Responding to Students Who Abuse Animals

You may encounter a student who brags about harming animals or openly supports torturing animals for fun. Should this situation arise, it is vital that you take action. Students who abuse animals and those who see nothing wrong with harming animals often come from homes where spouses, children, or the elderly are also being abused. Students who do not respect animals develop similarly callous attitudes toward people, making them more likely to commit other violent crimes. As a compassionate educator, you will want to ensure that the student and his or her family members get the help that they need and that future animal abuse is prevented—you can do this by taking the following actions:

• Prevent animal abuse by teaching empathy and respect for animals and people. The variety of humane education resources and materials that are featured on TeachKind’s Web site will help you do this. Many of the items available from TeachKind are free of charge. Check out the resource pages to learn more about TeachKind's free educational materials and how to order or download them.

• Before abuse occurs, make sure that your school or university counselors are aware of the link between violence toward animals and violence toward humans. Provide them with materials and information, such as the following:

“Animal Abuse and Human Abuse: Partners in Crime” Factsheet

This factsheet explains why cruelty to animals must be taken seriously—for the benefit of people, animals, and even the perpetrators. Print it out or order it from TeachKind for your school counselor.



Prosecutor Pack

Produced for the purpose of explaining the importance of prosecuting animal abusers to prosecutors and judges, this pack can also be used to explain the seriousness of this issue to counselors and school administrators. Get your free pack from TeachKind.



AniCare Child: An Assessment and Treatment Approach for Childhood Animal Abuse

This book, which was compiled using the expertise of psychologists and information gathered from effective clinical treatments, will help counselors effectively assess and treat students who abuse animals. It is available for $24.95 plus shipping from Society & Animals Forum.

• Immediately send any student who says that he or she has harmed animals or that it is acceptable to torture animals to the school counselor. Do this in a manner that will not embarrass the student in front of his or her peers. For example, ask the student to approach you so that you can communicate without being overheard. The counselor will be able to get the student the help that he or she needs and can determine if there are other problems at home, such as spousal or child abuse, that need to be addressed.

• If a student mentions that an animal has been abused at home by another member of the family, he or she should also be sent to talk with the school counselor or psychologist. Some abused children who are unwilling to talk about their own abuse are willing to speak about the abuse of a family pet. The counselor will best be able to assess the situation in the student’s home. You should also call local animal authorities so that they can visit the home to prevent further animal abuse.

• Notify the police immediately if a student abuses an animal. Animal abuse is a crime and must be taken seriously. Reporting the crime will help students realize that violence—to people or animals—will not be tolerated.

• Contact your school district’s board members to make sure that they are aware of the link between violence toward humans and violence toward animals. Knowledge of this link will help them create effective policies mandating humane education programs, cross-reporting between child- and animal-welfare agencies, and training programs that will teach educators and counselors more about assessing, treating, and responding to students who abuse animals.

Click here to learn about additional violence-prevention materials. Thank you for helping to create a humane and respectful world. Please tell TeachKind about your violence-prevention efforts by contacting us at Info@teachkind.org.