Zoosadism is pleasure derived from cruelty to animals. It is part of the

Macdonald triad The Macdonald triad (also known as the ''triad of sociopathy'' or the '' homicidal triad'') is a set of three factors, the presence of any two of which are considered to be predictive of, or associated with, violent tendencies, particularly with ...

, a set of three behaviors that are considered a precursor to psychopathic behavior.

Research

Some studies have suggested that individuals who are cruel to animals are more likely to be violent to humans. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'': Helen Gavin wrote however in ''Criminological and Forensic Psychology'' (2013): Alan R. Felthous reported in his paper "Aggression Against Cats, Dogs, and People" (1980): This is a commonly reported finding, and for this reason, cruelty to animals is often considered a warning sign of potential violence towards humans.

Examples

An adult man in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, by the name of Rubén Marrero Pernas was found to be raping, torturing then killing dogs or puppies and recording the acts online for an audience who found this to be likewise sexually gratifying.

Serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

Jeffrey Dahmer Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (; May 21, 1960 – November 28, 1994), also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, was an American serial killer and sex offender who killed and dismemberment, dismembered seventeen men and boys ...

was known for torturing and killing animals in his youth, such as poisoning

tadpoles A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found in ...

Legal status

In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, since 2010, it has been a federal offense to create or distribute "obscene" depictions of "living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians ... subjected to serious bodily injury". This statute replaced an overly broad 1999 statute which was found unconstitutional in '' United States v. Stevens''.

Criticism of alleged link to violence against humans

On the other hand, Piers Beirne, a professor of criminology at the

University of Southern Maine The University of Southern Maine (USM) is a public university with campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston in the U.S. state of Maine. It is the southernmost of the University of Maine System. It was founded as two separate state universit ...

, has criticized existing studies for ignoring socially accepted practices of violence against animals, such as

animal slaughter Animal slaughter is the killing of animals, usually referring to killing domestic livestock. It is estimated that each year 80 billion land animals are slaughtered for food. Most animals are slaughtered for food; however, they may also be slau ...

and

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for Animal testi ...

, that might be linked to violence against humans.

References

External links