Dahmer behaviour was clue to crimes

As many people have expressed their horror at the extreme violence portrayed in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story on Netflix, imagine how many human lives might have been saved had Dahmer’s fascination with torturing animals been taken seriously by his family, friends and local police force.

Research in the fields of psychology and criminology informs us that time and time again individuals who commit acts of cruelty to animals – as Dahmer did – go on to hurt humans if they aren’t apprehended and given the help they need.

Fortunately, today, law-enforcement agencies recognise cruelty to animals as a precursor to further violence and track animal abuse as they do murder.

Children who learn to consider the feelings and rights of others – to see the ‘us’ in ‘them’ – stand a good chance of growing into kind, benevolent citizens and peaceful community members.

PETA offers a free humane education pack, which can be downloaded at https://www.peta.org. uk/misc/share-the-world/. Jennifer White

PETA UK