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The majority of inmates scheduled to be executed for murder at the state of California's San Quentin penitentiary "practiced" their crimes on animals, according to the warden.
Cruelty to animals must be addressed by judicial systems in every country to deter violence against animals and people alike, and promote a safe, compassionate home for all citizens. We urge you to do everything in your power to ensure the passage of national animal protection laws in Serbia, and stand poised to assist you in any way needed in this important undertaking.
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PETA's letter to the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management
January 28, 2005
Dr. Dejan Krnjaic
Veterinary Director
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management
SIV III Building, First Floor
Omladinskih Brigada 1 11070 Belgrade,
Serbia and Montenegro
Dear Dr. Krnjaic:
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an international non-profit organization with more than 800,000 members and supporters dedicated to the humane treatment of animals. Our office has recently received several letters and e-mails from Serbian citizens who are deeply distressed over terrible cases of cruelty to animals that they have witnessed in Serbia.
The writers claim that there are no national laws in place to prohibit such violent conduct toward animals.
We have received heartbreaking photographs taken in Belgrade of dead dogs hanging in public (copies enclosed) and eyewitness statements about dogs being killed via extremely cruel methods by municipalities, including intracardiac (into the heart) injections of dangerous pesticides and by being thrown alive into trash compactors where they are torturously crushed to death. We beg you to act immediately to implement laws that not only prohibit, but punish malicious acts such as these.
Violence toward animals has long been recognized as an indicator of dangerous psychopathologies that do not confine themselves to animals. "Anyone who has accustomed himself to regard the life of any living creature as worthless is in danger of arriving also at the idea of worthless human lives," wrote humanitarian Dr. Albert Schweitzer. "Murderers ... very often start out by killing and torturing animals as kids," according to Robert K. Ressler, who developed profiles of serial killers for the United States (US) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Studies have now convinced sociologists, lawmakers, and the courts that acts of cruelty toward animals deserve our attention.
They can be the first sign of a violent pathology that includes human victims.
Animal abuse is not just the result of a minor personality flaw in the abuser but rather a symptom of a deep mental disturbance. Research in psychology and criminology shows that people who commit acts of cruelty toward animals don't stop there; many of them move on to their fellow humans
The FBI has found that a history of cruelty to animals is one of the traits that regularly appear in its computer records of serial rapists and murderers, and the standard diagnostic and treatment manual for psychiatric and emotional disorders lists cruelty to animals as a diagnostic criterion for conduct disorders.
A study conducted by Northeastern University and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in the U.S. found that people who abuse animals are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against humans.
Ms. Brigitte BARDOT's Letter to Serbia's President, Boris Tadic - Paris,
April 25, 2005
Cabinet of President of Republic Serbia
Andricev Venac br. 1
11 000 BEOGRAD
SERBIA and MONTENEGRO
Open letter
Dear Mr. President,
It's with a bruised heart and a mourning soul that I appeal to you to end the revolting massacre of Serbia's stray animals. A number of accounts, accompanied by photos illustrating the horror of the cruelties inflicted on these innocent beings, have reached my Foundation. These accounts denounced the atrocity of the eradication campaigns, led at the request of the authorities.
Vilified by the media, these dogs and cats are becoming the scapegoats of a part of your population, which seems to take sadistic pleasure in savagely torturing them. Equally, death squadrons methodically patrol each region of Belgrade in order to mass poison the few survivors of this eradication. The detergents and other products that are used generate intolerable agony and suffering. Furthermore, what about the corpses of the dogs whose fur is carefully removed?
I know that your country and people are attempting to heal wounds, which were inherited from a shameful and violent war. However, that was ten years ago. Today is the time for the reconstruction of hearts and a long forgotten humanity.
The knowledge of atrocious acts committed regularly on stray animals crosses frontiers. Your people have shown their bloody and criminal behavior towards animals. Your capital is becoming, like Bucharest, a window of horror. Neither the Belgrade marathon, nor the 2005 euro basketball can justify this barbaric "cleaning". You have the power to change all this and to restore Serbia's dignity. Push the elaboration of an animal welfare bill, which favors sterilization and vaccination campaigns for stray animals, similar to Greece and Turkey. Teach your people that animals, even strays, have the right to our respect and compassion.
With hope that you hear my cry of distress, sincerely yours,
Brigitte Bardot, President
Serbian Letter Campaign
This letter, generated by WAG NY, was sent to Serbian officials by thousands of caring people from all over the world.
Dear Sir:
The brutal treatment of companion, farmed and zoo animals in Serbia is coming to the attention of the world. We are horrified to witness man's lack of compassion, indiscriminate cruelty and the Serbian government's indifference and inaction regarding the criminal treatment of Serbian animals.
This negative publicity will surely reverberate throughout the world and result in sanctions from civilized governments and concerned citizens who are able to travel and spend tourist dollars. Surely, the Serbian gross national product depends in part on the influx of money from neighboring nations.
We respectfully and urgently request that you take notice and action of this reprehensible situation which is fast resulting in the deterioration of Serbian status within the global family.
Put a stop to the brutal, vicious killing of domesticated street animals by government officials, civil workers and ordinary citizens. Please request the aid of international animal welfare organizations who are adept at planning and implementing humane welfare programs. Implement a spay / neuter program throughout the country and attempt to initiate humane education programs in the school system.
Request assistance in the design of coherent and straightforward animal protection legislation. Once in place, and so important, implement and enforce that legislation and initiate prosecution and punishment for perpetrators of animal related crimes. If need be, until Serbia is capable of tending properly to her zoo population, extend an invitation to experts in the proper and humane care and management of confined species.
Please enter this new millennium and posture with compassion and a civilized stance regarding animal welfare.
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