The Hidden Connection Between Young Animal Abusers and Serial Killers

The Hidden Connection Between Young Animal Abusers and Serial Killers

“I always had the desire to inflict pain on others… I always seemed to enjoy everything that hurt,” remarked Albert Fish, an infamous and despised serial killer, rapist, and cannibal. We often consider serial killers as the worst people to step foot on Earth; however, we never take time to reflect on what birthed such evil personalities. When we take a closer look at serial killers and the creation of such personas, animal abuse is the most common theme.

While the link between the two may seem illogical, it remains undisputed that animal cruelty at a young age creates more murderers; however, the main reason for this odd yet historical relationship is violence. This brutality originates from an addiction to torturing innocent animals. For example, in Romania, strays are branded as vermin and rounded up for ruthless killing by the government, leading to a practice of killing innocent, unfortunate animals. The situation grew so uncontrollable that the European Court of Human Rights was eventually called in to fix this situation.

Similarly, domestic violence towards women is standard in Romania as a combined 84 percent of the population say violence is “fairly common.” In both of these cases, there is a connection: Romania's high stray murder and violence rates make the youth more likely to witness animal cruelty and subsequently become more aggressive.

While some may argue that exposing adolescents to animal cruelty cannot create something nearly as horrible as murderers, a Romanian study indicated that adolescents exposed to animal cruelty showed suicidal or violent behavior. As a result of witnessing animals suffering constantly, the teenage brain becomes accustomed to experiencing violence and injuries to themselves and others. Teens who observe constant animal abuse become more likely to believe that self-harm and unfair treatment is typical.

History provides multiple specific examples of this scenario. To start off with, Jeffrey Dahmer practiced cutting dogs and cats and ended up murdering and cutting off the limbs of 17 people. In a similar sense, Ian Brady started boasting about killing a cat at the young age of 10. Later, he went on to kill several other animals such as dogs, cats, and rabbits before choosing to sever multiple people’s heads. Lastly, two people who enjoyed brutality, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, used to tie rabbits to railways and shoot pigeons for no apparent reason. Months later, they went on to abduct, torture, and murder a toddler.

To add to this, twenty-five percent of aggressive inmates have committed animal abuse as adolescents. This includes those who have not been convicted of murder. Similarly, forty-five percent of school shooters are known to have committed animal cruelty. And finally, twenty-one percent of serial killers have admitted to childhood animal abuse. This excludes those that have abused and denied any abuse towards innocent animals. Due to these statistics, stories, and historical links, it can be assumed and proven that animal abuse should be considered as an early indicator of a future murder, rape, or assault.

Animal abuse itself is a horrible act; however, its consequences affect many others in the long term, as shown. There is a fundamental connection between killing animals and killing innocent people; serial killer mindsets may not only affect clueless beings but even you as well. To prevent this mindset from further spreading, we must prevent the origin from developing. For more information on animal abuse and how to stop it, make sure to check out our website.