Why is animal cruelty so common?

Question

After a reading yet another atrocious story in my local paper about someone dumping puppies in the brook I have been trying to analyse what actually goes on in the head of people who commit these kinds of terrible crimes. I cant come to any conclusion. Are they evil or disturbed...or both? What is it?

Answer 1

Some people feel the need to dominate, to show that they're the boss. That's hard to do with people, so they take it out on helpless animals. Anyone who mistreats an animal has a huge mental problem.
Many torture a helpless animal to death. They're real sadists.
So a direct answer to your question is that some are mentally disturbed, and some are pip-squeak bullies who can't beat up a person, so he shows off his macho by harming or killing trusting animals.

Answer 2

It is quite simply that for them, everything in our society is disposable- newspapers, old cans, animals... They think that if they don't want something, then they can just throw it away without fear of the consequences.
This seems to be a produst of th eincreasingly selfish Western culture where the fear of punishment from a higher power, whether that be a government, the police or God, and the respect given to these has all but disappeared, replaced instead by the miserable need for things, lust for money and general misery. This then created the sentiment that animals are a posession to be treated as people think is OK, that they don't feel pain and that they are 'just dumb animals'. One of the biggest problems is that animals are too easy to buy now- you can easily buy fish, guinea pigs and birds from pet shops, and cats and dogs are often for sale in newspapers and pet stores, as well as breeders (who actually bother to take care of their animals). The other problem is ingorance- many -people don;t know how to look after their animal properly, and so when the animal becomes sick, they don;t want the expense of vets bills and just dump them. With puppies, many people don't spay/neuter the parents and when the dog becomes pregnant and has puppies they are seen as a burden. With racing dogs it often means the end of their careers, so no maney can be made. They are just dumped then, or killed often. There was a scandal only a few months ago in which a man was photographed killing greyhounds with a boltgun and then burning the bodies. He got a LONG prison sentence.
Certainly there is an element of complete depravity and mental disturbance to it. Many animal abusers have drink/drugs problems, and many are male. Some psychologists suggest that the higher level of aggression/aggressive tendancies in males, alongside their low emotional levels, mena that they are naturally more likely to do something like this- they are less empathetic towards others. Drink and drugs often hide deeper emotional problems, which they then think gives them the right to take their frustration out on something weaker than themselves, sometimes their wives, sometimes innocent animals.
If you want to do something, supporting the RSPCA and other animal charities would help, or if you had the money you could adopt a rescue animal and give an abused animal a second chance.

Answer 3

I would say evilly disturbed! Really... to have the nerve to do these kind of things during your life... so sad. There are of course different levels of evil for all kinds of people, but I think this has to be put under 'evil'. Very disturbed. Well, you have to be very disturbed to accept evil/let yourself be controlled by your anger or such; whatever makes you do such a thing-- and worse in some cases...
I think these people have also been abused/felt abandoned themselves and therefore end up wanting to be overpowering, make another being feel the same they've been hurt by. As to why they have the impulse/need to do actually create the feeling in others, that's where the evil comes in.

Good question-- I don't know many on here, virtually (or not), who don't mind including 'evil' in their questions. I say thank you for the question and I hope I answered it well enough! : )

Answer 4

Probably extremerly disturbed and frustrated with the animals behaviour and all the time and care that they take up. People do not always carefully consider the commitment they are taking on when they buy themselves (or more often, their children) a "pet".

However, having said all that, there were some awful stories about things that have happened to people in the paper I just read .......

Answer 5

When some people are angry or annoyed, it is often easy to vent that frustration on a smaller, weaker opponent.
Also, some just don't realise the commitment needed to take care of animals, and so would rather "dispose" of the pet rather than take the time to look after it.
It's sad, but it's also very common.

Answer 6

Perhaps, I was going to say. 'That they lack a soul', but too many people would jump on that as an unprovable point. So I'll just say that as the law stands, they know that they will get away with it. It's that simple!

Answer 7

These sort of people have a serious problem, they can only take there anger out on dumb animals but if you approached one of these thugs he would wet himself, Shame on them all, God is good an eye for an eye

Answer 8

The abusers have inferiority complexes; when they see something or someone smaller than they are, they treat them with extreme disrespect, especially when the opposing side cannot fight back, or say anything against them.

Answer 9

its just people not having common sense nor the empathy to care for another human being or living being that is not themselves... its the world we live in today and its sad... :(

Answer 10

cos cowards are common , would these same people be cruel to tigers or guard dogs :no. They do it cos they can get away with it.....sad but true