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• Cruelty to Animals Essay

Introduction

Our planet Earth is a very beautiful place. Here, all the living organisms are dependent on each other and live together. We, humans, are considered as the most intelligent species on Earth. But, we sometimes become very insensitive to the creatures who cannot express themselves, especially the animals. We harm them just to fulfill our needs. We have an essay here on cruelty towards animals which will cover the questions like - write an article on cruelty towards animals, cruelty towards animals paragraph, paragraph on stop cruelty towards animals, article on cruelty towards animals class 9 and so on.

Long Paragraph on Cruelty to Animals

Animals, just like human beings, deserve a peaceful life. Animals are an important part of our ecosystem and are very useful to us. But, we sometimes forget that they are also living creatures. We keep on harassing them and these poor creatures can't even express their feelings and grief. Cruelty towards animals have become an international matter of concern. This needs to be addressed as soon as possible and should be eliminated for ever.

We become cruel towards animals for two reasons - one to fulfill our needs and other for fun. We use animals for their fur, their skin, their meat, their teeth and horns too. Sometimes, we apply colours on them which harm their skin, we also burn crackers without thinking about them. Sometimes , the tea-shop keeper pours the hot water on the street dogs, which is a great example of cruel behaviour towards the animals.

The animal skins are used in textile industries. Their skin and body hairs are used to make exotic fabrics for us to use. Animal’s teeth, horns, skin and fur are used to make home decor items which we beautifully use to decorate our homes without thinking how much pain animals go through for giving us these luxuries.

Another industry that contributes in cruelty to animals is the cosmetic industry. Whenever we buy any cosmetic products, we always make sure that the product is safe on our skin. But, we hardly realise that these products are tested on animals before it reaches us. The chemicals are often injected in animal’s bodies or applied on their skin. Sometimes, these are tested on their eyes too. And if the test fails, it sometimes leads to the animal's death also. These tests cause itching and burning too. But,we the human beings, keep on torturing the animals for our own purposes.

Our progressing medical science also has a big role in harassing the animals and showing our cruelty towards them. For the trials of medicines, animals are selected. They are then injected with the trial medicines without thinking about their pain. They are often kept in freezing temperatures for the experiments. We also ill treat the animals at zoos and circuses. The place where they are kept is not cleaned often. Also, the feeding methods are not too hygienic. These result in various diseases and often to their death.

Many animals and birds, in the name of pets, are being sold everyday. These animals are kept in cages or are kept tied with a chain. Most often, they are beaten up. The street dogs are often beaten up by the shopkeepers if they are found roaming around. Many cows are found roaming around the garbage heaps finding food. Many times many animals are hit by the fast moving traffic. These all are the examples of cruelty towards animals.

But now it's enough! We, the human beings, who are considered as the most intelligent creatures on Earth have to stop playing with these poor creatures' lives. We have to raise our voice and stop being cruel to the animals. We have to bring new strong laws to protect the animals. Every school should teach students how to respect and protect our fellow creatures - animals. Parents themselves should treat the animals with respect and love and should teach their wards the same.

We should always keep one thing in mind that we cannot survive without animals. Everything on Earth has its own purpose. The animals help in balancing our ecosystem. We have to take a call and save our environment, our mother Earth and our animals.

Short Paragraph on Stop Cruelty Towards Animals

Cruelty means a behaviour that harms others physically or mentally. But it's a matter of shame that we only consider human beings when it comes to cruelty. We forget that animals are also living creatures and we should not be cruel to them. Just because these creatures can not express themselves as we do, we forget that what we are doing to them if someone does to us, we will die.

Human industries that contribute to this cruelty are - Textile, Cosmetics, Home Decor and many more. Animal skins and furs are used in textile industries, animal skin, fur, horns and teeths are used to make home decor items. Many animals are killed for their meat also. Animals are ill-treated in laboratories where they are used for testing and experiments. They are often kept in freezing conditions or in boiling conditions.

It is high time now that we stop abusing these poor animals. They are also living beings and are very very important to us as without them the whole ecosystem will disbalance. We should raise awareness and stop these cruelties against animals.

Conclusion:

Cruelty to animals has become a nationwide problem nowadays. The government has already imposed a few laws and a few more are needed. Along with that, social awareness is also required. Students should learn how to treat animals in schools. Parents should also treat their pets well and teach their children. Our planet Earth is a very beautiful place. Here, all the living organisms are dependent on each other and live together. We, humans, are considered the most intelligent species on Earth. But, we sometimes become very insensitive to the creatures who cannot express themselves, especially the animals. We harm them just to fulfil our needs.

We have an essay here on cruelty towards animals which will cover the questions like - write an article on cruelty towards animals, cruelty towards animals paragraph, paragraph on stop cruelty towards animals, article on cruelty towards animals class 9 and so on.

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FAQs on Cruelty to Animals Essay

1. List Some Animal Protection Laws.

Here are a few laws and acts to prevent animals:

• Article 51A(g) - It states that it is the fundamental duty of every citizen to be compassionate towards other living creatures.
• IPC Section 428 & 429 - Killing animals is a punishable offence.
• Section 11 (1)(i) & Section 11(1)(j), PCA Act, 1960 - Abandoning animals can lead to a prison of upto three months.
• Monkeys have been protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
• Section 22(ii), PCA Act, 1960 - Animals such as Monkeys, Tigers, Bears, Lions, Panthers, Bull can not be trained and can not be used for entertainment purposes.

2. How do we Use Animal Teeth and Horns?

We use animal teeth and horns to make decorative pieces with which we decorate our home and offices. These decorative items are truly expensive for nature and its habitats. The most common example of animal cruelty is hunting. Animals are hunted for their meat, bones, leather or any other precious body parts. This can cause the species to be endangered or even go extinct. Another example of animal cruelty is enslaving them for entertainment or hard work. There are a lot of examples of animals being cruelty trained in circuses, kept as prisoners in zoos, or used as labourers to get the hardest jobs done.

3. What is meant by cruelty to animals?

Animal cruelty is defined as harming animals by either subjecting them to slavery, product-testing, or hunting. Killing endangered species for their meat, bones, or leather also comes under animal cruelty and is a punishable offence. The government of India has passed a lot of laws that prevent cruelty to animals from happening on a large scale. But still, in some neglected places like undeveloped villages, slums, or forests, these activities are followed illegally. And the government and some big governing bodies like PETA are working hard towards eradicating any kind of animal cruelty.

4. How does cruelty affect animals?

Cruelty towards animals can be dangerous for their overall species. There are a lot of examples like dodos, sabre tooth tigers, etc that have gone extinct because of excessive hunting. It is also morally incorrect to torture any living thing to die for the sake of an experiment. That's why animal testing is also banned. Animal testing is another example of animal cruelty and can hurt animals and even cruelly kill them. Animal cruelty should be banned completely.

5. How can we prevent animal cruelty?

There are very clear action steps to take to prevent animal cruelty. We can be responsible pet owners and start showing love and affection towards the animals at our home. We can adopt or at least hand over the abandoned baby animals we find on the streets to animal care centres. We can prohibit the use of animal-tested cosmetics or any products. We can even file a complaint against anyone who is abusing stray animals or harming them.

Gayle Shomer Brezicki

For The HSUS

Fighting Animal Cruelty and Neglect

Animal cruelty includes intentional, malicious acts of animal abuse and less clear-cut situations where the needs of an animal are neglected. Violence against animals has been linked to a higher likelihood of criminal violence and domestic abuse.

Dogfighting is barbaric, forcing dogs to fight and suffer from horrific injuries. Take action to stop this cruelty and protect dogs.

One way you can help reduce the number of animals without a comfortable home is to have your pets spayed or neutered. This will help reduce number of homeless pets and animals in shelters, which will lead to less animals euthanized each year. Spaying or neutering also has health and behavioral benefits for your pet.

Have enacted animal cruelty laws that also include felony provisions since 2014.

Also affect animals; women entering domestic violence shelters report that their partners hurt or killed the family pet.

Can be expected of a female dog who has been spayed. Male dogs who have been neutered can live 18% longer than those not.

For every animal saved, countless others are still suffering. By stepping up for them, you can create a future where animals no longer have to suffer in puppy mills, factory farms, testing labs or other heartbreaking situations. Start saving lives today!

For every animal saved, countless others are still suffering. Your donation can create a future where animals no longer have to suffer cruelty and abuse.

People hate cruelty to animals, so why do we do it?

Research Fellow, Dianoia Institute of Philosophy, Australian Catholic University

Professor of Philosophy and Bioethics, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Disclosure statement

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Australian Catholic University provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

University of Wisconsin–Madison provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.

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Animal welfare experts warn our pets could suffer during the coronavirus pandemic, including from abuse or abandonment .

When we hear about animals being neglected, we’re often outraged. Consider the revelation of the mistreatment of racehorses at a Queensland abattoir, or the man who decapitated a kookaburra . These stories left many of us shocked and appalled.

But harm to animals is common in our society. Tens of billions of animals are killed in farms and slaughterhouses every year. Their deaths are sometimes truly horrific . Humanity’s relationship with animals is dysfunctional: humans love animals yet simultaneously perpetrate extreme violence against them. This is not only bad for animals. It’s bad for us too .

But humans and animals cannot simply end their relationship and part ways. We have to share a world. So we have to forge a better relationship. The hard question is: what shape should that new relationship take?

Differing standards for humans and for animals?

Here’s an ethics thought experiment. Five humans are dying of organ failure. The only way to save their lives is to kill one healthy person, harvest their organs, and transplant these into the five dying people. Is it morally acceptable to kill the one to save the many?

If you’re like most people, your answer is a firm “no”. Humans have a right to life and can’t be killed in service of the greater good. This is an example of what’s known as a deontological judgment.

Read more: If you don't eat meat but still wear leather, here are a few facts to chew on

But now let’s change the scenario. Suppose you are the manager of a sanctuary for chickens. An infectious virus is spreading through the sanctuary and you have to decide whether to kill one infected chicken or allow the virus to spread throughout the sanctuary, killing a larger number. Now what?

When confronted with the chicken scenario, many will say it’s acceptable to kill the one to save the many. Your responsibility as manager of the sanctuary is to promote the aggregate health and well-being of all the chickens in your care. If this means you have to kill one chicken to save many more, so be it. This is an example of what’s known as a utilitarian judgment.

When we think about cases where animal lives are at stake, we often tend to think in utilitarian terms. When we think about cases where human lives are at stake, we often tend to think in deontological terms.

Animal activists put to the test

Even animal activists, committed to a view of animals and humans as moral equals, may be inclined to see animals and humans from these differing perspectives.

At an animal activist conference in Melbourne last year (before the pandemic) we divided the audience into small groups and gave them different scenarios featuring different species.

Only 35% of those considering chicken cases said it was wrong to kill one chicken to save the many, whereas fully 85% of those considering human cases decided it was wrong to kill one human to save the many. An informal experiment, but it seems to illustrate a very human tendency to think of animals and humans according to different standards.

That tendency has been observed in many contexts. Robert Nozick influentially discusses a bifurcated view along these lines in his 1974 classic Anarchy, State, and Utopia . But the question of whether such a view can be attributed to ordinary people is only recently being rigorously studied by psychologists such as Lucius Caviola at Harvard University.

Read more: Illegal hunters are a bigger problem on farms than animal activists – so why aren't we talking about that?

Beyond psychological research, we can look to institutions for evidence that this sort of bifurcated view is widespread, as we have argued elsewhere .

For example, when animals are used in scientific experimentation, researchers are mainly expected to show the benefits outweigh the costs: a utilitarian standard.

But when humans are used, characteristically deontological considerations, such as consent and autonomy, are brought to bear; a cost-benefit analysis isn’t enough.

So we tend to be more utilitarian about animals than about humans. Yet we also don’t see all animals from a purely utilitarian perspective. Think about your family dog. Would your conscience allow you to kill her to save five other dogs?

Three perspectives

The upshot: humans seem to be capable of seeing animals in at least three very different ways.

First, we’re able to regard animals as objects that exist solely for the sake of our use and enjoyment and that don’t matter in themselves. For an example, consider the way the fishing industry treats bycatch as disposable.

Second, we’re able to regard animals as beings who matter in themselves yet who are fundamentally interchangeable with others. That’s a utilitarian perspective. It’s the perspective you occupy when you endorse killing one pig to save five. Such a view is defended by world-renowned Australian philosopher Peter Singer , among many others.

Third, we’re able to see animals as beings who not only matter in themselves, but who also have rights, such as the right to life, or the right to bodily integrity, or even the right to liberty.

Perhaps it’s strange to see farmed animals that way, but it’s not so strange to see non-human family members such as cats and dogs in that way. And famous philosophers such as Tom Regan have argued a vast range of animals ought to be seen in that way.

The future of human-animal relations

Currently, many of us see most animals as mere things, the way fishermen typically see bycatch. And this might continue into the future.

But that’d be a tragedy. Despite their differences from humans, animals are conscious individuals with their own welfare, and so do matter in themselves. Recognising this will be an essential step in reducing the tremendous amount of unnecessary suffering and death that humans inflict on animals.

The simple recognition that animals are not mere things is in itself of massive importance, but it’s also only the beginning of the work we have ahead of us. As a society we must confront deep and difficult questions about whether animals have moral rights and, if so, what those rights might be, and how (if at all) their rights differ from those of human beings. Philosophers have been debating such questions for decades but haven’t reached consensus (yet).

Such questions must be addressed before we can we hope to find a new relationship with animals that fully recognises and respects our obligations to them.

Read more: Not just activists, 9 out of 10 people are concerned about animal welfare in Australian farming

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• animal abuse
• Animal activists

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Causes and Effects of Animal Cruelty

What are the causes and effects of animal cruelty? What is the impact of animal abuse on the environment and society? How to stop it? Find the answers below.

• Presentation of the Problem

Animal abuse means acts of neglect or violence that cause the pain and suffering of domestic and wild animals. With the development of modern civilization, this problem and the attention to it have been continuously increasing. According to Tanner (2015), today, “condemnation of cruelty to animals is virtually unanimous” (p. 818). Despite the public disapproval of animal abuse, little is being done when the cases occur. Moreover, numerous acts of animal neglect are not generally considered as cruel due to the lack of awareness in society. Therefore, it is vitally important to understand the negative impact of animal maltreatment on society, particular individuals, and the animals to realize the seriousness of the problem and take decisive actions.

Impact & Causes of Animal Abuse: Presentation of the Problem

Humans stand in the most dominating position among all the species of Planet Earth. They are the ones who run farms, circuses and decide whether to buy, adopt, or abandon a pet. The influence of humans has even spread onto wild animals as they can kill them while hunting or destroy their environment. According to Cooper (2018), domestic animals and pets exist exclusively at human mercy. However, this should not mean that people are free to do anything they want to animals, but, instead, signifies the responsibility of humans for treating animals properly. Although the use of farm animals for food, leather, and fur is not considered cruel by most of society, the practices that provoke unnecessary suffering and pain should not be tolerated.

It should be mentioned that animal maltreatment commonly appears in two forms – passive and active. Passive cruelty is the act of making animals suffer without vicious motives, usually for commercial purposes. Hurting animals in such a way does not imply aggression from humans; nevertheless, such acts show irresponsibility from people in their attitude to animals. This type of animal cruelty comprises such phenomena as inhumane farming, training animals for entertainment shows, neglect, starvation, and abandonment. Acts of animal maltreatment are considered illegal in the US. However, they often happen throughout the country as it is difficult to prove them and to find out who is guilty.

As the reasons for passive cruelty often lie in ignorance or indifference, active cruelty means deliberate and aggressive actions against animals to hurt and torture them. Acts of violence against animals are studied more thoroughly by scholars from various fields of study as they touch different aspects of social life such as psychology, psychiatry, education studies, and criminalistics. Cruelty as a psychological issue, especially at a young age, is a subject of concern for parents and teachers, as such acts speak for psychical disorders.

Animal Cruelty Causes

The history of relationships between humans and animals is thousands of years long. Our predecessors used animals for food and work as we do now, but initially, this use was motivated by necessity. Today, people are not as much dependent on animals, as there are various sources of food, and they do not need to put animals to work as machines are more effective than horses or oxen. Despite this, the exploitation of animals has only increased with the development of civilization. The question is, what makes people act cruelly towards animals if it is not a necessity.

Several reasons cause people to be cruel to animals today. First of all, commercial motives should be mentioned as the desire to maximize profit from farming leads to animal exploitation, such as factory farming. Testing products on animals is also a step in pursuit of commercial goals. Entertaining shows with animals, such as circuses or bullfighting, were initially present in many cultures. However, the main reason that they are still present despite the modern-day awareness is that they bring money.

Secondly, ignorance and indifference are the reasons that mostly cause violence towards pets. Some people use cruel types of training or inhumane procedures such as declawing of cats without knowing that they hurt their pets. Other people do not care about pets and neglect them. For example, they can leave a cat or a dog at home alone for several days without food and water, or leave them freezing outside at night. Irresponsible treatment is illegal and should be punished, but such cases are rarely reported.

Sheer aggression is probably the most clamant reason for cruelty to animals. Psychologists who study the nature of delinquent behavior claim that there is no specific type of aggression aimed at animals. As Hoffer, Hargreaves-Company, Muirhead, and Meloy (2018) claim, it is possible to predict the violence to humans by assessing the abuse of young people to animals. Their research shows that, in most cases, animals become victims only because they are weaker and cannot protect themselves from human rudeness.

Animal Cruelty Effects

From the ethical point of view, cruelty to animals should not be tolerated. It is illegal to make animals feel pain or suffer, and it should be punished. However, punishment, as it is rare and weak, is not a deterrent to animal abuse. That is why the awareness should be raised about the effect of cruelty to animals on society. After taking the first look at commercial maltreatment of animals, it seems that there is no negative influence on society, as people seem only to benefit from it.

Nonetheless, factory farming can lead to the transmission of infections among animals. Such outbreaks of diseases transmitted through products of animal origin are registered in the US almost every year. In addition to this, the exploitation of animals, especially with entertaining purposes, leads to cultural and ethical degradation of society.

Indifference and ignorance of pets can have disastrous outcomes for them, as in the result of such treatment, many of them die, starve or become abandoned. Children, raised in families where cruelty to animals is tolerated, have the perception that it is a norm and are likely to continue this tradition. As a result of abandonment, cities are flooded with stray animals, which negatively influence the welfare of residents.

Psychologists say that there is a direct link between violence to animals and people (Bright et al., 2018). Deliberate, aggressive behavior to animals has been self-reported by numbers of juvenile offenders, as the study shows. According to Bright, Huq, Applebaum, and Hardt, animal abuse is a sign of delinquency: “Compared to the larger group of juvenile offenders, the children admitting to engaging in animal cruelty are younger at the time of the first arrest” (p. 287). Reporting and assessing such incidents is necessary, as it can serve for prediction and prevention of further aggression against humans.

The analysis of the effect cruelty to animals has on the society shows that there are numerous negative consequences of such acts, as there are no animal abuse cases that have absolutely no outcomes. The effects on humans are different, but the effect on animals is always the same – creatures capable of affection and devotion are suffering and dying. Viewing animals only as objects can not lead to effective and happy co-existence, whereas compassion and care provide mutual gain.

Bright, M. A., Huq, M. S., Spencer, T., Applebaum, J. W., & Hardt, N. (2018). Animal cruelty as an indicator of family trauma: Using adverse childhood experiences to look beyond child abuse and domestic violence. Child Abuse & Neglect, 76 , 287–296. Web.

Cooper, D. E. (2018). Animals and misanthropy . London, UK: Routledge.

Hoffer, T., Hargreaves-Company, H., Muirhead, Y., & Meloy, J. R. (2018). Violence in animal cruelty offenders. New York, NY: Springer Nature.

Tanner, J. (2015). Clarifying the concept of cruelty: What makes cruelty to animals cruel. The Heythrop Journal, 56 (5), 818–835. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2023, October 29). Causes and Effects of Animal Cruelty. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cruelty-to-animals-causes-and-effects/

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Ways to Prevent Cruelty to Animals

FOUR PAWS' recommendations to know how to spot and prevent companion animal cruelty 

Many of us adore our beloved pets and would never want to inflict them any suffering, however with tens of thousands of animals in shelters needing homes and animal cruelty being reported across the globe, it’s no doubt that many companion animals are left suffering. FOUR PAWS recommends 10 ways to identify and where possible, stop animal cruelty to pets. 

10 tips to prevent cruelty to animals

• Be a responsible pet owner . Know about and fulfil the needs of your pet. Don’t just concern yourself with basic needs – give your pet positive experiences that really enhance its well-being.
• Be an example of kindness to other pets. Foster a pet that has suffered abandonment. Sadly, many pets are relinquished to shelters for various reasons. Foster homes help these animals to recover and prepare them to move onto a new permanent loving home.
• Intervene if you witness animal cruelty, abuse or neglect. Do what you can to stop someone from mistreating an animal. However, be sensible and don’t put yourself in danger. If necessary, seek help from other witnesses.
• Report animal cruelty, abuse or neglect. If you witness any form of animal cruelty, report it to the police or other authorities. Act immediately to prevent further cruelty.
• Teach your children to have respect for animals. Set a good example by being respectful towards animals. Show children how to treat animals with love and consideration. Help them to grow up to become the next generation of advocates for animals.
• Demand stricter laws for the protection of animals. Stronger animal welfare laws and harsher penalties will lead to fewer cruelty cases.
• Shelter an animal in need. You can be the helping hand that an animal need. An animal that has been mistreated needs support, sometimes immediately. You can make a real difference by taking an animal out of a harmful situation.
• Consider that neglect of animals can be closely linked to domestic violence . Animal abuse and domestic abuse are often closely connected. By reporting your suspicions, you may also be helping both the animal in need and the family concerned. See also “The link between cruelty to animals and violence to humans”.
• Educate people around you about the issue. Help people to understand that they can intervene in situations where animals are being neglected or even tormented. Animals have a right to live without fear or pain, and we have a responsibility to step in if their rights aren’t respected.
• Offer help to people who are overwhelmed with their animal. Animals aren’t necessarily neglected out of a lack of love. An owner may not have the psychological resources to provide an animal with the appropriate care. Whatever the reasons may be, an affected pet must be removed from a place of neglect and given the care it needs to live and thrive. Any help you give to an animal may help a human too.

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ANIMALS SHOULD HAVE A SAFE AND GOOD HOME

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How do we stop animal cruelty?

By Rachael Bale , ANIMALS Executive Editor It may sound surprising, but animal cruelty is only just becoming a federal crime. The PACT Act (“Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture”) passed unanimously in both houses of the U.S. Congress, and President Trump is expected to sign it. The soon-to-be law makes it a felony to do a number of sickening things to animals. Each state already has felony animal cruelty laws, but PACT fills some gaps, covering crimes on federal property or perpetrators who traveled across state lines, Humane Society’s Tracie Letterman told me. The move also is important for public health. Animal abuse is clearly linked to other violent crimes, such as domestic violence, assault, and sex crimes. The FBI now tracks animal abuse because it could be a warning of more violent acts. Today we know all animals feel pain . It’s clear they think and feel, as well. As conservationist Carl Safina told Nat Geo:

Life is very vivid to animals. In many cases they know who they are. They know who their friends aree eand who their rivals are. They have ambitions for higher status. They compete. Their lives follow the arc of a career, like ours do. Carl Safina , Ecologist and conservationist

Today in a minute

Flipper, indeed : How creative are bottlenose dolphins at finding food? They “punt” fish up in the air, then eat the stunned prey when they hit the water. Stephanie Garza, a University of Florida biologist, calls it “fish whacking,” Nat Geo’s Douglas Main reports . Destroyed no more : Retired police K-9s in Texas used to be treated as “surplus” equipment, meaning they had to be auctioned off or even euthanized when they retired. Last week, Texans voted to change the law, letting the loyal dogs be adopted by the handlers or others, the Washington Post reports . Where chimps and humans clash : Desperate chimpanzees in western Uganda raided a family’s crops, took jackfruit from their tree, and killed their two-year-old son. Losing their habitat to farmers, chimps have killed at least two other children in the area since 2014. Why so many songbirds? An extra chromosome may have allowed songbirds to diversify, Scientific American reports . They make up roughly half of the 10,000 bird species.

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Kelp at the end of the world . In Argentina's remote Thetis Bay, giant kelp forests harbor one of the most magnificent marine ecosystems on the planet. Climate change, writes Enric Sala , hasn’t made a permanent mark here—yet.

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Make way for ducklings . We search out wildlife from all over the world. Sometimes wildlife comes to us. Every year, a pair of mallard ducks visits National Geographic’s headquarters to lay eggs and hang out in our courtyard fountain. Sometimes, however, the ducklings hatch early, when the Washington winter is still occasionally frigid. We added a ramp to help the ducklings get out of the fountain, and one year, an editor brought a box and a heating pad to help the ducklings make it through , Natasha Daly writes. This spring, they shared space with goslings .

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One last glimpse

Long time, no see! A camera trap in southern Vietnam has captured a photo of the silver-backed chevrotain, a rabbit-sized species last seen in 1990. Also known as the Vietnamese mouse-deer, the fanged animal was spotted tiptoeing through the forest. “I was overjoyed,” An Nguyen of Global Wildlife Conservation told National Geographic .

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Essay on Cruelty On Animals

Students are often asked to write an essay on Cruelty On Animals in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Cruelty On Animals

Introduction.

Cruelty on animals is a big problem. It means hurting animals on purpose. This can include not giving them food or water, hitting them, or not taking care of them when they are sick. It is wrong and against the law.

Types of Cruelty

There are two types of cruelty: active and passive. Active cruelty means hurting animals on purpose. Passive cruelty is when people don’t take care of their animals. They might not give them food, water, or medical care. Both types are harmful.

Effects on Animals

Cruelty can hurt animals in many ways. They can get sick or injured. They can also become scared of people. Some animals might even die because of cruelty.

Preventing Cruelty

We can stop cruelty by being kind to animals. We should take care of them and give them what they need. It’s also important to tell an adult if we see someone being cruel to an animal.

Cruelty on animals is wrong. Everyone should treat animals with kindness and respect. If we all work together, we can stop cruelty and make the world a better place for animals.

250 Words Essay on Cruelty On Animals

What is animal cruelty.

Animal cruelty is when people harm animals or do not care for their well-being. It can be physical, like hitting or hurting animals on purpose, or neglect, like not giving an animal food, water, and shelter.

Types of Animal Cruelty

There are two main types of animal cruelty. First, active cruelty, which means people purposely hurting animals. This can include kicking, hitting, or starving an animal. Second, passive cruelty, which is when people neglect animals. They may not mean to hurt the animal, but by not taking care of it, they cause harm.

Animal cruelty can cause animals to get sick, hurt, or even die. Animals who are hurt by people often become scared and may have trouble trusting people again. They can also become sad and not want to eat or play.

How to Stop Animal Cruelty

There are many ways to stop animal cruelty. If you see someone hurting an animal, tell an adult or call the police. You can also help by adopting animals from shelters instead of buying them from pet stores. Educating others about the importance of treating animals kindly can also make a big difference.

Animal cruelty is a serious problem, but we can all do our part to help stop it. By treating animals with kindness and respect, and by speaking up when we see them being mistreated, we can help ensure that all animals live happy, healthy lives.

500 Words Essay on Cruelty On Animals

Cruelty on animals is a serious issue that we all need to think about. It means causing harm to animals for no reason. This is wrong and needs to be stopped. Animals have feelings just like us and they should be treated with kindness and respect.

Forms of Animal Cruelty

There are many ways in which animals are mistreated. Some people hurt animals directly by hitting them or not giving them food or water. This is called physical abuse. Other times, animals are treated badly by being kept in very small spaces where they cannot move around. This is known as neglect.

Animals are also used in harmful experiments in some labs. They are given drugs or have operations done on them that can cause them pain. This is called animal testing. It is another form of animal cruelty that is often hidden from the public.

Effects of Cruelty on Animals

When animals are treated badly, they suffer. They can get hurt or sick and may even die. They can also become scared of people and may act out in fear. This is not good for the animals or for the people who might come into contact with them.

Cruelty to animals also affects our environment. Animals are an important part of our world. They help to keep things in balance. When they are hurt or killed, it can upset this balance and cause problems for other animals and even for us.

What Can Be Done to Stop Animal Cruelty

There are many things that we can do to help stop animal cruelty. One of the most important things is to be kind to animals. We should treat them with respect and care. If we see someone being cruel to an animal, we should tell an adult or call the local animal control.

We can also help by not supporting businesses that treat animals badly. This includes circuses that use animals for entertainment or shops that sell products tested on animals. Instead, we can choose to support companies that treat animals well.

Cruelty to animals is a big problem, but it is one that we can help to solve. By treating animals with kindness, standing up against cruelty, and making good choices about what we buy, we can make a difference. Remember, every creature deserves to live a life free from pain and fear. Let’s all do our part to make sure that happens.

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Understanding the Link between Animal Cruelty and Family Violence: The Bioecological Systems Model

Brinda jegatheesan.

1 Faculty of Educational Psychology, Learning Sciences and Human Development, University of Washington, 322 F Miller Hall, Box 353600, Seattle, WA 98195-3600, USA

Marie-Jose Enders-Slegers

2 Faculty of Psychology, Open University of The Netherlands, Valkenburgerweg 177, 6419 AT Heerlen, The Netherlands; [email protected]

Elizabeth Ormerod

3 Society for Companion Animal Studies (SCAS), P.O. Box 23, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 9WQ, UK; [email protected]

Paula Boyden

4 Dogs Trust, 17 Wakely Street, London EC1V 7RQ, UK; [email protected]

Violence towards animals and violence towards people are often interconnected problems, and as such, this phenomenon has been termed the Link. Violence towards animals is a strong predictor that the abuser may inflict violence on people. However, it must not be assumed this is always the case. Professionals treating an animal or a human patient/client who has been subjected to abuse are uniquely situated to act in the role of ‘first responders’ when they suspect or recognize animal abuse, human abuse, or family violence. To more fully understand the Link the authors introduce Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems model through which to examine the complexity of the problem. Using data from earlier studies in which they interviewed police officers, other law enforcers, veterinarians, social workers, and community and family members, the authors discuss the correlation between animal cruelty and family violence. Furthermore, they examine how Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems model has the potential to better support animal and human health and welfare professionals in the identification of strategies for animals and humans caught in abusive settings. The authors recommend that these professionals become familiar with the bioecological systems model, which will enable them to better understand the psychological problems of animal cruelty and family violence and the different bioecological contributing factors. The authors emphasize transdisciplinary collaboration as vital in the recognition, prevention, and protection of animal and human victims trapped in family violence.

1. Introduction

1.1. companion animals in the family system.

Companion animals are increasingly becoming an integral part of family ecology worldwide. The number of households in the United States having a pet was estimated to be 67% [ 1 ]. In Europe, e.g., in The Netherlands, 59% of the households in France, 50% of the households and in the U.K., 40% of the households have companion animals [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. A vast majority of these families consider their pet to be a family member and have deep emotional relationships with them. Research has demonstrated that many health, physical, psychological, and social benefits accrue from having companion animals across the life cycle [ 5 , 6 ].

Children and adolescents, particularly those who are vulnerable, derive significant benefits across a range of developmental areas from having a companion animal in their midst. These include social and emotional, cognitive, educational, and behavioral areas of positive influence [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Among adults, companion animals also serve as important sources of psychological and social support (e.g., provide comfort, reduce feelings of loneliness during stressful times, increase social connectedness and self-esteem) and improved physical health arising from increased exercise [ 14 ]. Studies have found that for children who frequently experience trauma, their companion animals become their confidants, comforters, and bosom buddies who help them heal emotionally, find solace, provide a sense of security, and relieve them of stress [ 8 , 15 ].

The primary goal of this paper is to introduce the bioecological systems model and propose that professionals addressing and/or treating an animal or a human being who have been subjected to abuse are uniquely situated to act in the role of ‘first responders’ when they suspect or recognize animal abuse, human abuse, and family violence. The authors introduce the bioecological systems model because they believe that this will help professionals understand the complexity of the problem. The model will also provide an insight into the different ways professionals from a range of disciplines can work together for guiding mental health prevention and interventions [ 16 ].

Four cases identified during clinical and research fieldwork of the authors are used to discuss the usefulness of the Bronfenbrenner bioecological model to illustrate the correlation between animal abuse and family violence [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. The cases are in agreement with the findings of researchers worldwide who found correlations between the abuse directed towards partners, children, and companion animals [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ].

1.2. One Health-One Welfare

The human–animal bond is recognized as a key aspect in both the One Health [ 25 ] and the One Welfare approaches. In the One Health and One Welfare approaches, factors that concern each area—humans, animals, and environment—are all considered [ 26 ]. One Health is not a new concept but dates from the introduction of veterinary training. Many of its applications involve veterinary and other scientists collaborating to protect public health. The One Health approach recognizes that the “health of the people is connected to the health of animals and the environment” and the “goal is to attain optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants and their shared environment” [ 26 ]. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing” [ 27 ]. CDC’s reference to emotional, social, and natural states can also be found in the definition of One Welfare which emphasizes the strong Link between animal welfare and human health [ 28 ]. In addition, the World Health Organization defines health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Jordan and Lem explain that “where there are poor states of human welfare there commonly exists poor states of animal welfare… Similarly, animals often act as indicators of human health and welfare as can be seen in the Link between animal abuse and family violence” [ 26 ] (p. 1203). More recently the transdisciplinary approach has been extended to One Health One Welfare [ 26 , 29 ].

1.3. The Link—Animal Cruelty and Family Violence

For companion animals, their status as family members comes with both benefits and possible harm. In most families, companion animals are an integral part of the family and are treated similarly to the rest of the family members (e.g., including playtime and walks, food and medical care, birthday celebrations, and sleeping together). However, in other families, they are subjected to the harshest and most unkind conditions of neglect, emotional and physical abuse [ 30 ]. Ascione defined animal cruelty as “socially unacceptable behavior that intentionally causes unnecessary pain, suffering, or distress to and/or the death of an animal [ 31 ] (p. 228). Cruelty to animals is also described as a multidimensional construct that includes among others, severity, duration, frequency, and lack of empathy [ 32 , 33 ], as well as physical and mental dimensions of cruelty [ 34 ]. The lack of standardized definitions of animal cruelty, types of animals involved, and the time frame within which the abuse occurred have been viewed as methodological shortcomings when it concerns reporting animal cruelty incidents [ 34 , 35 ].

1.3.1. Animal Cruelty as a Marker

In a 2011 literature review conducted about animal abuse in the context of other violent and antisocial behaviors Gullone concluded that animal abuse is a marker of other potentially sinister experiences in children’s lives and that the relationship between animal abuse and aggression in childhood can extend into adulthood [ 36 ]. Often, companion animals can become victims during family violence, or used as pawns by the perpetrators to instill and enforce fear and control over their partner and children, creating interlocking systems of companion animal abuse, child abuse, and family violence [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ].

The connection between the treatment of animals being closely associated with the treatment of fellow human beings was first documented in the 13th century [ 46 ]. Understanding of family violence and its repercussions have deepened over the past 50 years. The Battered Child Syndrome, a landmark paper in 1962 by Kempe et al., described the types of injuries received from deliberate physical abuse, usually perpetrated by a family member or a babysitter [ 47 ]. Following the publication of the Battered Child Syndrome there was initial reluctance in the medial professions to accept the evidence and act in such cases to prevent further abuse. Writing in 1964, Mead found that across a range of cultures, extraordinary abuse of animals (e.g., torture, killing) by children may precede more violent acts by that individual as an adult [ 48 ]. She argued that an act of cruelty towards an animal by a child could “prove a diagnostic sign, and that such children, diagnosed early, could be helped instead of being allowed to embark on a long career of episodic violence and murder (p. 22). Her writings influenced the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to add animal cruelty to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–III R (DSM-III R) in 1987. In the 2013 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5) animal cruelty was retained as a symptom of conduct disorder [ 49 , 50 ].

Additional studies in the 60′s also documented the Link between violence towards animals in childhood and aggressive behavior towards humans in adulthood [ 51 , 52 ]. Fucini, in 1978, made the Link between animal abuse and child abuse and expressed the belief that a battered pet may be indicative of other types of violence happening in the family [ 53 ]. Van Leeuwen, a child psychiatrist, writing in 1981 stated among so-called accidental injuries brought to veterinarian attention “It would be sad if in analogy to child abuse there persisted a reluctance to recognize the existence of animal abuse among the so-called accidental injuries brought to the veterinarian’s attention. Greater awareness of animal abuse may lead veterinarians to initiate mental health intervention for the abusing family in addition to treating the animal” [ 54 ] (p. 182). Indeed, there has been resistance to accepting the evidence that family violence frequently involves family pets. In 1981, Hutton, a social worker in England, highlighted that animal abuse could be used as a diagnostic indicator for family violence [ 55 ]. His study found that 82% of families known to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) for animal abuse or neglect were also known to Social Services as having children at risk or having signs of physical abuse or neglect. He found clients were more willing to talk about their ill treatment of their pets, and from this, he could make better judgements as to when children were at risk. In 1983, in the International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems, DeViney et al. described a survey of pet owning families in the US with substantiated child abuse and neglect [ 56 ]. The authors found that animals were abused in 88 percent of homes in which children had been physically abused. In the majority of these cases, the abuse of the animals was perpetrated by a parent(s). The association between substantial animal directed abuse in childhood and later aggression towards people was confirmed by Kellert and Felthous in a 1985 paper [ 57 ]. In 1998, in a study published in the Journal of Emotional Abuse of abused women who sought shelter at a safe home and who had companion animals, 71 percent confirmed that their partner had threatened, injured or killed their pets [ 58 ]. Numerous studies in the millennium to date have documented the co-occurrence of family violence and animal abuse internationally [ 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 ].

1.3.2. Impact of Witnessing Animal Cruelty

There is growing evidence that many children and adults have often witnessed one or more forms of family violence as well as animal cruelty [ 40 , 65 , 66 , 67 ]. Children and adults can be exposed to direct forms of abuse or they may indirectly have experienced the effects of abuse by virtue of being a witness of family violence that has included a companion animal. Companion animals are often considered as a cherished family member and can also be subjected to abuse as a form of intimidation and retaliation to have/maintain control and power by the perpetrator. Although all cases of family violence can have a negative effect on children, frequency, length, and severity of the violent act will influence its effect [ 68 , 69 ]. Children who are frequently exposed to severe forms of family violence are found more likely to often abuse animals as are children who are regularly exposed to animal abuse [ 70 ]. Both these groups of children are more inclined to repeatedly abuse animals as compared to children who have witnessed a few incidents of animal abuse [ 71 ]. Both direct and indirect forms of abuse have profound short and long term impact on child development. Five key areas of child development documented as having significant traumatic impact are physical or biological functioning, behavioral, emotional development, social adaptation, and cognitive development [ 72 ]. Children who witness or experience animal cruelty or neglect are more likely in the future to engage in the abuse of other animals and people, often mimicking the behavior of the perpetrator [ 73 , 74 ]. Children and adults who have a strong bond with their companion animals have been documented to intervene during incidents of abuse of their animals [ 75 ]. Such preventative acts of protection occur either verbally (e.g., pleading with the abuser) or physically (e.g., blocking their companion animals with their body).

In all cases of animal abuse, there is, besides the physical animal abuse, a psychological impact on the bystanders including the animals [ 54 , 76 ]. Victims who often choose to remain in family violence situations feel that they are unable to leave for fear of repercussions by the perpetrator on the companion animal [ 67 , 77 ]. Few family violence shelters accept companion animals, even though it is now well recognized this is why victims with animals delay fleeing and thus remain in jeopardy [ 45 , 58 , 77 ]. To address this problem some countries have introduced pet fostering services. The U.K. has a number of pet fostering services, e.g., Dogs Trust Freedom project which will house the companion animal while the victim is rehomed in a safe place [ 78 ]. A pet fostering service has recently been established in The Netherlands [ 79 ]. In addition, pilot programs in which companion animals stay together with their families in refuges have been recently introduced [ 80 ]. However, in most countries pet fostering services are still unavailable and there are very few refuges accepting companion animals from violent situations. This results in ongoing abuse and fatalities of women, children and animals that are preventable.

1.4. Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Systems Model

The Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems model introduced in this article emphasizes that the contexts in which an active developing individual spends time and the relations of the individual with others in the same setting, the personality of the individual (and those with whom he/she interacts), both in terms of development over time and the historical time in which these individuals live and the mechanisms that propel development (proximal process) should be considered [ 81 ]. Bronfenbrenner’s model has been a landmark advance in understanding family violence and in helping early detection of abuse and early intervention. The model has greatly advanced practitioners’ understanding of and response to family violence. It has been found to be a useful tool across health services and as such strongly recommended to be employed by organizations such as World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control, and the United Nations (UN).

The bioecological systems model is characterized by four systems: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem. These systems enable the examination of human development within nested contexts of close relationships with individuals within the family (e.g., parents, siblings, companion animals), schools, neighborhoods, religious centers, health institutions, human health and safety services, animal welfare services among others. Socio-cultural beliefs and norms are also considered as influencing factors of human development. Interactions that occur between the systems are as much of importance and influence to human development as those interactions that occur within them.

The innermost circle and the closest layer to the individual is the microsystem, the individual’s immediate physical, social, and psychological environment. It consists of patterns of activities, social, and familial roles, and interpersonal relations with which he/she interacts in bidirectional or face to face settings (e.g., settings such as family, school, workplace, peer group). The second level, which is a system of microsystems, is known as the mesosystem. The mesosystem consists of interconnections and processes of two or more microsystem settings that involve the developing individual (e.g., relationship between home and school, home and workplace). Surrounding the mesosystem is the exosystem which comprises of interconnections and processes that happen between two or more immediate settings, of which in at least one setting the individual is not present or does not participate within it. However, events in this setting indirectly influence processes in the immediate environment in which the individual lives (e.g., for the child, the relationship between school and parent’s workplace) and from time to time the events are influenced by the individual. The macrosystem contains cultural beliefs, societal norms, socio-political factors, economic facts and government systems that affect the circumstances and processes existing in the microsystem. The hallmark of the macrosystem is its overarching belief system or ideology. It is the broadest ecosystemic level within which the microsystem and exosystem operate. The fifth and final system is the chronosystem which reflects change or continuity that occurs over the individual’s lifetime caused by events or experiences [ 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 ]. The critical message of this model is that all systems interact with and influence each other and are reflected in the development processes of the individual. It suggests that every small intervention in a system or between the systems will affect the micro system of the individual (and the companion animals) with potential to achieve positive or negative changes.

1.5. Animal Abuse and Family Violence: Integrating the Bioecological Systems Model

The multi-tiered set of systems illustrates the range of professionals who may be involved with the individual in his/her development process within and across the range of ecological contexts. In cases of family violence in which animal and human victims are evident, collaborative efforts can therefore be established between a range of relevant individuals and professionals for more effective interventions to be applied.

With the ecological map in mind, the animal or human health and welfare professionals would begin the process of building knowledge by first examining the immediate environment (microsystem) of the subject human or companion animal. Understanding the whole context and making home visits are vital. Home visits allow for a better assessment of both human and animal welfare [ 90 ]. For example, using the ecological map of the hypothetical case of Bo and Sam in Figure 1 , the concerned health and welfare professional can further his/her knowledge by simultaneously examining the microsystem of both, the companion animal (Bo) and the child (Sam), thus identifying the structures and individuals at the closest layer to both of them in which interpersonal relationships and interactions occur on a frequent basis. Should the animal health and welfare officer have concerns about the welfare of Bo then he/she could consider the quality of Bo’s life with his family, his interactions with his caregivers (Smith parents) and with Sam, the emotional reaction of the dog towards the Smith parents (e.g., does Bo, during the clinical visit, seek support/comfort from his caregiver or is he afraid and avoids physical contact) and vice-versa (e.g., are the caregivers aloof, unconcerned, disinterested about Bo during the clinical visit?). However, it has been documented that some abused dogs try hard to please their perpetrator, and appear to be bonded; and some perpetrators feign concern about animals they have abused. If during a consultation the professional suspects this may be a case of animal abuse he/she should not confront the caregiver. Occasionally careful questioning may be warranted, for example, when there are injuries that may be the result of a deliberate act. The concerned professional should aim to have the animal admitted for tests/treatment or observation. Admitting the animal allows an animal health professional (e.g., veterinarian) time to conduct a more detailed examination including checking for bruising, and also provides the time needed to undertake careful analysis of all available records in the clinic. The veterinarian should also check on the history of Bo’s prior visits in the clinic; and the records of any other animals in the family. Concerns should be discussed with other veterinarians in the practice, especially with those who have treated Bo or the family’s other companion animals. Veterinary technicians, nurses, and reception staff should be asked about any discrepancies in histories provided and their impressions arising from interface with the family. Similarly, such a procedure could be undertaken by a child or adult protection services professional when investigating the welfare of a child or an adult in the family. Where suspicions are raised, both animal and human welfare officers can compare their findings since it is known that where animals are at risk, people are often at risk and vice versa. Neighbors, friends and teachers, for example, can also be inquired about the welfare of the child in the concerned family.

Bioecological Map.

The mesosystem in Figure 1 demonstrates the myriad ways in which individuals in the microsystem of Bo and Sam both separately and together are interconnected. These interconnections allow animal and human health and welfare professionals to attain additional information. They also demonstrate the need for follow up actions towards identification and prevention of abuse and neglect including providing support for the victims such as removal to a safe place and/or counseling. An examination of Bo and Sam’s exosystem identifies potential risks to both. These could include negative influences from peer groups or family friends who support aggressive behavior of the Smith parents, stress from loss of job, separation from extended family, which reduces additional family protection and support for Bo and Sam and a lack of institutional support (child protection and animal protection services). Any or all of the above may be associated with features of family violence. The macrosystem provides information on deep seated cultural beliefs on the acceptability of violent and aggressive behaviors towards animals, children, or an adult and a lack of government services or absence of policies or laws for their protection. Examples of chronosystem information that can assist human health and welfare professionals would be a history of life events over time, (e.g., perpetrator or a victim of abuse), changes in family structure through displacement or relocation, illness, and death all of which predict negative psychological and behavioral outcomes.

The model has the ability to systematically document the scope of the problem and add depth to the understanding of both positive and negative relationships between the companion animal and his/her family members and vice versa, as well as the many aspects of the animal and human environment and how they interact with and impact each other. Animal abuse, child abuse, family violence, and actions of prevention and intervention of abuse can be better understood and planned through this model.

1.6. Transdisciplinary Collaboration: An Approach for the Identification and Prevention of Violence and Protection of Animal and Human Victims

By situating the animal and the humans at the center of the model, we are able to examine the multiplicity of factors such as the family, community, institutions (e.g., schools, workplace), society, cultural factors, and historical events that can aggravate or lessen incidents of violence and subsequently the harmful effects on the animal and the human.

Historically, it has been animal welfare professionals who have been most attentive to and concerned about animal abuse in situations of family violence. However, recent times have seen an interdisciplinary interest among mental health and law enforcement professionals in the connection between cruelty to animals and family violence. Their interest has been attributed to the inclusion of animal cruelty into the American Psychiatric Association diagnostic criteria for conduct disorder in 1994 [ 91 ], several other important awareness campaigns and activities in the United States, and elsewhere in the world such as in The Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom, and France [ 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 ]. Furthermore, overwhelming evidence on the Link between cruelty to animals and violence against children and adults in family settings across a range of disciplines (judiciary, police, psychology, social work, veterinary sciences, medicine, nursing) have further substantiated the occurrences [ 67 ].

Intervention, crucial in the identification, prevention, and protection of victims of family violence requires transdisciplinary collaboration. Psychologists, social workers, veterinarians, educators and other health and behavioral professionals witness an amalgam of victims/clients whose lives have been tragically impacted by family violence. The complex and fragile nature of this problem cannot be solved using any single discipline nor can it be addressed through the actions of an individual professional [ 96 ]. On the contrary, for a change in outcome, every effort must be made by a range of professionals to stand unified in sharing responsibility and working towards a common goal, each depending on the expertize of the other. Flexibility, contribution towards, and collective ownership of goals, interdependence, and maximizing the expertize of one another are all viewed as hallmarks of successful interdisciplinary collaboration [ 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 ].

Animal health and welfare professionals have traditionally worked independently of the other health and social care professions. When presented with cases of suspected animal abuse and/or family violence they face difficult challenges in emotionally charged situations, many of which would benefit from a multidisciplinary approach.

2. Methodology

In this article, the authors introduced the bioecological theoretical model of Bronfenbrenner. To demonstrate the model the authors provided cases that were selected from four separate studies conducted in The Netherlands, United States, and the United Kingdom [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. The studies used one or more qualitative methods such as interviews, observations, video, and document analysis (e.g., family violence records, incident reports, duty logs). The participants were police officers, other law enforcers, veterinarians, social workers, community, and family members. The cases were selected from the studies to serve as examples of how the bioecological model could have helped reveal the abuse to the professionals involved. The authors incorporated the cases into the bioecological model of Bronfenbrenner to reflect the usefulness of this model in cases of family violence and animal cruelty.

Ethical Issues

Formal ethics approval of the cases was obtained from the Institutional Review Board at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA (IRB ID: STUDY00003277). Consent from the interviewees was attained. A pseudonym was assigned to each individual (humans and animal) to protect his or her identity. Interviews were conducted in the participants’ preferred language.

3. The Link between Child Abuse, Animal Abuse, and Family Violence: Four Cases of Connections

Four cases were purposefully selected as exemplars because of their relevance to the phenomenon of the Link between violence towards animals and humans and how it is intricately related to the behavior of individuals in each case and to demonstrate that understanding these cases requires a wide sweep of familial, historical, social, and cultural contexts. Furthermore, the cases provide an opportunity to learn about the particularity and complexity of the contexts in which the Link occurs. Additionally, the cases illustrate how the bioecological model has the potential to support animal and human health, welfare, and protection professionals in the identification and follow up strategies to prevent further abuse on animals and humans caught in abusive settings. Case 4 also demonstrates the value of professionals working together with transdisciplinary colleagues and institutions (e.g., social workers, animal welfare services) and organizations (e.g., companion animal foster services, refuges for human and animal victims of abuse) that extend beyond one’s usual practice in their respective fields in order to aid in the psychological and physical wellbeing of their patients and clients.

Each of the four cases presented below is accompanied by a case synopsis, contextual information, case analysis using the bioecological model, and an ecological map to demonstrate the Link between animal cruelty and child abuse in family violence.

3.1. Case 1 Synopsis: The Abuse of Sisters Ena and Mai and Their Dog Bamboo (USA)

Chan often threatened his two daughters Ena and Mai to comply with his orders by yelling at their dog Bamboo until she cowered in fear. There were times when Chan hit and kicked Bamboo in front of Ena and Mai until Bamboo cried and Ena and Mai would tearfully plead with their father to stop hurting Bamboo and promised that they would do anything he wanted them to do. Their mother Kiku remained as a silent witness to the frequent incidents of abuse of her daughters and their family dog taking no action to protect them. Kiku attributed her silence to socio-cultural, familial issues and social isolation. Attempts by Kiku’s friend to convince her to get help remained unfruitful.

3.1.1. Case 1: Contextual Information

Sisters Ena and Mai lived with their mother (Kiku) and father (Chan) both first generation immigrant parents. Bamboo is their family dog and Ena and Mai are deeply bonded with her. The sisters’ best friend is Micki who is their classmate and neighbor. Micki’s mother, Yuna, is a friend of Kiku. Both families are of the same cultural background. Chan frequently emotionally and physically abused his daughters and their family dog. The sisters were forced to watch the abuse of Bamboo as a way to control them. During this time Ena and Mai would try to shield their dog and emotionally implore their father to show mercy on Bamboo and promised to comply with his wishes. It became clear to the sisters that their mother, who was often present when the abuse occurred, was helpless to intervene and end the trauma. The sisters considered informing their teacher Ms. Sasha but were hesitant because they viewed her as unfriendly and not welcoming of informal interactions with students. Instead, the sisters turned to their friend Micki and shared with her the abuse inflicted on them and Bamboo. Micki, distraught at what she heard disclosed their situation with her mother.

Yuna’s attempts to convince Kiku to get help were in vain. Kiku felt that family violence was not unusual in their community and that it was quite natural for husbands to have outbursts since they had stressors in their lives as a result of being the primary providers in the family. Kiku, who comes from a traditional family was unwilling to report her husband’s abuse for fear of shaming him in the eyes of her extended family and the community. She felt that it was her role to protect the family honor. Additionally, she believed in adhering to gender-specific responsibilities such as silent sacrifice, unquestioning loyalty, and complete obedience to male authority which is expected in a patriarchal family system. She also felt that there was not much she could do because of her dependency on her husband, limited English proficiency, and her lack of support of extended family members because they lived a distance away in her native country. Yuna discussed Kiku’s situation with a psychologist whom she had known for a few years and was given advice on next steps and offered assistance. When the psychologist followed up with Yuna to check if she provided Kiku with the information, Yuna uncomfortably responded ‘not yet.’ Numerous requests to Yuna by the psychologist for an update including offers of help for the victims failed. Yuna eventually stopped visiting the psychologist and multiple attempts to contact her were unsuccessful.

3.1.2. Case 1: Analysis Using the Bioecological Systems Theory

As shown in Figure 2 individuals within the microsystem of Ena and Mai and Bamboo are the parents/caregivers (Chan and Kiku), a school friend Micki and her mother Yuna and their teacher Ms. Sasha. The sisters experienced significant trauma in witnessing the abuse of Bamboo by their father. During this time they took emotional (i.e., pleading) and physical (shielding) actions to intervene and protect Bamboo from their father. Children’s interventions in preventing violence towards their companion animals and the protective strategies they have utilized have been reported in DeGue, et al. (2011) and Jegatheesan (2013) [ 15 , 18 ]. The sisters chose to confide in Micki (microsystem) about the abuse their father inflicts on them and on their dog Bamboo. Kiku’s explanations to Yuna for not taking her advice on reporting the abuse revolves around a lack of structures in her exosystem such as social and institutional support and absence of extended family members. Macrosystem factors associated with her unwillingness to report her husband’s violent behavior stem from traditional cultural beliefs, such as bringing shame to the family if she went public about her husband’s abusive behavior and through seeking help. As a result she chose to remain silent and in doing so felt she was safeguarding family honor. It is also critical to note that although Kiku harbors a strong cultural sentiment of acceptance and tolerance of abuse she nevertheless identified barriers such as a high level of dependency on her husband, limited English proficiency, and absence of familial and cultural support system in the USA, all of which could come in the way of her seeking assistance. It is important to note that the barriers identified by Kiku increased her social isolation and which proved to be a significant challenge in her getting connected to institutions of support such as child protection services, animal welfare services, and law enforcement (exosystem). Finally, this case illustrates a situation where the plight of the victims may have been improved had the family friend implemented the steps advised by the professional she consulted. Numerous studies of immigrant women have demonstrated that social isolation is strongly related to a higher risk of family violence [ 100 , 101 , 102 ].

Case 1 Bioecological Map.

3.2. Case 2 Synopsis: The Killing of an Infant in a Family (UK)

An animal protection agency inspector visited a house in February due to reports by neighbors of much yelling. When he arrived, Coco, a 6-month-old puppy, belonging to the young couple Brad and Kate was found to be lame with a bruised eye. Kate reported that Coco had ‘fallen’ down the stairs when her partner Brad beat him for chewing the suitcase which was packed ready for her to go into hospital to give birth. Brad was upset and said that ‘his head was all over the place’. Coco was signed over to the animal protection agency. Brad thought this best due to the imminent birth of the baby. Baby Kyle was born the following month. In May of the same year Brad was charged with his young son Kyle’s murder. Initially, Kate said that the baby had ‘fallen’ down the stairs. Brad later admitted to throwing his young son down the stairs.

3.2.1. Case 2: Contextual Information

An infant boy tragically died when his father (Brad) threw him down the stairs in this case of family violence. Brad’s abusive and violent nature was established 3 months prior to the murder of his infant son when he beat Coco, the family’s puppy over a chewing incident. An officer from an animal protection agency who visited the house to investigate the situation determined that the puppy had been subjected to abuse and Coco was relinquished to the animal protection agency. The animal protection agency conducts private prosecutions, which do not require mandatory reporting to the law enforcement agency. What remains unknown in this case is whether Brad had previously abused Coco, or if he was violent towards his wife Kate.

3.2.2. Case 2: Analysis Using the Bioecological Systems Theory

As illustrated in Figure 3 individuals within the microsystem of Coco the puppy and baby Kyle are parents Brad and Kate and their neighbors. Brad’s abusive and violent nature was established 3 months prior to the murder of his infant son when he beat Coco, the family’s puppy over a chewing incident. Neighbors concerned by the sounds of screaming and yelling called the animal protection agency (exosystem). Although an animal protection officer (exosystem) came to the house, and determined that the puppy had been abused, it is unclear if a report was made to the human health organization in view of the fact that Kate was heavily pregnant. Often it has been found that animal abuse has been treated as an isolated incident and not deserving of a police report [ 103 , 104 ]. Furthermore, some investigators are not yet aware of the interconnectedness between child abuse, animal abuse, and family violence and of the need for cross-reporting.

Case 2 Bioecological Map.

The fact that Brad’s abusive behavior was established, an early report to social services could have provided Brad with an opportunity to get early intervention and support such as counselling and/or anger management to help avert recurring abusive behavior. At that time, there was no evidence that Brad was violent towards Kate. This case is a typical example of a scenario where violence towards animals could have been used as a significant indicator for later family violence [ 105 , 106 , 107 ]. Such scenarios should prompt attending professionals to alert appropriate agencies, in this case, the social services and mental health agencies (exosystem).

Awareness of the Link could have prompted several actions. These include reporting the abuse to the police for their input, separately interviewing the pregnant woman about her situation and that of the puppy, talking with neighbors to obtain additional information as well as seeking information from Coco’s veterinarian. The information gathered could have provided clearer insights about the actual situation, and subsequently alerted social services and other relevant services in providing support to the victims and to the perpetrator.

It is important to consider the very short time interval between the abuse of Coco and baby Kyle’s death. Even if cross-reporting was undertaken there would have been insufficient time for effective intervention. This case demonstrates the correlation between the incident of Brad abusing Coco and the murder of his infant 3 months later (chronosystem).

3.3. Case 3 Synopsis: A Lack of Timely Intervention in a Troubled Youth Who Brutally Killed a Kitten and Continued Violence a Decade Later (The Netherlands)

A police officer was called by neighbors to an apartment where a young father named Tim had beaten Jill, his ex-wife, and threatened to beat their baby as well. Tim had been violent before and was legally forbidden to come near Jill’s house. The police officer recognized Tim as one of the youngsters in a mall ten years ago who had kicked a male kitten and thrown him against a wall to his death. At the time of the kitten’s abuse, the police reported the incident to Tim’s parents in his presence. Tim’s parents were not concerned with what he had done; instead, they consoled him with a reward.

3.3.1. Case 3: Contextual Information

This case describes how a police officer (Bob) recognizes a young man (Tim) from a previous violent situation. The first time that Tim was confronted by the police was when he was fourteen years old. On that occasion, Bob was the police officer on duty and was called to a mall where a group of 14- to 16-year-old boys had been kicking a kitten. Witnesses reported that the kitten had stroked their legs, which irritated them. When the kitten did not stop looking for attention one of the boys (Tim) took the kitten into an alley, where he smashed the kitten several times against the wall. An older lady tried to stop the abuse, picked up the dying kitten, and called the police. Bob went with his colleague to meet Tim’s parents to report the incident. He stated that he “never forgot the reaction of Tim’s mother and father.” Tim’s parents were not concerned about what Tim had done and gave him money to buy an ice cream as a means of consolation. The police officers did not inform Social Services (which is now an obligation in The Netherlands).

Ten years later, a police officer was called by neighbors of a young mother (Jill), whose ex-husband Tim had come to her house and beaten her. Tim also threatened to beat their infant named Ned. Jill had divorced Tim because of his severe violence towards her. Tim was convicted for his violence towards his wife and legally forbidden to come near the house. Coincidentally the police officer who responded to the incident was Bob. Bob recognized Tim and looked through his files for earlier cases of violence. The abuse and killing of the kitten in the mall was filed in Tim’s police record.

3.3.2. Case 3: Analysis Using the Bioecological Systems Theory

As illustrated in Figure 4 individuals within the microsystem of Tim as a child were his parents and his friends. Tim along with his friends was involved in a merciless act of violence when he abused and brutally killed a kitten in a mall, that was witnessed and reported by an older lady (exosystem). When viewed through the ecological systems lens, several individuals in Tim’s ecological system failed to take appropriate action for his egregious act of cruelty. These included the investigating police officer Bob (exosystem) who did not file charges against Tim and did not report the killing of the cat to animal welfare services (exosystem). Furthermore, Bob did not inform social and health services (exosystem), which resulted in Tim not being provided with timely and appropriate interventions to help prevent violence in the future. Studies have shown that violence towards animals during childhood can be a warning sign of future abusive behavior as an adult [ 108 , 109 ].

Case 3 Bioecological Map.

In addition, Tim’s family was not investigated about possible family violence. Other individuals who failed to act appropriately when Tim mercilessly killed the kitten were his parents (microsystem) who did not reprimand him or seek social and health support services (exosystem) for him such as mental health evaluation, diagnosis, and targeted counselling. Tim’s brutality towards a kitten years prior can be viewed as a strong predictor of later violence at an older age and his actions causing extreme stressors and effects on the victims. The lack of cross-reporting by the police officer and Tim’s parents, regarding the specific incident in the mall, was a missed opportunity for timely intervention. Targeted support during his adolescence (chronosystem) may have prevented the escalation of his abusive behavior as occurred in his violent relationship with Jill, his ex-wife, and their infant a decade later (adult microsystem).

Traditionally, animal abuse by children has been examined as a separate issue [ 110 ]. Because animal abuse cases may reveal a wider spectrum of behaviors related to the Link, the authors make a compelling argument for the need for cross-reporting as a way to inform the various expressions of violence to their colleagues in other disciplines. Viewed as best practice, cross-reporting requires coordinated and collaborative interdisciplinary efforts with information sharing among animal and child welfare agencies, social and human services agencies, law enforcement departments, and other related disciplines concerned with family violence.

3.4. Case 4 Synopsis: Woman and Dog, Who Had Both Been Subjected to Years of Abuse, Rescued by a Veterinarian and Her Transdisciplinary Team (UK)

A veterinarian on emergency duty, was called to a house early one morning to attend to a dog in pain. The woman named Sarah had been awoken by her dog named Kerry screaming. Her husband who had been downstairs with her dog told her that Kerry had fallen off the settee. Sarah was disheveled and very distressed whilst her husband was smartly groomed and aloof. Something fell from Sarah-a urinary collection bag. As the veterinarian returned this she experienced a “light bulb” moment. Could this be a case of family violence against Sarah and Kerry? The husband left the room briefly and the veterinarian quickly passed her private phone number to Sarah, mouthing “phone me”.

3.4.1. Case 4: Contextual Information

Sarah was seriously physically abused by her husband Blake over many years. Her doctor advised her to leave Blake but offered her no support or referral and did not report the abuse to the police. Sarah had also been frequently admitted to hospital after being battered. Sarah lost one of her kidneys through the injuries and the other was seriously damaged. At the hospital, neither the attending doctors nor other hospital staff questioned Sarah about her injuries. Sarah had contacted local women’s refuges, but none would allow companion animals. Her dog Kerry was also repeatedly abused by Blake and had been presented to a local veterinarian on many occasions. He was puzzled by the case and had not been able to diagnose the cause of Kerry’s repeated pain episodes.

Early on a Sunday morning, an Out of Hours veterinarian who was on emergency duty for three veterinary practices answered Sarah’s call requesting a home visit for her dog. However, on questioning Sarah it did not sound like an emergency situation requiring a home visit since Kerry was already receiving ongoing veterinary treatment for pain. Furthermore, Sarah’s own veterinarian who had been attending to Kerry was available for consultation that morning, so the duty veterinarian suggested that Sarah wait until then. However, Sarah pleaded with her to attend to Kerry and as there was such desperation in her voice the duty veterinarian agreed to visit. Their home was in another town, some miles away.

On arrival at the house, Blake answered the door and led the way to the living room where the veterinarian found Kerry lying on the floor and Sarah sitting on the settee looking very unkempt. Kerry was in discomfort but was receiving the appropriate veterinary medication at the correct dose. The veterinarian felt her presence was neither needed nor warranted. However, as she knelt on the floor in front of the settee to examine Kerry more carefully Sarah provided more history. Sarah had been upstairs in bed when she heard Kerry screaming. Blake who had been downstairs with Kerry told Sarah that Kerry had fallen off the settee. The veterinarian determined that Kerry’s pain was sublumbar, in the renal area.

During the consultation, Blake stood against a wall observing and did not contribute to the consultation. Then something fell off the settee landing just behind the veterinarian who reached back without looking to pick it up and return it to Sarah, thinking this would be a magazine. To her astonishment, it was a urine collection bag. Then came a moment of revelation and things came together—Sarah’s illness, Kerry’s mystery illness, the repeated bouts of pain, the discrepancy between the couple’s attitude, behavior, and demeanor. The history of Kerry falling off the settee didn’t seem right, and only Blake was present when Kerry cried out. The fact that Kerry’s pain was in the sublumbar region and Sarah had a urinary tract problem. The veterinarian considered that this could be a case of family violence. She remained calm and gave no outward sign of her suspicions. She wrote her home number on her business card intending to slip it to Sarah before she left. However, a few minutes later Blake went into the kitchen and the veterinarian passed her card to Sarah whilst silently mouthing “phone me”.

After leaving Sarah’s house the veterinarian, to check if her intuitions were accurate, discussed Sarah’s circumstances with one of her colleagues, a social worker who specializes in family violence. The social worker stated that this was a classic presentation of a family violence situation and advised her to alert the client’s veterinarian of her suspicions. When she called Kerry’s veterinarian later that morning he could not accept that Blake could be battering the dog. Kerry’s veterinarian said Blake was a “nice and caring man who always accompanied his wife to the surgery and who expressed great concern about the dog”.

Later that afternoon Sarah phoned the veterinarian who had visited her home out of hours and talked at length about her abusive situation. She disclosed that Blake was a violent man who spent years in prison for acts of violence where he had undertaken anger management classes in prison. Despite the ongoing abuse and her grave medical condition Sarah was in conflict about leaving her violent husband. She stated that she was a Christian and “had taken her marriage vows.” She felt bound to remain with her husband. She saw no way out of her situation, except death. Sarah made no reference to friends or family. The veterinarian told Sarah that Kerry hadn’t taken any such vows, that she had a duty of care for Kerry and that if she did not leave Blake would likely kill both Kerry and her. She informed Sarah that she would contact Paws for Kids an organization that would place Kerry in a loving foster home until they were reunited.

This veterinarian had created a transdisciplinary community network as part of her bond-centered veterinary practice. With the help of this veterinarian and her transdisciplinary team Sarah agreed to get help. Paws for Kids was contacted and the organization placed Kerry with a foster caregiver. Sarah was admitted to a safe house. A month later this veterinarian received a letter from Sarah expressing heartfelt thanks and stating she would soon be reunited with Kerry in a new home.

3.4.2. Case 4: Analysis Using the Bioecological Systems Theory

As demonstrated in Figure 5 , individuals and interactions with them in Sarah’s immediate surroundings are her husband Blake and her dog Kerry (microsystem). Sarah was severely battered by Blake over many years. Throughout this time Sarah was in repeated contact with her local physician and with medical staff in a hospital for treatment of her life-threatening injuries. She was also in contact with her veterinarian for treatment of Kerry’s recurrent and unexplained pain (microsystem). Furthermore, Sarah also contacted local women’s refuges (exosystem) but their ‘no-companion animals’ policies meant that she could not take Kerry with her, and so Sarah decided to remain at home for fear of Kerry’s safety. Sarah’s decision to remain in her dangerous situation is consistent with results from previous research about battered women’s concerns for their companion animals’ safety affecting their decision about leaving for a family violence refuge or remaining in an abusive relationship [ 44 , 58 , 111 ]. This situation calls for local refuges to consider allowing companion animals on their premises as a matter of urgency.

Case 4 Bioecological Map.

The above-mentioned professionals in Sarah’s micro and exosystems, with whom she had interacted with during the course of her abuse, could have played a key role in eliminating the one component (viz. husband) in her “system” by informing the police and ending the trauma for her and Kerry. Informing the police would have led to uncovering the knowledge that Blake had a prior police record for acts of violence, had been imprisoned for many years for violence against another individual, and had undertaken anger management sessions in prison (chronosystem of Blake). These professionals could also have provided resources and services that could have been instrumental in helping Sarah and Kerry escape the abuse and move to a violence-free environment. Additionally, had the family veterinarian been aware of the Link, he too could have put an end to Kerry and Sarah’s trauma by seeking human and animal welfare services for the dyad. Intake policies in refuges that are inclusive of companion animals could have altered Sarah’s decision to remain in her abusive home situation with Blake, leaving them both vulnerable to abuse. An additional factor that played a role in Sarah’s hesitation to leave her husband was her religious belief (macrosystem) about her marriage vows. The factors indicated above collectively left Sarah and Kerry in continuous peril. Lastly, the chronosystem of the dyad illustrates the non-normative events in Sarah and Kerry’s life such as the abuse they endured over time and the lack of actions by professionals during the period of trauma that significantly impacted their prospects of a violence-free life. Sarah and Kerry’s situation remained unchanged until the duty veterinarian visited. She had, a priori, conceived and formed a transdisciplinary network of colleagues from other health and social care professions and organizations [ 19 , 112 ], and this proved to be pivotal in helping Sarah and Kerry leave their abusive situation.

4. Conclusions

This article introduces the Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems model (1973–2006) to understand the complex psychological problems of animal abuse, child abuse, and family violence, and its potential to aid professionals in the identification of strategies for animals and humans caught in family violence situations.

The catastrophic effect of violence to animals and violence to people underscores the need for transdisciplinary and collaborative interventions between animal welfare agencies and human services organizations to help lives trapped in family violence. A large and growing body of scientific research demonstrates the correlation that can exist between animal abuse, child abuse, and family violence, otherwise known as the Link. Therefore, animal and human agencies must work together to ensure integrated, thorough, and effective interventions. The old way of working in silos within one’s profession and using piecemeal approaches has clearly demonstrated its limitations and ineffectiveness as evident in cases 2, 3, and 4 in this article. The bioecological systems model offers more comprehensive effective ways to understand the complexity of animal cruelty and family violence.

Shared training is one way of helping professionals to understand their respective roles and responsibilities, build relationships, and gain insight into each other’s points of view and decision-making processes. The experience of learning from each other and learning together in both formal and informal ways can be a good basis for building trust and respect, empathy being one of the key interpersonal skills that support successful relationships and collaborative efforts [ 113 ].

The benefits to animal and human health and welfare professionals of being a member of a transdisciplinary network will become fully apparent when such complex cases arise and professionals are encouraged to keep the Bronfenbrenner model in mind. By alerting the appropriate agencies to cases of suspected abuse of their clients these professionals can play an important role in client protection and in enhancing their safety. Greater protection from violence and neglect would then be provided to children, women, vulnerable elders, and animals and preventive measures can be taken.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the police officers and other informants for the cases provided during fieldwork.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, B.J.; Methodology, B.J., M.-J.E.-S., E.O., and P.B.; Analysis, B.J., M.-J.E.-S., E.O., and P.B.; Investigation, B.J., M.-J.E.-S., E.O., and P.B.; Writing—original draft of theoretical model and integration of model in animal abuse and family violence preparation, B.J.; Writing—case studies, and contribution to writing the manuscript, B.J., M.-J.E.-S., and E.O.; Writing—reviewing and editing, B.J., M.-J.E.-S., and E.O.; Final approval of manuscript, B.J., M.-J.E.-S., E.O., and P.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This research received no external funding.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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Hamas Took Her, and Still Has Her Husband

The story of one family at the center of the war in gaza..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

I can’t remember the word, but do you know the kind of fungi connection between trees in the forest? How do you call it?

Mycelium. We are just — I just somehow feel that we are connected by this kind of infinite web of mycelium. We are so bound together. And I don’t think we really realized that until all this happened.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

It’s quite hard to explain, to me in a sense, because some people would say, oh, I’m so hoping your father will come, and then everything will be OK. And it’s very hard to explain that really this group of people decided to bring us up together, shared all their resources over 75 years, grow into each other, fight endlessly with each other, love and hate each other but somehow stay together. And their children will then meet and marry and make grandchildren.

And there’s so many levels of connection. And I’m sitting here in the room, and I see their faces, some of them. And we are incredibly — it’s hard to explain how much these people are missing from our kind of forest ground. [CHUCKLES SOFTLY]

From “The New York Times,” I’m Sabrina Tavernise, and this is “The Daily.”

It’s been nearly six months since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 and took more than 200 people into Gaza. One of the hardest hit places was a village called Nir Oz, near the border with Gaza. One quarter of its residents were either killed or taken hostage.

Yocheved Lifshitz was one of those hostages and so was her husband, Oded Lifshitz. Yocheved was eventually released. Oded was not.

Today, the story of one family at the center of the war.

It’s Friday, March 29.

OK, here we go. OK.

Good morning, Yocheved. Good morning, Sharone.

Good morning.

Yocheved, could you identify yourself for me, please? Tell me your name, your age and where you’re from.

[SPEAKING HEBREW]

OK, I’ll translate. My name is Yocheved Lifshitz. I’m 85 years old. I was born in 1938. When I was 18, I arrived at kibbutz Nir Oz. I came alone with a group of people who decided to come and form and build a community on a very sandy territory, which was close to the Gaza Strip.

And my name is Sharone Lifschitz. I am 52 years old. I was raised in kibbutz Nir Oz by my mom and dad. So I lived there until I was 20. And I live for the last 30-something years in London.

And, Sharone, what do you have next to you?

Next to me I have a poster of my dad in both English and Hebrew. And it says, “Oded Lifshitz, 83.” And below that it says, “Bring him home now.” And it’s a photo where I always feel the love because he is looking at me. And there’s a lot of love in it in his eyes.

And why did you want to bring him here today, Sharone?

Because he should be talking himself. He should be here and able to tell his story. And instead, I’m doing it on his behalf. It should have been a story of my mom and dad sitting here and telling their story.

The story of Oded and Yocheved began before they ever met in Poland in the 1930s. Anti-Semitism was surging in Europe, and their families decided to flee to Palestine — Yocheved’s in 1933, the year Hitler came to power, and Oded’s a year later. Yocheved remembers a time near the end of the war, when her father received news from back home in Poland. He was deeply religious, a cantor in a synagogue. And he gathered his family around him to share what he’d learned.

And he said, we don’t have a family anymore. They’ve all been murdered. And he explained to us why there is no God. If there was a God, he would have protected my family. And this means that there is no God.

And suddenly, we stopped going to synagogue. We used to go every Saturday.

So it was a deep crisis for him. The shock and the trauma were very deep.

Abstention.

Abstention. Soviet Union? Yes. Yes. The United Kingdom? Abstained.

Yocheved’s father lived long enough to see a state establish for his children. The UN resolution of 1947 paved the way for a new country for Jews. And the next spring, Israel declared its independence. Yocheved remembers listening to the news on the radio with her parents.

The General Assembly of the United Nations has made its decision on Palestine.

We had a country. So now we’ll have somebody who’s protecting us. It’s a country for the people, to rebuild the people. This was the feeling we had.

In other words, if God could not protect you, this nation maybe could?

Yes. But the next day, it was already sad.

Israel was immediately forced to defend itself when its Arab neighbors attacked. Israel won that war. But its victory came at a great cost to the Palestinian Arabs living there. More than 700,000 either fled or were expelled from their homes. Many became refugees in Gaza in the south.

Suddenly, Yocheved and Oded saw themselves differently from their parents, not as minorities in someone else’s country, but as pioneers in a country of their own, ready to build it and defend it. They moved to the south, near the border line with Gaza. It was there, in a kibbutz, where they met for the first time.

The first time I met him, he was 16, and I was 17. And we didn’t really have this connection happening. But when we arrived at Nir Oz, that’s where some sort of a connection started to happen. And he was younger than I am by a year and a half. So at first I thought, he’s a kid. But for some reason, he insisted. Oded really insisted. And later, turned out he was right.

What was it about him that made you fall in love with him?

He was cute.

He was a cute kid. He was a cute boy.

What’s so funny?

He was a philosopher. He wrote a lot. He worked in agriculture. He was this cute boy. He was only 20, think about it.

And then I married him. And he brought two things with him. He brought a dog and he brought a cactus. And since then we’ve been growing a huge field of cacti for over 64 years.

What did it feel like to be starting a new life together in this new country? What was the feeling of that?

We were euphoric.

And what did you think you were building together?

We thought we were building a kibbutz. We were building a family. We were having babies. That was the vision. And we were thinking that we were building a socialist state, an equal state. And at first, it was a very isolated place. There were only two houses and shacks and a lot of sand. And little by little, we turned that place into a heaven.

Building the new state meant cultivating the land. Oded plowed the fields, planting potatoes and carrots, wheat and cotton. Yocheved was in charge of the turkeys and worked in the kitchen cooking meals for the kibbutz. They believed that the best way to live was communally. So they shared everything — money, food, even child-rearing.

After long days in the fields, Oded would venture outside the kibbutz to the boundary line with Gaza and drink beer with Brazilian peacekeepers from the UN and talk with Palestinians from the villages nearby. They talked about politics and life in Arabic, a language Oded spoke fluently. These were not just idle conversations. Oded knew that for Israel to succeed, it would have to figure out how to live side by side with its Arab neighbors.

He really did not believe in black and white, that somebody is the bad guy and somebody is the good guy, but there is a humanistic values that you can live in.

Sharone, what was your father like?

My father was a tall man and a skinny man. And he was —

he is — first of all, he is — he is a man who had very strong opinion and very well formed opinion. He read extensively. He thought deeply about matters. And he studied the piano. But as he said, was never that great or fast enough for classical. But he always played the piano.

[PIANO MUSIC]

He would play a lot of Israeli songs. He wound play Russian songs. He would play French chansons.

And he had this way of just moving from one song to the next, making it into a kind of pattern. And it was — it’s really the soundtrack of our life, my father playing the piano.

[PLAYING PIANO]:

[CONVERSATION IN HEBREW]:

[PLAYING PIANO]

So one side of him was the piano. Another side was he was a peace activist. He was not somebody who just had ideals about building bridges between nations. He was always on the left side of the political map, and he actioned it.

[NON-ENGLISH CHANTING]:

I remember growing up and going very regularly, almost weekly, to demonstrations. I will go regularly with my father on Saturday night to demonstrations in Tel Aviv. I will sit on his shoulders. He will be talking to all his activist friends. The smoke will rise from the cigarettes, and I will sit up there.

But somehow, we really grew up in that fight for peace.

Yocheved and Oded’s formal fight for peace began after the Arab-Israeli war of 1967. Israel had captured new territory, including the West Bank, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Gaza Strip. That brought more than a million Palestinians under Israeli occupation.

Oded immediately began to speak against it. Israel already had its land inside borders that much of the world had agreed to. In his view, taking more was wrong. It was no longer about Jewish survival. So when Israeli authorities began quietly pushing Bedouin Arabs off their land in the Sinai Peninsula, Oded took up the cause.

He helped file a case in the Israeli courts to try to stop it. And he and Yocheved worked together to draw attention to what was going on. Yocheved was a photographer, so she took pictures showing destroyed buildings and bulldozed land. Oded then put her photographs on cardboard and drove around the country showing them to people everywhere.

They became part of a growing peace movement that was becoming a force helping shape Israeli politics. Israel eventually returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in 1982.

[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

Whenever there is a movement towards reconciliation with our neighbors, it’s almost like your ability to live here, your life force, gets stronger. And in a way, you can think of the art of their activism as being a response to that.

And why did he and your mother take up that fight, the cause of the land? Why do you think that was what he fought for?

My father, he had a very developed sense of justice. And he always felt that had we returned those lands at that point, we could have reached long-term agreement at that point. Then we would have been in a very different space now. I know that in 2019, for example, he wrote a column, where he said that when the Palestinians of Gaza have nothing to lose, we lose big time. He believed that the way of living in this part of the world is to share the place, to reach agreement, to work with the other side towards agreements.

He was not somebody who just had ideals about building bridges between nations. Two weeks before he was taken hostage, he still drove Palestinians that are ill to reach hospital in Israel and in East Jerusalem. That was something that meant a lot to him. I think he really believed in shared humanity and in doing what you can.

Do you remember the last conversation you had with your father?

I don’t have a clear memory which one it was. It’s funny. A lot of things I forgot since. A lot of things have gone so blurred.

We actually didn’t have a last conversation. The last thing he said was, Yoche, there is a war. And he was shot in the hand, and he was taken out. And I was taken out. I couldn’t say goodbye to him. And what was done to us was done.

We’ll be right back.

Yocheved, the last thing Oded said was there’s a war. Tell me about what happened that day from the beginning.

That morning, there was very heavy shelling on Nir Oz. We could hear gunfire. And we looked outside, and Oded told me, there are a lot of terrorists outside. We didn’t even have time to get dressed. I was still wearing my nightgown. He was wearing very few clothes. I remember him trying to close the door to the safe room, but it didn’t work. He wasn’t successful in closing it.

And then five terrorists walked in. They shot him through the safe room door. He was bleeding from his arm. He said to me, Yoche, I’m injured. And then he fainted. He was dragged out on the floor. And I didn’t know if he was alive. I thought he was dead. After that, I was taken in my nightgown. I was led outside. I was placed on a small moped, and I was taken to Gaza.

And we were driving over a bumpy terrain that had been plowed. And it didn’t break my ribs, but it was very painful.

And I could see that the gate that surrounds the Gaza Strip was broken, and we were driving right through it.

And as we were heading in, I could see so many people they were yelling, “Yitbach al Yahud,” kill the Jews, slaughter the Jews. And people were hitting me with sticks. And though the drivers on the moped tried to protect me, it didn’t help.

What were you thinking at the time? What was in your mind?

I was thinking, I’m being taken; I’m being kidnapped. I didn’t know where to, but this decision I had in my head was that I’m going to take photographs in my mind and capture everything I’m seeing so that when I — or if and when I am released, I’ll have what to tell.

And when I came to a stop, we were in a village that’s near Nir Oz. It’s called Khirbet Khuza. We came in on the moped, but I was transferred into a private car from there. And I was threatened that my hand would be cut off unless I hand over my watch and my ring. And I didn’t have a choice, so I took my watch off, and I took my ring off, and I handed it to them.

Was it your wedding ring?

Yes, it was my wedding ring.

After that, they led me to a big hangar where the entrance to the tunnel was, and I started walking. And the entrance was at ground level, but as you walk, you’re walking down a slope. And you’re walking and walking about 40 meters deep underground, and the walls are damp, and the soil is damp. And at first, I was alone. I didn’t know that other people had been taken too. But then more hostages came, and we were walking together through the tunnels.

Many of whom were from kibbutz Nir Oz. These were our people. They were abducted but still alive. And we spoke quietly, and we spoke very little. But as we were walking, everybody started telling a story of what had happened to him. And that created a very painful picture.

There were appalling stories about murder. People had left behind a partner.

A friend arrived, who, about an hour or two hours before, had her husband murdered and he died in her hands.

It was a collection of broken up people brought together.

So you were piecing together the story of your community and what had happened from these snapshots of tragedies that you were looking at all around you as you were walking. What’s the photograph you’ll remember most from that day?

It would be a girl, a four-year-old girl. People kept telling her — walk, walk, walk. And we tried to calm her down. And her mom tried to carry her on her arms. It was the most difficult sight to see a child inside those tunnels.

What were you feeling at that moment, Yocheved?

Very difficult.

Where did they lead you — you and your community — from Nir Oz.

They led us to this chamber, a room, that they had prepared in advance. There were mattresses there. And that’s where we were told to sit.

I saw people sitting on the mattresses, bent down, their heads down between their hands. They were broken. But we hardly spoke. Everybody was inside their own world with themselves, closed inside his own personal shock.

Yocheved was without her glasses, her hearing aids, or even her shoes. She said she spent most days lying down on one of the mattresses that had been put out for the hostages. Sometimes her captors would let her and others walk up and down the tunnels to stretch their legs.

She said she was given a cucumber, spreading cheese, and a piece of pita bread every day to eat. They had a little bit of coffee in the morning and water all day long.

One day, a Hamas leader came to the room where she and others were being held. She said she believes it was Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, who is believed to be the architect of the October 7 attack. Two other hostages who were held with Yocheved also identified the man as Sinwar, and an Israeli military spokesman said he found the accounts reliable.

He came accompanied with a group of other men. He just made rounds between the hostages, I suppose. And he spoke in Hebrew, and he told us not to worry, and soon there’s going to be a deal and we’ll be out. And others told me, don’t speak. And I said, what is there for me to be afraid of? The worst already happened. Worst thing, I’ll be killed.

I want to say something, and I spoke my mind. I told Sinwar, why have you done what you just did to all of the same people who have always helped you? He didn’t answer me. He just turned around and they walked off.

Were you afraid to ask him why Hamas did what it did, to challenge him?

I wasn’t afraid.

I was angry about the whole situation. It was against every thought and thinking we ever had. It was against our desire to reach peace, to be attentive and help our neighbors the way we always wanted to help our neighbors. I was very angry. But he ignored what I said, and he just turned his back and walked away.

In this entire time, you had no answers about Oded?

What was the hardest day for you, the hardest moment in captivity?

It’s when I got sick. I got sick with diarrhea and vomiting for about four days. And I had no idea how this will end. It was a few very rough days. And probably because of that, they decided to free me.

They didn’t tell me they were going to release me. They just told me and another girl, come follow us. They gave us galabiya gowns to wear and scarves to wear over our heads, so maybe they’ll think that we are Arab women. And only as we were walking, and we started going through corridors and ladders and climbing up we were told that we’re going home.

I was very happy to be going out. But my heart ached so hard for those who were staying behind. I was hoping that many others would follow me.

It’s OK. Let’s go. It’s OK. Let’s go.

You go with this one.

Shalom. Shalom.

There was a video that was made of the moment you left your captors. And it seemed to show that you were shaking a hand, saying shalom to them. Do you remember doing that?

I said goodbye to him. It was a friendly man. He was a medic. So when we said goodbye, I shook his hand for peace, shalom, to goodbye.

What did you mean when you said that?

I meant for peace.

Shalom in the sense of peace.

An extraordinary moment as a freed Israeli hostage shakes hands with a Hamas terrorist who held her captive.

I literally saw my mom on CNN on my phone on the way to the airport. And it was the day before I was talking to my aunt, and she said, I just want to go to Gaza and pull them out of the earth. I just want to pull them out of the earth and take them. And it really felt like that, that she came out of the earth. And when she shook the hand of the Hamas person, it just made me smile because it was so her to see the human in that person and to acknowledge him as a human being.

I arrived in the hospital at about 5:30 AM. My mom was asleep in the bed. And she was just — my mom sleeps really peacefully. She has a really quiet way of sleeping. And I just sat there, and it was just like a miracle to have her back with us. It was just incredible because not only was she back, but it was her.

I don’t know how to explain it. But while they were away, we knew so little. We were pretty sure she didn’t survive it. The whole house burned down totally. So other homes we could see if there was blood on the walls or blood on the floor. But in my parents’ home, everything was gone — everything. And we just didn’t know anything. And out of that nothingness, came my mom back.

It was only when she got to the hospital that Yocheved learned the full story of what happened on October 7. Nir Oz had been mostly destroyed. Many of her friends had been murdered. No one knew what had happened to Oded. Yocheved believed he was dead. But there wasn’t time to grieve.

The photograph she had taken in her mind needed to be shared. Yocheved knew who was still alive in the tunnels. So she and her son called as many families as they could — the family of the kibbutz’s history teacher, of one of its nurses, of the person who ran its art gallery — to tell them that they were still alive, captive in Gaza.

And then in November came a hostage release. More than 100 people came out. The family was certain that Oded was gone. But Sharone decided to make some calls anyway. She spoke to one former neighbor then another. And finally, almost by chance, she found someone who’d seen her father. They shared a room together in Gaza before he’d gotten ill and was taken away. Sharone and her brothers went to where Yocheved was staying to tell her the news.

She just couldn’t believe it, actually. It was as if, in this great telenovela of our life, at one season, he was left unconscious on the floor. And the second season open, and he is in a little room in Gaza with another woman that we know. She couldn’t believe it.

She was very, very, very excited, also really worried. My father was a very active and strong man. And if it happened 10 years ago, I would say of course he would survive it. He would talk to them in Arabic. He will manage the situation. He would have agency. But we know he was injured. And it makes us very, very worried about the condition in which he was — he’s surviving there. And I think that the fear of how much suffering the hostages are going through really makes you unable to function at moment.

Yocheved, the government has been doing a military operation since October in Gaza. You have been fighting very hard since October to free the hostages, including Oded. I wonder how you see the government’s military operation. Is it something that harms your cause or potentially helps it?

The only thing that will bring them back are agreements. And what is happening is that there are many soldiers who have been killed, and there is an ongoing war, and the hostages are still in captivity. So it’s only by reaching an agreement that all of the hostages will be released.

Do you believe that Israel is close to reaching an agreement?

I don’t know.

You told us that after the Holocaust, your father gathered your family together to tell you that God did not save you. It was a crisis for him. I’m wondering if this experience, October 7, your captivity, challenged your faith in a similar way.

No, I don’t think it changed me. I’m still the same person with the same beliefs and opinions. But how should I say it? What the Hamas did was to ruin a certain belief in human beings. I didn’t think that one could reach that level that isn’t that much higher than a beast. But my opinion and my view of there still being peace and reaching an arrangement stayed the same.

You still believe in peace?

Why do you believe that?

Because I’m hoping that a new generation of leaders will rise, people who act in transparency, who speak the truth, people who are honest, the way Israel used to be and that we’ll return to be like we once were.

I go to many rallies and demonstrations, and I meet many people in many places. And a large part of those people still believe in reaching an arrangement in peace and for there to be no war. And I still hope that this is what we’re going to be able to have here.

Bring them home now! Bring them home now! Bring them home now! Bring them home now! Bring them home! Now! Bring them home! Now! Bring them home! Now! Bring them home!

Yocheved is now living in a retirement home in the suburbs of Tel Aviv. Five other people around her age from Nir Oz live there too. One is also a released hostage. She hasn’t been able to bring herself to go back to the kibbutz. The life she built there with Oded is gone — her photographs, his records, the piano. And the kibbutz has become something else now, a symbol instead of a home. It is now buzzing with journalists and politicians. For now, Yocheved doesn’t know if she’ll ever go back. And when Sharone asked her, she said, let’s wait for Dad.

So I’m today sitting in this assisted living, surrounded by the same company, just expecting Oded, waiting for Oded to come back. And then each and every one of us will be rebuilding his own life together and renewing it.

What are you doing to make it a home for Oded?

We have a piano. We were given a piano, a very old one with a beautiful sound. And it’s good. Oded is very sensitive to the sound. He has absolute hearing. And I’m just hoping for him to come home and start playing the piano.

Do you believe that Oded will come home?

I’d like to believe. But there’s a difference between believing and wanting. I want to believe that he’ll be back and playing music. I don’t think his opinions are going to change. He’s going to be disappointed by what happened. But I hope he’s going to hold on to the same beliefs. His music is missing from our home.

[SPEAKING HEBEW]:

[SPEAKING HEBREW] [PLAYING PIANO]

I know that my father always felt that we haven’t given peace a chance. That was his opinion. And I think it’s very hard to speak for my father because maybe he has changed. Like my mom said, she said, I hope he hasn’t changed. I haven’t changed. But the truth is we don’t know. And we don’t the story. We don’t know how the story — my father is ending or just beginning.

But I think you have to hold on to humanistic values at this point. You have to know what you don’t want. I don’t want more of this. This is hell. This is hell for everybody. So this is no, you know? And then I believe that peace is also gray, and it’s not glorious, and it’s not simple. It’s kind of a lot of hard work. You have to reconcile and give up a lot. And it’s only worth doing that for peace.

[PIANO PLAYING CONTINUES]

After weeks of negotiations, talks over another hostage release and ceasefire have reached an impasse. The sticking points include the length of the ceasefire and the identity and number of Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged for the hostages.

[BACKGROUND CONVERSATION IN HEBREW]:

Here’s what else you should know today. Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday, capping an extraordinary saga that upended the multi-trillion-dollar crypto industry. Bankman-Fried, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, was convicted of wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering last November.

Prosecutors accused him of stealing more than $10 billion from customers to finance political contributions, venture capital investments, and other extravagant purchases. At the sentencing, the judge pointed to testimony from Bankman-Fried’s trial, saying that his appetite for extreme risk and failure to take responsibility for his crimes amount to a quote, “risk that this man will be in a position to do something very bad in the future.”

Today’s episode was produced by Lynsea Garrison and Mooj Zaidie with help from Rikki Novetsky and Shannon Lin. It was edited by Michael Benoist, fact checked by Susan Lee, contains original music by Marion Lozano, Dan Powell, Diane Wong, Elisheba Ittoop, and Oded Lifshitz. It was engineered by Alyssa Moxley. The translation was by Gabby Sobelman. Special thanks to Menachem Rosenberg, Gershom Gorenberg, Gabby Sobelman, Yotam Shabtie, and Patrick Kingsley. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Sabrina Tavernise. See you on Monday.

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Hosted by Sabrina Tavernise

Produced by Lynsea Garrison and Mooj Zadie

With Rikki Novetsky and Shannon Lin

Edited by Michael Benoist

Original music by Marion Lozano ,  Dan Powell ,  Diane Wong and Elisheba Ittoop

Engineered by Alyssa Moxley

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence.

It’s been nearly six months since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel, when militants took more than 200 hostages into Gaza.

In a village called Nir Oz, near the border, one quarter of residents were either killed or taken hostage. Yocheved Lifshitz and her husband, Oded Lifshitz, were among those taken.

Today, Yocheved and her daughter Sharone tell their story.

On today’s episode

Yocheved Lifshitz, a former hostage.

Sharone Lifschitz, daughter of Yocheved and Oded Lifshitz.

Background reading

Yocheved Lifshitz was beaten and held in tunnels built by Hamas for 17 days.

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

Fact-checking by Susan Lee .

Additional music by Oded Lifshitz.

Translations by Gabby Sobelman .

Special thanks to Menachem Rosenberg, Gershom Gorenberg , Gabby Sobelman , Yotam Shabtie, and Patrick Kingsley .

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

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