It has been proven over and over. Statistical data, case
studies, psychologists, and even FBI Profilers show us the connection
over
and over again, and yet animal abuse crimes are not given nearly the
weight
that human crimes are given. Animal abuse clearly illustrates a lack of
empathy for the suffering of others, which is a signficant
characteristic of sociopathic personalities.

If you break it down to its bare essentials:
"Abusing an animal is a way for
a human to find power/joy/fulfillment through the torture of a victim they
know cannot defend itself."

The line separating an animal abuser from someone capable of committing human abuse is
much finer than most people care to consider. People abuse animals for the
same reasons they abuse people. Some of them will stop with animals, but
enough have been proven to continue on to commit violent crimes to people that it's
worth paying attention to.

Virtually every serious violent offender has a
history of animal abuse in their past, and since there's no way to know
which animal abuser is going to continue on to commit violent human crimes,
they should ALL be taken that seriously. FBI
Supervisory Special Agent Allen Brantley was quoted as saying "Animal
cruelty... is not a harmless venting of emotion in a healthy individual;
this is a warning sign..." It should be looked at as exactly that.
Its a clear indicator of psychological issues that can and often DO lead to
more violent human crimes.

Children who have abused animals should learn through teachers, social situations, and good
parenting that abuse is wrong, and correct their behavior. This is a critical time, and if any one of
those corrective elements is missing, that child is high risk for
potentially becoming more abusive later on. As said by Anthropologist
Margaret Mead, "One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child
is to kill or torture an animal and get away with it".

There are things that can be done.
 http://www.pet-abuse.com/prevent/
http://www.pet-abuse.com/prevent/children.php
http://www.pet-abuse.com/connection/spread.php

We are urging vigorous prosecution and mandatory psychological counseling for these boys if they are convicted.