Targets for Cruelty: Demographic and Situational Factors Affecting the Type of Animal Abused

Abstract

Renewed interest in animal cruelty as a precursor to human violence has sparked recent investigations into the specific complexities of animal abuse itself. This article assesses the impact of demographic characteristics (race, education and childhood residence) and situational factors (if they hurt or killed the animal alone, if they tried to conceal the cruelty, if they felt upset after abusing the animal, the frequency of animal cruelty acts, and the age of onset) on the type of animal abused among 261 incarcerated male inmates in a southern state. Inmates who had abused animals more frequently were more likely to hurt or kill dogs, cats and wild animals and tended to target them exclusively. Respondents who had hurt or killed dogs were more likely to have done so alone. Those inmates who had hurt or killed cats were more likely to have started at a younger age.