Animal cruelty and human violence are part of the same syndrome.

Rosemarie Cox, Manager of the Saarthie Baartman shelter for battered woman, near Cape Town, was once a battered woman herself.  Today, she offers safety, solace and hope to the countless woman and children who become victims of domestic violence and abuse every year.  We asked Rosemarie to help us understand the link between animal cruelty and domestic violence:

'When a man starts abusing the animals in the household, it is a warning sign for the wife,' says Rosemarie who has worked with battered woman for the last nine years. 'Her turn will come and the children are also at risk.  Very often, a man will use animals as a weapon.  If he sees that his wife loves her little dog, for instance, he will hurt it in order to hurt her.  The trauma for the wife is more severe than if he had simply beaten her up.'

Other men, says Rosemarie, use their dogs to terrorize their wives.  Recently, a woman whose husband was in jail, the husband, who was a gangster, had terrorized her by setting his two big dogs on her whenever she did something he didn't like.  She lived for years like that. Finally, the husband was jailed for gangster-related activities but still, he managed to control her from his jail cell.

He knew all about what she was doing and would get his gangster friends on the outside, to set the dogs on her.  Would you believe it that when she finally sought shelter here; we had these two big aggressive dogs actually scratching at the front door of the centre, trying to get to her!

In many cases, says Rosemarie, the men subdue their dogs by blowing dagga smoke into their faces and spitting into their dogs' mouths. 'I've seen many dogs staggering around because of dagga inhalation.  Once they've subjugated the animal, they can use it as a weapon.  But this is animal abuse and it is all part of a power game.'
 
Rosemarie believes that humane education is essential.  In one case study, she says, a child in a rural area, started off by finding birds' nests and throwing the eggs out.  Later he would target the hatchlings and kill them.  'He was never taught to have respect and feeling for life.  He was finally jailed for murder.'

Animals are wonderful healers, says Rosemarie. 'Sometimes, the only way to get an abused child to open up is to get him to speak about the dog or cat he has at home. I have frequently taken children to the animal shelter near here.

You can see the healing in their faces, just by letting them touch the animals.  It's like glitter has been thrown in their eyes.  The sparkle comes back.'