Children and Animal Cruelty

During the VKS-Summer camp, Animals R Friends gave a workshop about the problems with stray cats and dogs on Sint Maarten. One of the topics that came across during the discussions we had was ‘dog fights’. When we asked the youngsters how many of them had seen a dog fight, I was honestly shocked by the response! More than half our audience had seen a dogfight even more than once. It made me sad. The idea that our young people come across so much cruelty in their young lives is really shocking. Some boys told us that you can make ‘good money’ in these dog fights and that is the main reason for them to continue. These young people make ‘good money’ with cruelty, violence and criminal activities. Dog fights and animal abuse are illegal!

What happens to young people when they come across animal abuse in their environment?

These children are more likely to become more aggressive themselves. Often the aggressive behavior comes forth out of other problems. Researchers say that children that are cruel to animals often come from a home where they are neglected or even abused themselves. Animal abuse is often a signal for child abuse in that family. Often the children do poorly in school, have low self esteem and few friends. Animal abuse is more common among boys than girls.
Young children can be cruel to animals but such behavior is more common among teenagers. Teenagers that are involved in animal cruelty such as dog fights often have a lot of other difficulties in their lives. Therefore these youngsters need counseling. When you see animal cruelty in your neighborhood you can contact the police or Animals R Friends. Animal cruelty is a problem for the animals as well as for the people.

• We should teach our children respect for our environment and the living things in it.
• Teach by example; use real-life situations to instill a sense of respect for all life.
• Invite your child to help you feed the birds or rescue a bug. With older children, discuss animal-cruelty cases publicized in the news.
• Encourage children to speak up for animals. In that way we can all help to build a better living environment for animals and people.