Conference told animal cruelty may be early sign of criminal behaviour

ANIMAL CRUELTY among children can be an early warning of a propensity
toward criminal behaviour, delegates were told at a conference in
Dublin yesterday.

Dr Randall Lockwood, vice-president of training and initiatives for
the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), told delegates that a
strong connection between harming animals and violence exists, with
notorious serial killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer having established
patterns of animal abuse.
...
Researchers and law enforcement agencies have linked animal cruelty to
domestic violence, child abuse, serial killings and to the recent rash
of killings by school age children, said Dr Lockwood.

“While there are many factors that contribute to someone becoming a
serial killer, the one constant they share is animal abuse.”

--
full story:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0425/1224245378681.html