By Lauren Lewis –
March 28, 2018

California Senator Scott Wilk (R-Antelope Valley) announced the introduction of the Animal Welfare and Violence Intervention Act of 2018 to address the link between animal abuse and violence towards humans and to stop the escalation of dangerous behavior among offenders who hurt animals.
“Animal abuse crimes should be treated seriously because they are serious,” Wilk, himself the parent of a rescue dog, said in a statement. “Our animal friends need and deserve our protection, but this bill isn’t just about them. It’s also about our mothers and daughters, our friends and neighbors, our children and grandchildren; it’s about all of us.”

Wilk went on to cite statistics that show in some cases 60 percent of domestic violence offenders also abused animals at some point, and that 70 percent of the most violent prisoners in a study of federal prisons had serious animal abuse…