Gender Differences in the Perpetration of Animal Cruelty

Human behavior resulting in the suffering or death of animals takes many forms. One perspective is to view such mistreatment on a continuum, ranging from the collecting or hoarding of large numbers of animals, to simple neglect, to "organized" abuse (e.g. blood sports) to intentional harm and torture. We will review the demographics of the perpetration of various forms of animal cruelty from several sources, including a large sample of press reports, cruelty investigation records from several humane organizations and court records. Such analysis shows that males tend to be greatly over-represented in the most violent and intentional forms of animal cruelty, generally equally represented in cases of neglect and significantly under-represented in cases of animal hoarding. Comparisons and contrasts will be drawn from studies of perpetrators of child abuse and domestic violence. Additional insights will be offered from the limited studies of violent female offenders. The indications are that intentional animal cruelty, like domestic violence, can often be viewed as a gender issue related to power and control. Efforts to prevent such violence against animals should recognize this relationship and allocate appropriate attention to those at higher risk of becoming perpetrators, i.e. pre-adolescent and adolescent males.