Epidemic:
Kids Hurting Animals

As mental-health and law-enforcement experts well know, cruelty to animals and violence against humans are inextricably linked. Many educators are aware that serial killers and school shooters—including alleged killers Salvador Ramos, Payton Gendron, Nikolas Cruz, and Ethan Crumbley—tend to have a history of cruelty to animals, and Sandy Hook Promise has cruelty to animals on its “10 Critical Warning Signs of Violence” list.

Forty-three percent of perpetrators of schoolyard massacres commit acts of cruelty to animals first. Educators can help prevent future tragedies by including kindness to animals in the curriculum. Amid the current epidemic of youth violence, PETA urges everyone to report every act of cruelty against animals and calls on authorities to take each animal abuse claim seriously—for the sake of the animal victims and to help prevent future harm. Lives may depend on it.

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Missouri

State Laws

Missouri Revised Statutes 170.020. Voluntary pilot program for social and emotional health in elementary schools–Staffing
(1) The department of elementary and secondary education, through its school counseling section, shall be authorized to establish a voluntary pilot program, beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, to provide for social and emotional health education in elementary schools in the state. The purpose of the pilot program shall be to determine whether and how to implement an elementary social and emotional health education program statewide. (Source)

Reported Animal Abuse Cases

September 2025/Benton County, Missouri

Benton County Enterprise reported that a pair of students allegedly recorded themselves submerging a caged cat into a pool of water, apparently intentionally drowning the animal. In the alleged video footage, the boy filming can be heard stating, “So, let’s drown this cat,” before dropping the cage into a muddy baby pool and watching the feline panic and attempt to escape. They can apparently be heard anticipating the animal’s death with excitement, counting down—“3, 2, 1, bye bye!”—as the cat continued to fight for their life, eventually pulling the cage out of the water and proclaiming them “dead.”

May 2023/Kansas City, Missouri

KCTV5.com reported that two sophomores from St. Teresa’s Academy allegedly killed a duckling, whose body other students discovered in a bathroom trash can with a string around the neck.

September 2019/Cape Girardeau, Missouri

The Kansas City Star reported that 18-year-old Andrew Nipper was arraigned and facing several charges, including animal abuse for allegedly stealing a dog named Pepper from outside of a female acquaintance’s apartment, stabbing Pepper to death, photographing himself holding her dead body, and leaving her remains in a trash bag outside of her home. Nipper reportedly stabbed Pepper eleven times, supposedly out of revenge because, according to court records, he’d allegedly stalked a friend of the dog’s guardian, who had previously reported Nipper to the police.

October 2018/Slater, Missouri

PEOPLE reported that 18-year-old Harley Mobley was arrested and faces a single charge of felony animal abuse for allegedly shooting his dog, Gloria, directly between her eyes at close range with a 20-gauge shotgun before dumping her on the side of a road. The bullet, which reportedly entered through Gloria’s nasal cavity and continued into her cheek and to the back of her mouth before exiting her cheek, caused severe injuries that required numerous surgeries to remove remnants of her shattered teeth. Apparently, Mobley admitted to the police that he shot and abandoned Gloria, claiming he believed she had rabies and that he “didn’t have no time for the vet that morning.”

June 2017/Branson, Missouri

KY3.com reported that two teenagers had been arrested for allegedly torturing and killing a cat after a video surfaced on social media that showed the cat being tied by the neck with rope to the back of a vehicle and then dragged from the moving vehicle’s bumper.

February 2014/St. Louis, Missouri

Fox2Now.com reported that two juveniles had been arrested and charged with animal abuse after allegedly mistreating a dog and sharing a video of the act on Facebook. According to reports, the video appears to show one teenager body-slamming and repeatedly punching the 6- to 7-month-old dog while another teen can be heard laughing off camera.