Stop Animal Cruelty

Region: United States of America

Background (Preamble): Statistics show that people who commit violent acts against animals go on to re-offend against people and commit violent crimes including rape & murder.
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Taffy Hotene went from strangling kittens to killing Kylie Jones in August 2000. New Zealand born Taffy started out strangling kittens, moving on to theft, aggravated robbery, rape and finally murder.
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In a (2001) collaborative study1 (the Calgary Humane Society, YWCA Family
Violence Prevention Center, researcher Sue C. McIntosh and supported by RESOLVE Alberta) of 100 women in shelters who owned pets:

25% delayed leaving an abusive situation out of fear of what would happen to their pet. (In an earlier Hamilton study, the number was 48%).

56% reported that their abuser either threatened to and/or actually hurttheir pet. (61% in Hamilton)

21% were aware that their abuser had abused animals as a child or adolescent.

Of those women with both children and pets, who stated their partner had abused their pet:

65% reported that their children were aware that their pets were being
abused.

65% believed that their children were impacted by the abuse of their pets.

59% talked with their children about their pets being hurt or threatened, butonly 19% discussed the impact of such abuse with anyone else (6% discussed
it with a counselor or social service worker)
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Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Andrew Cunanan, David 'Son of Sam' Berkowitz, and Albert 'Boston Strangler' DeSalvo were ALL cruel to animals before they started hurting people. Their offenses are listed below.

Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys %u2013 most of whom were of African or Asian descent. His murders were particularly gruesome, involving rape, torture, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism.

Ted Bundy murdered 36 people that authorities know about, Bundy would bludgeon his victims, then strangle them to death. He also engaged in rape and necrophilia

Albert 'Boston Strangler' DeSalvo was responsible for killing 13 women after a sexual assault they were strangled with their own clothing.
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Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention as stated by Frank R. Ascione.

The past two decades have witnessed a
resurgence of interest in the relation
between cruelty to animals, or animal
abuse, and serious violent behavior, especially
among youthful offenders. As an
illustration, a recent study by Verlinden
(2000) of 9 school shootings in the United
States (from Moses Lake, WA, in 1996 to
Conyers, GA, in 1999) reported that 5 (45
percent) of the 11 perpetrators had histories
of alleged animal abuse. The most
well-documented example was the case of
Luke Woodham who, in the April before
his October 1997 murder of his mother
and two schoolmates, tortured and killed
his own pet dog (Ascione, 1999).
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These are yet but just a few of the statistics relating to this matter.

 Animals do not ask to be born, even their parents are not given a say in the matter.

 "And we have the nerve to call ourselves caring"

 Petition: We, the undersigned, plead upon the Government of The United States to stop animal abuse and cruelty. To implement a National Law with harsh penalties, stiff fines, and a National Animal Cruelty Offender Registry similar to the National Sex Offender Registry. To make animal abuse,cruelty and neglect a felony.