Crushing: When Humans Become More Beastly than Animals

The viral video was despicable, enraging, and saddening.  Even President Aquino responded promptly by approving a bill imposing stiffer penalties for perpetrators of such vile acts.  And for those of us who viewed the video, we could only wonder how the three teenage ladies in the video got themselves to kill a defenseless puppy by trampling on it with their bare feet. 

Animal crushing, plainly put, is animal abuse.  It is the intentional human act of torturing or murdering animals:

• for the mere thrill of doing so,
• for no apparent reason,
• to punish the animal,
• as a “punching bag” for one’s anger or frustrations in life,
• or as a focus of sexual arousal. 

People who enjoy crushing animals for the mere heck of it have sociopathic tendencies.  Sociopaths are people with a poorly-developed set of moral values. They have little or no compassion for the sufferings of other beings.  Because they lack a conscience, they do not show guilt or remorse for the wrong that they’ve done.  On the contrary, they may even feel proud of their wrong doings. 

Some sociopaths don’t only get a thrill from being sadistic towards animals, they also derive sexual pleasure from it.  This is a form of a sexual deviancy known as “zoosadism” and those who engage in said perversion are called “animal sadists.”  The pornographic material which animal sadists enjoy must have a strong element of animal torture in it coupled with sexual content.  Otherwise, if the movie just depicted naked human bodies or ordinary sexual activities, animal sadists would not get sufficiently aroused.  Movies wherein animals are tortured then killed are called “animal snuff videos.”

It’s likely possible that animal crushing has its roots in childhood, especially if children are frequently exposed to the abuse of animals.   Also, children who are victims of physical abuse may become abusers themselves when they get older, not necessarily abusing people but animals instead.

The danger in animal crushing videos is that when they are allowed to proliferate, people get easily desensitized to the vicious act until it becomes accepted as normal human behaviour.  This desensitization is reflected in some forms of animal abuse which, sadly, are culturally and legally sanctioned.  Bullfighting for instance is a popular sport which drives the whole stadium cheering in wild frenzy for the matador who repeatedly pierces the bull to its bloody death.  Or how about cockfighting or pitbull fighting wherein, amidst the excitement of its enthusiasts, the animals end up getting permanently maimed or killed?  Despite civilized society, we even pit “human animals" against each other inside a boxing ring or mixed martial arts cage, excitedly watching the opponents violently pummel each other until one is disgraced in shameful defeat. 

The point here is that we human beings have to guard ourselves against our own violent streak.  If left unchecked, the violent streak grows and gets lashed out on animals or other humans.  If we pride ourselves as being the most evolved of living creatures, it becomes our responsibility to protect the rights and welfare of those creatures whose survival depends to a big extent on our mercy towards them.   

To conclude, we must uphold the law and be vigilant against all forms of animal abuse, including animal crushing. As for producers of animal crush videos and animal crushers themselves, they clearly need a rehabilitation of the mind which hopefully can be attained through intensive psychotherapy and behavioural management.