As the many connections between animal abuse and human violence demonstrate—we must work together as a community to achieve a more humane and just world for animals and humans alike—no one segment of our society can address this issue alone.

Below are a few community actions you can take as a professional, advocate or educator to help deter animal cruelty and encourage kindness and respect toward all living creatures. To learn more animal cruelty and for reporting tips, please click on the links under Related Articles on the left.

Community Actions

• Write letters to prosecutors, judges, and others involved in the legal process for animal cruelty cases in your community. Request that those responsible for the cruel act be given strict penalties so that a clear message of abhorrence to cruelty will be sent to the community and society as a whole. We must send a loud and clear message that cruelty to animals will be punished to the fullest extent.

• As you write letters to your legislators, don’t forget to send letters to the editors of newspapers as well. Encourage friends and family to join in the letter-writing campaign. Even one letter can sometimes make a difference!

• Work toward closer cooperation, coordination, and collaboration among child protection agencies, animal welfare organizations, legislators and the criminal justice system. Failure by one profession to recognize and report suspected abuse in another domain only serves to condone and perpetuate the maltreatment.

• Create interdisciplinary teams of community social service agencies that will meet regularly to identify cases in which a high risk of lethality is indicated, and to initiate appropriate responses.

• Partner up with teachers and local animal rescues to implement humane education programs in your community’s schools, libraries, clubs, and other venues where children can be taught kindness and respect for animals. Click here for humane education resources!

• In providing education to others, be aware of media images and films that devalue animals and promote cruel treatment of them.

• Encourage children, family, and friends to humanely and responsibly interact with our natural world—we can only appreciate, value, and protect what we know and care about.

#