Animal cruelty is not limited to ‘anti-social’ families, or young men, according to a new study.

Men and women from 7 to 85 and from all walks of life commit acts of cruelty against animals, the Volkskrant writes.

The first Dutch large-scale investigation, has examined 97 cases of animal cruelty as part of a police and science public research programme. It aims to establish a clearer profile of animal abusers, whose behavour has also been linked with domestic violence.

Neglect

Every year some 65,000 cases of animal cruelty are reported but most result from neglect by people who are in debt or have psychological problems. Exact figures about the origin of the abuse are difficult to come by because cases of abuse and neglect are not separated.

‘There is only a small group of people who deliberately set out to abuse animals but we can’t be sure,’ criminologist and researcher Anton van Wijk told the Volkskrant.

Another unknown is the extent of the abuse, since much goes on behind closed doors. ‘We have a very good law that says animal abuse is a crime but without proof or evidence there’s not much we can do,’ the paper quotes police animal welfare coordinator Anouk Duijnker as saying.

This is the reason the report features mainly dogs as victims. Cats and other domestic animals are mostly kept inside.

Many abusers act from ‘frustration, a lack of impulse control and empathy,’ according to Van Wijk, while some, usually young, perpetrators act in groups. The report describes a group of youths who buy some goldfish and then trample them to death on the pavement. ‘That is the type of behaviour that should worry police because apart from group pressure, there is a sadistic element to it ,’ Van Wijk told the paper.

It is not always easy to separate sadism from psychological problems. The so-called ‘Twente Torturer’ who killed dozens of horses between 2000 and 2004 and cut off their penises acted from ‘a type of obsessive curiosity and sexual perversion’, according to Van Wijk. He emphasised that this particular case is exceptional and not representative of the type of perpetrator the researchers found. People acting from purely sadist motives are also rare, he said.

Red flag

The report also investigated the role of vets. Owners who hurt their animals on an impulse often take them to a vet to be ‘repaired’ but often vets don’t recognise the abuse or are afraid to point the finger, the paper writes.

A national expertise centre for animal abuse will be set up this year so vets can upload photos and descriptions of injuries and experts can determine whether abuse has taken place. This is vital information, according to police, because animal cruelty is ‘a red flag’ that can signal domestic violence.

Animal abuse can one element of a larger story. One of the recommendations of the report is an FBI-type database on animal abuse so links can be made, the paper concludes.