The manatee was swimming around in Florida’s waters, when Trump supporters lured, then detained the animal to scratch a slogan into the animal’s back. The Trump supporters etched the word “Trump” into the algae on the manatee’s back. It was an act that must have taken a while to complete. The letters were 12-14 inches in height. The animal was discovered within days of the Capitol insurrection

Even though the animal appears to have been unharmed, we don’t know what harassment took place while the animal was detained. It’s possible that the animal didn’t resist because it was hurt or injured. The idea that an animal is nothing more than a billboard, a lifeless prop humans can etch slogans onto is what makes this incident horrifically disturbing. The animal was harassed, violated but more generally, it was made to stand for a human ideology that has no concern for any obstacle that stands in its way, even if that obstacle is a living being.

A “hands off” approach in Florida means that people are prohibited from harassing manatees – ie chasing, touching or riding. After this incident, there have been calls for a strict 100 percent hands off rule for approaching manatees. Human behavior towards animals clearly shows it’s not always in animals’ best interests to trust humans.

The figures show that animal abuse and human abuse is a revolving door. Domestic abusers abuse dogs and companion animals. Serial killers start with small animals. We must never make the mistake of seeing the suffering of any living being as meaningless. Violence is violence. The entitlement of the people involved in harassing this living creature only communicates the hideous violence of the Trump ideology and its lack of regard for any creature that gets in its way.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/12/us/manatee-with-trump-on-its-back-trnd/index.html

https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article248668315.html

There is a qualitative difference in how we talk about animal vs. human abuse. That also translates into how we punish animal abuse. A man from Missouri has been released into house arrest after he tortured and killed at least 12 cats that he brought from craigslist for the specific purpose of killing and torturing them. The man revealed that he enjoyed stamping on the heads of cats and killing them by strangling them. He seemed to enjoy victimizing a wide variety of cats. He used craigslist to obtain mother cats, baby kittens and adult cats. Craigslist was this man’s a la carte menu of victims, a way he could easily gain access to a variety of animal victims to appease his violent appetites.

The man is considered a violent animal abuser and faces felony animal abuse charges. This pattern of killing and abuse seems deeply ingrained, to the extent that he will probably always be a danger to animals, and even humans. There is a petition urging the St. Charles County prosecuting attorney to prosecute the man to the fullest extent of the law and require extensive psychological intervention. If this man had abused and killed humans, he would be considered a dangerous serial killer. Unlike with a serial killer, however, this animal murderer will be free in the future to hurt animals and humans too. The max sentence for animal cruelty rarely stretches beyond five years. Several studies and the FBI have found a correlation between animal cruelty and the crimes of serial killers and rapists. Animal cruelty still ranks below cruelty to humans even though it is an equivalent violent crime, as perpetrators harm humans too.

The other side of this issue is that craigslist is effectively allowing animals to be trafficked by allowing them to be listed on their website without protections. There’s no guarantee that animals listed through craigslist will go to a good home. The fact that animals can be listed on craigslist indicates how low animal life is valued in the first place. Serial killers and abusers can obtain animals like they are property (as they’re considered by the law), and treat them like objects to be defiled. The ease with which this animal serial killer could torture and kill animals shows how much work there is to be done on the issue of sheltering animals from abuse and taking animal abuse seriously as the horrific violence that it is.
Read more about this issue, share the petition, and read about why you should never list animals on craigslist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruelty_to_animals

https://www.humanesociety.org/sites/default/files/docs/state-animal-cruelty-chart.pdf

https://www.thoughtco.com/dont-give-pets-away-free-127759

A new Sheriff’s Association report confirms the truth that violence is universal, and when animals suffer at the hands of violent people, humans are likely to suffer too. Just in case it wasn’t clear that violence against animals isn’t just a minor indiscretion, the report has indicated that when people commit animal cruelty, they are often on the road to committing other serious violent crimes against humans. Even more upsetting, animals are often victims in domestic abuse situations. In these situations, they are often used as a tool of control to get abused spouses or vulnerable older people to comply. Because animals can’t speak up, crimes are difficult to prosecute, and those humans who love the animals may also be silenced. As always, animals have much to teach us – this time that the silent ones are those who often suffer most. Saving animals and saving people who cannot speak for themselves must go hand in hand.

Read More:

https://www.earth.com/news/animal-cruelty-violent-crimes/