TAMPA, Fla., March 5 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers said Friday that violent criminals are significantly more likely to have abused pets and stray animals in their childhood.
The researchers, from the University of South Florida, said animal abuse during childhood serves as a "red flag" early on. The findings have far-reaching implications for the fields of juvenile justice, domestic abuse, animal welfare and rights, developmental psychology and law enforcement, they said.
Acts of animal cruelty reported by violent offenders included stomping a kitten to death, setting a dog on fire and having sex with an animal.
Participants for the study were selected at random from approximately 100 male violent and non-violent inmates at a maximum-security prison.
The researchers found a high incidence of child abuse and neglect among all the study subjects. However, what seemed to set the violent offenders apart was their experiences mistreating animals as children.
In addition to being significantly more likely than non-violent offenders to have abused pet and stray animals, violent offenders also showed a tendency toward abuse of wild and farm animals, researchers said.
