are also less likely to support mandatory identification for cats.

“Because of the variety of attitudes we see between demographic areas, I don’t know that a one-solution-fits-all statewide policy is going to work. Communities are going to have to look at their own approach,” said study author Linda Lord, assistant professor of veterinary preventive medicine at Ohio State.

But coordinated action of some kind - on the part of policymakers, shelter organizations and cat owners alike - is needed to try to control cat overpopulation, Lord said.

In the United States, more than 38 million useholds own an estimated 88 million cats - or about one cat for every 3 ½ Americans.

“If we don’t change something, we’re going to continue to lose this battle. We’re going to have more and more cats reproducing and we need to think about collective community approaches to prevent that,” Lord said.

The research is published in the April 15 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

With fertile female cats able to produce an average of two litters of four to six kittens per year, the numbers add up quickly. Nationally, up to 5 million cats are euthanized in shelters each year, according to estimates by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

In the survey, free-roaming cats were defined as any cats that respondents have seen outside that do not belong to them - so these cats could belong to a neighbor, be lost, or be a stray or feral cat.

Lord noted that overall, the survey responses suggest that modest support exists in Ohio for government involvement in managing outdoor cats, and particularly for public funding for spay-neuter programs. Most respondents favored the concept of licensing cats.

Three-quarters of Ohioans also supported mandatory identification for all owned cats and 88 percent supported laws requiring rabies vaccines for cats.

Survey responses suggest that many Ohioans either think government agencies already have a hand in cat control or are unsure about government support for animal control.

“The perception is that government provides funding for the control of cats, but by and large, that is not the case in Ohio,” Lord said.

“Government has tended to not want to be involved in cats. And I don’t know if they can avoid it anymore. It doesn’t mean government representatives have to implement very strict animal control laws, but they might want to look at partnering with their sheltering community and veterinarians, and providing funding and/or services to try to help address this. I hope it’s helpful for them to have a better representation of what the average person thinks and what the average person is doing when it comes to cats.”

Across the state, 703 households participated in the 51-question telephone survey of a representative sample of adults. Among participants, 60 percent owned pets and 31 percent owned cats. Almost two out of three respondents indicated they like or love cats, while the rest either don’t care about cats or don’t like them.

Forty-three percent of respondents reported seeing free-roaming cats at least weekly, with 29 percent reporting daily sightings. Of the 26 percent of households feeding free-roaming cats, a quarter of those were giving cats food every day. Cat owners and rural residents were more likely to feed free-roaming cats than were non-cat owners and urban and suburban residents.

Of the households feeding cats, fewer than one in four had ever taken the free-roaming cats to a veterinarian for any kind of care, including spaying or neutering. The same percentage reported knowing the cats they were feeding had delivered at least one litter of kittens in the past year.

“I was surprised by how many households were feeding cats,” Lord said. “In an ideal world if you’re going to take the responsibility to feed a cat, which is going to make it more viable longer, then it would be best to at least try to get the cat altered so it’s not adding to the numbers.

“But not everyone’s going to spend a lot of money on a free-roaming cat. This is where cooperative efforts using private and public dollars could come in to try to find affordable solutions for folks who are trying to do the right thing and don’t want the cat suffer, but they also want to make sure that cat’s not contributing to the population problem.”

Seventy-seven percent of respondents agreed that trap-neuter-return programs are a good way to manage free-roaming cats. Such programs rely on volunteers to take responsibility for trapping known colonies of feral cats, overseeing the cats’ alteration at a veterinary clinic, usually at low cost, and returning the cats to the outdoor colony in which they live with an identifying mark that indicates they have been spayed or neutered.

Though Ohioans favored this approach, few were aware of whether trap-neuter-return programs already existed in their communities, Lord said.

Finally, the survey exposed the belief among many cat owners that indoor cats don’t need identification or vaccinations. In a previous study, Lord found that 40 percent of lost cats were indoor cats. And yet only 20 percent of the owned cats in Ohio have identification, according to the survey.

“Indoor-only cats do get out and get lost. We need to get past thinking that these cats are completely safe from being lost,” Lord said. “And with such a high percentage of households feeding cats, if your cat gets lost and someone decides to start feeding it, there’s a large chance your cat is never going to be found if it doesn’t have visible identification.”

Reprinted from The Ohio State University.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rysWxbDGVGE

    
Pets are part of the family in the majority of American households, where nearly three-quarters of families with school-age children have at least one companion animal. These animals are often treated like members of the family, but if the family is experiencing violence they can become targets as well. Pets are often an important source of comfort and stability to the victims of abuse, particularly children. But abusive family members may threaten, injure, or kill pets, often as a way of threatening or controlling others in the family.

A 1997 survey of 50 of the largest shelters for battered women in the United States found that 85% of women and 63% of children entering shelters discussed incidents of pet abuse in the family. Children who have witnessed domestic violence or who have been the victims of physical or sexual abuse may also become animal abusers themselves, imitating the violence they have seen or experienced. A study conducted in 1995 noted that 32% of the pet-owning victims of domestic abuse reported that one or more of their children had hurt or killed a pet. Similarly, a 1983 study noted that children were reported to be abusive to animals in more than a third of a sample of pet-owning families referred to New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Family Services for suspected child abuse.

It is essential for those who respond to family violence to be alert to this connection. Professionals in domestic violence intervention, law enforcement, child protection, human and veterinary medicine, education, and animal care and control should get to know their counterparts in other professions and work together to establish strategies for a coordinated response to these needs.

In fact, professionals who help families in crisis are increasingly recognizing the role that animals play in the dynamics of family violence. Many law enforcement agencies are training officers who respond to domestic violence calls to be alert for signs that a situation is life-threatening. These include situations where the batterer has threatened suicide, is displaying a firearm, or has hurt or killed a family pet.

In addition, local domestic violence shelters and animal protection organizations have begun partnering to develop “safe havens” for the pets of domestic violence victims because many victims delay leaving the abusive batterer out of fear for their pets’ safety. All too often, batterers punish victims for leaving by abusing or killing the pets. Yet, with the help of over 100 safe haven programs currently operating around the United States, many domestic violence victims no longer have to choose between their safety and their pets.

The First Strike® campaign can help in the process of bringing professionals together from a variety of agencies. We facilitate workshops and provide educational materials specifically for various professionals working to prevent family violence. For more information, please call our First Strike toll free line at 1-888-213-0956       .

References

Ascione, F. R. 1995. Domestic violence and cruelty to animals. Paper presented at the 4th International Conference on Family Violence, Durham, NH, July 24, 1995.

Ascione, F. R. 1997. The abuse of animals and domestic violence: a national survey of shelters for women who are battered. Society and Animals, 5(3): 205-218.

DeViney, L., J. Dickert and R. Lockwood. 1983. The care of pets within child abusing families. International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems, 4(4): 321-336.

Reprinted from The Humane Society of the United States.

Cruelty to Animals: The First of Many Crimes?

Acts of cruelty to animals are not mere indications of a minor personality flaw in the abuser; they are symptomatic of a deep mental disturbance. Research in psychology and criminology shows that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals don’t stop there-many of them move on to their fellow humans.

Studies have shown that violent and aggressive criminals are more likely to have abused animals as children than criminals considered non-aggressive.(2) A survey of psychiatric patients who had repeatedly tortured dogs and cats found that all of them had high levels of aggression toward people as well.(3)  According to a New South Wales newspaper, a police study in Australia revealed that “100 percent of sexual homicide offenders examined had a history of animal cruelty.”(4)  To researchers, a fascination with cruelty to animals is a red flag in the lives of serial killers and rapists; according to the FBI’s Ressler, “These are the kids who never learned it’s wrong to poke out a puppy’s eyes.”(5)

Examples That Make the Headlines: Notorious Killers

History is replete with serial killers whose violent tendencies were first directed at animals. Albert DeSalvo, the “Boston Strangler,” who killed 13 women, trapped dogs and cats and shot arrows at them through boxes in his youth.(6) Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer had impaled frogs, cats, and dogs’ heads on sticks.(7)  Dennis Rader, the so-called “BTK” killer, who terrorized people in Kansas, wrote in a chronological account of his childhood that he hanged a dog and a cat.(8)  During the trial of convicted sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, a psychology professor testified that the teenager, who killed 10 people with a rifle, had “pelted-and probably killed-numerous cats with marbles from a slingshot when he was about 14.”(9) 

The deadly violence that has shattered schools in recent years has, in most cases, begun with cruelty to animals. High-school killers such as 15-year-old Kip Kinkel in Springfield, Oregon, and Luke Woodham, 16, in Pearl, Mississippi, tortured animals before starting their shooting sprees.(10)  Columbine High School students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who shot and killed 12 classmates before turning their guns on themselves, spoke of mutilating animals to their classmates.(11) 

“There is a common theme to all of the shootings of recent years,” says Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz, director of the Child Study Center at New York University. “You have a child who has symptoms of aggression toward his peers, an interest in fire, cruelty to animals, social isolation, and many warning signs that the school has ignored.”(12)

Sadly, many of these criminals’ childhood violence went unexamined-until it was directed at humans.

‘The Link’ Next Door: Cruelty to Animals and Family Violence

Because abusers target the powerless, crimes against animals, spouses, children, and the elderly often go hand in hand. Children who abuse animals may be repeating a lesson learned at home; like their parents, they are reacting to anger or frustration with violence. Their violence is directed at the only individual in the family more vulnerable than themselves: an animal.

Parents who neglect or abuse an animal frequently subject their own children to similar hardships. Indiana residents Jade M. Jonas and Michael R. Smith faced felony charges stemming from authorities’ reported discovery of their two children and three dogs languishing in their filthy home. According to news sources, officials first found a tethered dog deprived of food and water outside the home. Upon entering the couple’s residence, investigators reportedly found a 3-month-old boy lying near piles of feces, trash, and rotten food; a half-clothed toddler; and two additional dogs.(13) In another case, Illinois authorities found 40 parasite-ridden dogs languishing amid 6 inches of feces on property occupied by John Morris. According to news reports, officials responding to neighbors’ concerns found the sick and emaciated dogs confined to filthy animal carriers before confirming that three children-ages 3, 10, and 15-lived in the horrific conditions as well.(14)

Sixty percent of more than 50 New Jersey families being treated for child abuse also had animals in the home who had been abused.(15) In three separate studies, more than half of the battered women surveyed reported that their abuser threatened or injured their animal companions.(16) In one of those studies, one in four women said that she stayed with the batterer because she feared leaving the animal behind.(17)

Stephen Williams was charged with cruelty to animals, child cruelty, and aggravated assault in Georgia after allegedly hacking to death his wife’s puppy with an ax and threatening to decapitate her with the same weapon-all in front of three horrified children.(18) Scott Maust of Pennsylvania was charged with corruption of minors, making terroristic threats, and cruelty to animals after allegedly shooting his family’s dog with a .22-caliber firearm, ordering his four children to clean up the bloody scene, and threatening to kill them if they told anyone.(19) 

Stopping the Cycle of Abuse

Schools, parents, communities, and courts that shrug off cruelty to animals as a “minor” crime are ignoring a time bomb. Instead, courts should aggressively penalize animal abusers, examine families for other signs of violence, and order perpetrators to undergo psychological evaluations and counseling. Communities must recognize that abuse to any living individual is unacceptable and endangers everyone.

In March 2006, Maine Governor John Baldacci signed a law-the first of its kind in the United States-that permits judges to include animal companions in court-issued protection orders against domestic abusers. Those who harm animals in violation of a court order can face fines and jail time.(20) 

Baltimore police who file domestic violence reports are required to note the presence and condition of animal companions. The Boston Police Department partners with the New England Animal Control/Humane Task Force to detect and respond to domestic violence associated with cruelty investigations. The New Jersey Coalition for Battered Women works with animal control to identify signs of domestic violence.

Additionally, children should be taught to care for and respect animals in their own right. After an extensive study of the links between animal abuse and human abuse, two experts concluded, “The evolution of a more gentle and benign relationship in human society might be enhanced by our promotion of a more positive and nurturing ethic between children and animals.”(21)

What You Can Do 

• Urge your local school, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and judges to take cruelty to animals seriously. Those charged with protecting our communities and animals must send a strong message that violence against any feeling creature-human or nonhuman-is unacceptable.
• Be aware of signs of neglect or abuse in children and animals and immediately report suspected crimes to authorities. Take children seriously if they report that animals are being neglected or mistreated. Some children won’t talk about their own suffering but will talk about an animal’s.
•  Don’t ignore even minor acts of cruelty to animals by children. Talk to the child and the child’s parents. If necessary, call a social worker.

References

1) Daniel Goleman, “Experts See Parallels Between Dahmer, Previous Serial Killers,” New York Times News Service, 11 Aug. 1991.
2) Sara C. Haden and Angela Scarpa, “Childhood Animal Cruelty: A Review of Research, Assessment, and Therapeutic Issues,” The Forensic Examiner 14 (2005): 23-33.
3) Alan R. Felthous, M.D., “Aggression Against Cats, Dogs, and People,” Child Psychology and Human Development 10 (1980): 169-77.
 4) “Animal Cruelty; Common in Many Killers,” Sunbury Macedon Regional 26 Apr. 2005.
5) Ruth Larson, “Animal Cruelty May Be a Warning. Often Precedes Harm to Humans,” The Washington Times 23 Jun. 1998.
6) Andrea Vance, “10-Year-Old Luke Kicked a Lamb to Death Like a Football,” News of the World (U.K.), 23 Jan. 2005.
7) Goleman.
Tim Potter, “BTK Describes His Own Crimes,” The Wichita Eagle 16 Jul. 2005.
9) Paul Bradley and Kiran Krishnamurthy, “Right and Wrong ‘An Illusion’/Psychologist Who Met With Malvo Said Teen’s Disorder Limited His Moral Judgment,” Richmond Times Dispatch 9 Dec. 2003.
10) Deborah Sharp, “Abuse Will Often Cross Species Lines,” USA Today 28 Apr. 2000.
11) Mitchell Zuckoff, “Loners Drew Little Notice,” Boston Globe 22 Apr. 1999.
12) Ethan Bronner, “Terror in Littleton: The Signs; Experts Urge Swift Action to Fight Depression, Isolation, and Aggression,” The New York Times 22 Apr. 1999.
13) “Police Remove Children From Filthy House,” Associated Press, 17 Jun. 2005.
14) John H. Croessman, “Filthy Find,” Du Quoin Evening Call 8 Dec. 2004.
15) Elizabeth Deviney et al., “The Care of Pets Within Child Abusing Families,” International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems 4 (1983): 321-9.
16) David Crary, “Program Links Domestic Abuse, Pets,” Associated Press, 11 Mar. 2001.
17) Sharp.
18) “Man Accused of Killing Puppy With Ax as Children Begged Him to Stop,” Associated Press, 17 Nov. 2003.
19) “Man Charged With Threatening Children Over Dead Family Dog,” Associated Press, 28 Feb. 2004.
20) Sharon Kiley Mack, “Law Protects Pets of Abuse Victims,” Bangor Daily News 1 Apr. 2006.
21) Stephen R. Kellert and Alan R. Felthous, “Childhood Cruelty Toward Animals Among Criminals and Noncriminals,” Human Relations 38 (1985): 1113-29.

Reprinted from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.