Animal Cruelty

yellow lab lying by empty food dish - photo by Chalabala

Although most pet owners consider companion animals to be beloved members of their family, some animals kept as pets sadly experience cruelty and neglect. Animal cruelty involves inflicting harm, injuring, or killing an animal. This cruelty can be intentional or it can involve neglect, such as failing to provide adequate food, water, shelter, or medical treatment. Other forms of animal cruelty include animal sexual abuse and organized animal fighting, in which animals are trained or forced to attack each other in violent confrontations at the risk of grave injury or death. For more info, see AWI’s Signs of Animal Abuse and Neglect (also available in Spanish). If you witness or suspect animal cruelty, report your concerns to law enforcement, animal control, or your local animal cruelty hotline. Please see Animal Cruelty Reporting FAQs for additional guidance on reporting animal abuse or neglect.

Research demonstrates that participation in animal cruelty is also associated with other criminal behavior, such as illegal drug activity, weapons crimes, gambling, and assault. Recognizing this, in 2014 the Federal Bureau of Investigation added animal cruelty as a distinct crime category within the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS), the FBI’s national crime database. Now that animal cruelty crimes can be tracked throughout the country, the association between animal cruelty and other crimes can be assessed, trends can be identified, and appropriate interventions can be designed to address animal cruelty and associated ills. Such advances are possible thanks to community members and professionals who recognize and report animal cruelty. For more information, visit AWI’s online Center for the Study of NIBRS Animal Cruelty Data.