FBI Upgrades Animal Cruelty to Major Felony

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has reclassified animal cruelty to the ranks of major, Group A felonies such as murder, arson and assault.

The change reflects a recognition that most serial killers begin their criminal careers as sociopathic animal abusers.

...the new category will mean law enforcement agencies will have to report incidents and arrests in four areas: simple or gross neglect; intentional abuse and torture; organized abuse, including dogfighting and cockfighting; and animal sexual abuse, the FBI said in statement. The bureau didn’t answer questions beyond a short statement.

“The immediate benefit is it will be in front of law enforcement every month when they have to do their crime reports,” said John Thompson, interim executive director of the National Sheriffs’ Association who worked to get the new animal cruelty category instituted. “That’s something we have never seen.”

...FBI studies show that serial killers like [Jeffrey] Dahmer impaled the heads of dogs, frogs and cats on sticks; David Berkowitz, known as the “Son of Sam,” poisoned his mother’s parakeet; and Albert DeSalvo, a.k.a. the “Boston Strangler,” trapped cats and dogs in wooden crates and killed them by shooting arrows through the boxes.