Why doctors should care about animal cruelty.
BACKGROUND
Animal cruelty is a significant problem for society, and there are good reasons why doctors should be particularly concerned by it. Increasing evidence for links between animal cruelty and child or spousal abuse is an area of growing concern internationally and of real importance to health professionals.


OBJECTIVE
This article aims to raise awareness of the relevance of animal cruelty to medical practice. The links between animal cruelty and human health are discussed broadly and some wider ethical issues raised.


CONCLUSIONS
Animal cruelty impacts on human health in disparate ways: intentional and unintentional acts of cruelty may reflect underlying mental health problems that need to be addressed. Cruelty within the family setting is an important sentinel for domestic violence and should prompt an assessment for possible child abuse. Furthermore, animal cruelty raises important questions about the nature of empathy, and the type of society that we wish to live in.
Sherley
Miranda
M
RSPCA Australia, School of Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia. msherley@rspca.org.au
D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D010820:Physicians; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control