To the editor:

Kudos to Maine for being ranked by the Animal Legal Defense Fund as one of the five states with the strongest laws against cruelty to animals.

Treating cruelty to animals seriously doesn’t only protect animals -—it makes the entire community safer. Animal abusers are cowards who take their issues out on “easy victims” -—which often includes their fellow humans. The FBI has found that a history of cruelty to animals regularly appears in its records of serial rapists and murderers. Psychiatrists, too, know that cruelty to animals is a red flag; the standard diagnostic and treatment manual for conduct disorders lists cruelty to animals as a diagnostic criterion.

As Dr. Albert Schweitzer said, “Anyone who has accustomed himself to regard the life of any living creature as worthless is in danger of arriving also at the idea of worthless human lives.” Protecting animals protects us all. To learn more, visit www.HelpingAnimals.com.
Sincerely,
Martin Mersereau, Director
Emergency Response Team
Cruelty Investigations Department
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PETA)
Norfolk, Va.