([link removed])

([link removed])

Ask Congress to AVERT Future Violence Against Animals and People

Dear John,

Time and time again, we learn that individuals who have committed violent acts against others--whether a spouse, a parent, or the 21 schoolchildren and teachers gunned down this year in Uvalde, Texas--also have a history of abusing animals. Policymakers at all levels of society have been thinking more strategically about ways to protect both people and animals. With strong bipartisan support, the Animal Violence Exposes Real Threat of (AVERT) Future Violence Act (H.R.8659 and S.4743) has been introduced to address this relationship between animal abuse and human violence.

The AVERT Future Violence Act will do the following:
* It commissions a definitive study within the US Department of Justice to assess the link between acts of animal cruelty and future acts of violence against others.
* It authorizes an annual grant program to support law enforcement, courts, and other eligible organizations (e.g., those that work directly with or on behalf of pets) in their efforts to prevent and stop animal cruelty and rehabilitate offenders.
Animal abuse occurs in communities across the country. It is a serious crime on its own, but there is also a significant link ([link removed]) between acts of cruelty toward animals and violence against humans. In one study ([link removed]), 70 percent of the convicted animal abusers whose records were reviewed had committed at least one other crime, and almost 40 percent of that group had committed a violent crime.

That same study found that the animal abusers were five times more likely to commit violent crimes than were non-abusers. This link has been substantiated by study after study and is so strong that in 2016 the FBI began collecting data specifically on animal abuse ([link removed]) as part of its National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS).

TAKE ACTION ([link removed])

What You Can Do

Please use AWI's Action Center to ask your federal representative and senators to take a meaningful step to protect people and animals by cosponsoring the AVERT Future Violence Act. ([link removed])

Please be sure to share our action alert with family, friends, and co-workers, and encourage them to take action, too. As always, thank you very much for your help!

Sincerely,

Nancy Blaney
Director, Government Affairs Program

P.S. Follow us on Facebook ([link removed]), Twitter ([link removed]), and Instagram ([link removed]) for other important animal protection actions and news. Check out the latest edition of the AWI Quarterly ([link removed])!

Photo from Flickr by eflon

([link removed]) ([link removed]) ([link removed]) ([link removed])

Animal Welfare Institute
900 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003
(202) 337-2332 | www.awionline.org ([link removed])

The Animal Welfare Institute is a not-for-profit organization, founded in 1951 and dedicated to reducing animal suffering caused by people. We seek better treatment of animals everywhere: in the laboratory, on the farm, in commerce, at home, and in the wild.

Donate ([link removed])

Unsubscribe:
[link removed]

Email Privacy Policy:
[link removed]

Update Profile:
[link removed]

900 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003