16
Dec
Dec
Groundbreaking Study Links Animal Cruelty to Human Violence
A groundbreaking research study just released by the ASPCA® (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) stresses the critical role that animal services and animal cruelty investigations play in communities nationwide while pointing out the obstacles that law enforcement professionals face in responding to animal abuse.
Highlights from the ASPCA study, entitled "Public and Professional Perspectives on Animal Cruelty," reveal that only 19 percent of law enforcement officers stated they received formal animal cruelty training. Forty-one percent said they are familiar with animal cruelty laws in their jurisdiction, but fewer—30 percent—admitted being familiar with the penalties.
The study, taken from a nationwide sample of law enforcement professionals in the U.S., also defines the three major obstacles that law enforcement professionals face in responding to animal abuse cases: animal cruelty cases are considered a low priority by leadership; law enforcement lacks staff with special knowledge in animal cruelty cases; and finally, no facilities exist for long-term impoundment of animals kept as evidence.
"These findings validate what we have long assumed—that there is a major need for training for officers charged with enforcing animal cruelty laws and investigating cruelty cases," said Dr. Randall Lockwood, Senior Vice President of Forensic Sciences and Anti-Cruelty Projects for the ASPCA. "The ASPCA is unique in that we offer staff with specialized knowledge on this topic and have developed partnerships with shelters to help facilitate temporary housing for animals seized in such cases. We support local agencies across the U.S. with law enforcement training programs and other resources."
The city of Baltimore, for example, recently signed into law an Anti-Animal Abuse Advisory Commission, a board that works to help the city prevent and prosecute animal cruelty, including dogfighting. The commission was started at the ASPCA's behest as a task force in July 2009 following the fatal burning of a dog named Phoenix. Recommendations of the commission include training law enforcement and animal welfare professionals who respond to animal cruelty cases throughout Maryland and assisting in the drafting of anti-animal cruelty legislation.
In addition, the ASPCA, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office, has developed an in-depth, free on-line course on combating dogfighting and is developing a "dogfighting tool kit" for law enforcement and animal welfare professionals.
Another significant finding in the research study was that a majority of law enforcement officers surveyed–78 percent–believe that animal abusers are more likely to be involved in interpersonal violence or other violent crimes.
"The link between animal cruelty and human violence is well-documented and is a well-known phenomena among law enforcement," said Dr. Lockwood. "But animal cruelty training is still severely lacking in most cities, mostly due to a lack of resources and funding."
And in today's tough economy, animals are even more at risk. According to a content analysis conducted as part of this research study, media reports of animal abandonment, which is a form of animal cruelty, topped the news in the South Atlantic region of the U.S. from March to June of 2010. Incidentally, three states in the South Atlantic region (Georgia, Florida and Maryland), were included in RealtyTrac's highest foreclosure rate list for June 2010. Similarly high media reports of animal abandonment were seen in California, historically known as having a high foreclosure rate and ranked No. 4 in RealtyTrac's highest foreclosure rates for June 2010.
The ASPCA commissioned the six-month study, which was conducted from January through June 2010 by two market research firms: the Southeastern Institute of Research, Inc. (SIR) and Symscio. The research study probed three audiences: the general public, law enforcement officers and the media through focus groups, online surveys as well as a media content analysis. The online surveys included a nationwide sample of 1,200 respondents from the general population and 500 law enforcement respondents.
Jennifer,
What a tremendous venue for covering issues regarding cruelty to animals. It’s worth the effort, isn’t it? Please help promote the awareness of the terrors of puppy mills within yet another venue: Fiction.
Press Release
Now you can experience the many aspects and workings of a puppy mill almost as if you are standing amidst the cages, listening to the barks. There’s a terrific new and involved piece of fiction on the market entitled “A Cold Breed.” It focuses on the vivid discovery, investigation, and shutdown of a realistic puppy mill. The issue is embedded within a multi-faceted story with an ultimate happy ending. The storyline is fresh; the characters are rich; the gamut of emotions become real. Spread awareness through a new venue. A portion of every purchase is donated to the ASPCA. Swing by the author’s site for good information at caseyoryan.com or stop into the author’s blog at caseyoryan.blogspot.com. Become a friend on facebook. Thank You for your consideration.
Synopsis:
DJ Greer has everything in order. She installs high end, hi-tech security systems using the latest and most sophisticated gadgetry. Her single-employee business is in perpetual high gear. In and out of her troublesome customers’ homes and businesses, she sees a lot of their inner lives. Her clients often have as much to hide as they do to protect.
When she goes out of her way to make an emergency installation for backcountry Travis Bitter, she finds a repulsive setting like none she could imagine. The man is a horror-show-quality creep, as are his two equally maniacal sons. They carelessly make their living through the suffering of living creatures. They run an assembly line of high-profit “breeding stock” and their adorable, but oftentimes sick “product,” otherwise known as a puppy mill. The security expert gathers proof of the illegal operation and shuts it down under the guidance of two separate Societies for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals.
Unfortunately and contrary to expectations, the raid on the Bitters’ mill isn’t the happy ending everyone planned for. The Bitters enact retribution on DJ. She relies on love interest detective Max Swain to rescue her from their torturous grip.
NEW AUTHOR, FRESH STORYLINE, SPUNKY HEROINE, ABSORBING START TO THE DEBRA JEAN THRILLERS.
Review by Todd Rutherford.
“A Cold Breed” by Casey O’Ryan introduces us to Debra Jean, a flawed but morally rooted woman whose independent movement through her life and demanding job leave her surrounded by little more than acquaintances and a wonder of what her next chapter in life will bring.
Set in Virginia, Debra Jean, while her name suggests otherwise, is no Southern belle. DJ, rather, is a strong woman whose foiling of a robbery in the frenetic opening pages of this book, shows not only a stubborn nature, but a woman who is not going to take things lying down. That is her would be mugger’s job.
While the book starts like a cannon shot, you are also drawn immediately into the wit and subtle banter that DJ possesses as she meets the police officer who stumbles upon the attempted assault. Detective Max Swain jumps from the pages with a young Sam Elliott swagger, tempered with an educated erudition. The romantic sparks jump from the pages they share until the closing of the first chapter.
In this thriller, however, romance must wait. DJ’s business as a high-tech security consultant who is not afraid to get dirty as she runs coaxial cables through oven-baked attics in the Virginia summer, keeps her busy. While she could afford employees it is quite clear that she is a believer in, “if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing yourself”. Tuesday nights provide a great opportunity for Max and her to approach this inevitable romance, though, DJ reserves these for her adoptive “Auntie” as they prepare gourmet meals together and discuss the darker sides of the human condition that DJ sees each day in her work.
This darkness of the soul is no more clearer than when DJ is called for an emergency installation job at the backwood’s home of Travis Bitter. Bitter, as the name suggests, is just not one of the good guys. DJ, in her work, stumbles across a number of situations that she is forced to ignore for the success of her business; people wanting security systems often have as much to hide as they do to protect. But what she sees at the Bitter’s is something she can not let go of, nor allow to continue.
The magnitude of cruelty she witnesses at the Bitter’s puppy mill simply cannot stand. It is a cruelty that would allow many dog-loving readers to comfortably take their dog to a kennel owned by Michael Vick with a clear conscience. The tension is palpable, the writing, while often heart-wrenchingly tough to read, is necessary and flowing. The ending brings all the characters together in a mesmerizing read of good versus pure evil with a surprising twist that would have done Chubby Checker proud.
The ASPCA will certainly welcome the purchase of this Debra Jean thriller, as 10% of the author’s proceeds from this book will be donated to this group. The reader, based on the gripping tale spun by the author, will also eagerly await the next installment.
Perfect for reading groups. Stop by the author’s website for more information at caseyoryan.com or blog at caseyoryan.blogspot.com. Become a friend on facebook.