SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 27

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2010

INTRODUCED BY

Eric G. Griego

A JOINT MEMORIAL

RELATING TO THE RECOGNITION OF A CONNECTION BETWEEN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ANIMAL CRUELTY AND DECLARING FEBRUARY 10, 2010 TO BE "NEW MEXICO LINK AWARENESS DAY" IN THE LEGISLATURE.

     WHEREAS, scientific literature has recognized a connection between domestic violence and animal cruelty for more than a decade and commonly refers to this connection as "the link"; and

  WHEREAS, an acknowledged association exists between acts of cruelty to animals in childhood and serious, recurrent aggression against people as an adult with the most aggressive adult criminals having committed the more severe acts of animal cruelty as children; and

     WHEREAS, compared to "next-door neighbor types", men prosecuted for animal abuse were five times more likely to commit violent crimes, four times more likely to commit property crimes and three times more likely to have a law enforcement record for drug or disorderly conduct offenses; and

     WHEREAS, national and state studies have determined that from fifty-four percent to seventy-one percent of women seeking shelter reported that their partners had threatened, injured or killed one or more family pets; and

     WHEREAS, women often reported a delay in leaving dangerous situations because of fear for the safety of their companion animals; and

     WHEREAS, research shows that a batterer's motivations for abusing women and animals are the same: power and control; and

     WHEREAS, animal abuse is a "red flag" for sociopathology or psychopathology; in fact, one study found that four and seven-tenths percent of "normal" children acknowledged animal abuse, compared to thirteen percent who were sexually abused, twenty-four and one-half percent who were physically abused and thirty-four percent who were both physically and sexually abused; and

     WHEREAS, children who witness violence are at greater risk of becoming abusers or victims, and twenty-six to thirty-six percent of children in abusive families are cruel to animals; and

     WHEREAS, preventive strategies include humane education programs; cross-training among professionals working in the fields of domestic violence, law enforcement and animal control; raising animal welfare standards and strengthening anticruelty laws; being aware and getting to know and look out for the animals in one's neighborhood; learning to recognize animal cruelty; promoting a society that values and respects all living beings; and supporting, by volunteering for and donating to, local shelters for battered women and children and animal shelters; and

     WHEREAS, the department of public safety in 2004 sponsored the first governor's conference on "the link" between animal cruelty and human violence with funding appropriated by the legislature and approved by the governor; and

     WHEREAS, the lieutenant governor in 2006 addressed the third "link" conference with a keynote speech about violence to children and animals; and

     WHEREAS, the department of public safety in 2009 sponsored the sixth "link" conference; and

     WHEREAS, individuals from the fields of animal control, domestic violence and law enforcement attended the conference to learn more about the issues, to share information and to develop mechanisms for addressing the issues associated with "the link"; and

     WHEREAS, at the 2009 conference, a group of individuals who attended formed a steering committee to further the work of the conference throughout the period between the yearly conferences; and

     WHEREAS, the steering committee has begun making presentations to audiences across the state to make them aware of "the link"; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico legislature recognizes that "the link" is an important issue for the people of the state to become aware of and address; and

     WHEREAS, the legislature, as well as individual legislators, wish to make the public and their own communities aware of "the link";

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that February 10, 2010 be proclaimed "New Mexico Link Awareness Day" at the New Mexico legislature to honor and remember all of the human and animal victims of domestic violence and animal cruelty and to increase awareness of "the link" between domestic violence and animal cruelty.

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