Zoosadism

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:

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.

Piers Beirne, a professor of criminology at the University of Southern Maine, has criticized existing studies for ignoring socially accepted practices of violence against animals, such as animal slaughter and vivisection, that might be linked to violence against humans.

Cases

Serial killers such as Ted Bundy, Edmund Kemper, and Jeffrey Dahmer were known for torturing and killing animals in their youth.

In September 2018, a whistleblower tweeted a link to a Telegram channel named "Zoosadist Evidence" which contained images, video, and discussion of extreme violence to animals; the whistleblower alleged that the members involved were specific individuals in the furry fandom. One zoosadist exposed during this scandal was an adult member of the furry fandom in Cuba, by the name of Rubén Marrero Pernas, also known as "Woof". Pernas was found to be raping, torturing and killing dogs and puppies and recording the acts online for a group of zoosadists on Telegram who found this to be sexually gratifying. Pernas being exposed led to public outrage, and eventual legal reform.

A Canadian man, Leighton Labute, known as DollyFlesh online, was arrested in 2020 for torturing and killing three hamsters, and uploading the video to social media.

Zoosadist Adam Britton, who mainly used Telegram to distribute recordings of his rape, torture and murder of dogs, was arrested in 2022 and pled guilty in 2023.

In June 2023, the BBC uncovered a global monkey torture ring, where participants would produce and distribute videos of monkeys being hurt and killed.

Legal status

In 1999, the United States Congress enacted a statute affecting the legality of crush films which criminalized the creation, sale, and possession of depictions of animal cruelty, though with an exception for "any depiction that has serious religious, political, scientific, educational, journalistic, historical, or artistic value."

In 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit invalidated the ban on the sale and possession of such films (if not otherwise obscene) as a violation of the Constitution's guarantee for freedom of speech. The United States Supreme Court affirmed the Third Circuit's decision in United States v. Stevens, finding the law unconstitutional because the law was so broad and vague that it included any portrayal of an animal in or being harmed such as by hunting or disease.

On November 28, 2010, bill H.R. 5566, which prohibits interstate commerce in animal crush films, was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate, and on December 9, the bill was signed by President Obama becoming the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010.

On September 8, 2015, a Houston woman pleaded guilty in the nation's first federal animal crush video case.

On November 25, 2019, President Donald Trump signed into law the PACT ACT, the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, which authorized the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies to prosecute malicious animal cruelty. The PACT act defines animal crushing as when "one or more living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles or amphibians is purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury."

References

References

1. "APA Dictionary of Psychology".
2. J. M. MacDonald. (1963). "The Threat to Kill". American Journal of Psychiatry.
3. Goleman, Daniel. (7 August 1991). "Child's Love of Cruelty May Hint at the Future Killer". New York Times.
4. Helen Gavin. (2013). "Criminological and Forensic Psychology".
5. Felthous, Alan R.. (1980). "Aggression Against Cats, Dogs, and People". Child Psychiatry and Human Development.
6. (2004). "From Animal Abuse to Interhuman Violence? A Critical Review of the Progression Thesis". Society & Animals.
7. Poyser, Sam. (2016-02-26). "Is London's 'Cat Ripper' a Serial Killer in the Making?".
8. None. (1998). "Cruelty to animals and interpersonal violence : readings in research and application". West Lafayette, Ind. : Purdue University Press.
9. (March 2025). ["Click this. No more covering for these people. THESE ARE NOT WHAT ZOOPHILES ARE"](https://twitter.com/zoodonym/status/1041321103220793344}}{{better source needed).
10. Echarry, Irina. (November 18, 2018). "Zoosadism in Cuba and No Law to Punish it". Havana Times.
11. (2018-11-23). "Denuncian en Cuba a un violador y asesino de perros".
12. Robinson, Circles. (2019-01-24). "Animal Defenders Organize against Zoosadism in Cuba".
13. "Zoosadism in Cuba and No Law to Punish it {{!}} Havana Times".
14. Zielinski, Jen. (2021-08-18). "Kelowna hamster killer handed conditional sentence, not allowed in pet stores".
15. Potenteau, Doyle. (2021-08-18). "Kelowna man, 21, receives conditional sentence for torturing, killing hamsters — Okanagan".
16. (2023-09-26). "British croc expert admits to sexually abusing dogs".
17. "NT crocodile expert who once hosted David Attenborough pleads guilty to animal sexual abuse {{!}} Australia news {{!}} The Guardian".
18. "'Sadistic' British crocodile expert Adam Britton admits sexually abusing and killing dozens of dogs".
19. (2023-06-19). "Global network of sadistic monkey torture exposed by BBC".
20. [https://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_00000048----000-.html § 48. Depiction of animal cruelty]. United States Code: Title 18, Part I, Chapter 3, § 48. Cornell University Law School
21. [https://randazza.wordpress.com/2008/07/20/united-states-v-stevens-protecting-animals-is-not-a-reason-to-amputate-part-of-the-first-amendment/ United States v. Stevens - Protecting Animals no Justification for First Amendment Amputation], ''The Legal Satyricon'', 20-07-2008
22. Adam Liptak. (April 20, 2010). "Justices Reject Ban on Videos of Animal Cruelty". [[The New York Times]].
23. link. (2012-09-04 www.govtrack.us)
24. Dart, Tom. (9 September 2015). "Houston woman convicted of making 'animal crush' fetish porn videos". The Guardian.
25. "Houston Woman Convicted of Producing and Distributing Animal Crush Videos".
26. "An Act to revise section 48 of title 18, United States Code, and for other purposes".
27. https://animalwellnessaction.org/2019/11/25/congress-and-president-say-cruelty-is-abhorrent-illegal/{{Dead link. (July 2025)
28. (26 November 2019). "'A major step to end animal abuse': Trump signs bill making animal cruelty a felony". USA Today.