The killing of a dog by children in one of Cape Town’s gang-ridden areas could be a result of them mimicking adults.
On Thursday TMG Digital reported that the SPCA had opened a criminal case after a video‚ showing a dog being abused and later killed by children in Mannenberg‚ had been making the rounds.
Dr Catherine Ward‚ psychology department head at the University of Cape Town‚ said mimicking adults is one of the key ways that children learn behaviour‚ good as well as bad.
The video shows the terrified dog‚ with a nylon rope around the neck‚ being dragged by its laughing tormentors. “You are going to die‚ die‚” the children scream‚ kicking the helpless creature and pelting it with chunks of concrete.
“The injured dog‚ yelping in agony‚ tries to get away but appears to be stunned. It stops moving after a devastating blow from a chunk of rock‚” the SPCA report read.
According to Ward‚ the SPCA has reports of dog fights in areas like Mannenberg‚ and it is likely that children have seen serious fights between adults‚ which have frightened them.
Children attempt to take psychological control over their fear by carrying out the same actions towards something smaller and less powerful than themselves.
“Neither is an excuse‚ but they do provide a sense that while these children have done something brutal‚ it’s likely that they have themselves been brutalised in some way‚ and that the responsibility lies with the behaviour of the adults around them‚” Ward explained.
“In addition‚ of course‚ clearly neither these children nor the dog were being well-supervised by adults‚ who should have intervened if they saw this going on — some of these children are far too young to be playing unsupervised away from home‚ and dogs should‚ of course‚ always be inside a secure property‚” she said.
Earlier this week‚ the City of Cape Town said in a statement that mayor Patricia de Lille had visited Mannenberg and said there were plans to help resolve problems in the area. So far R5‚5 million has been spent on a synthetic pitch to help create a sports facility.
“We have also begun the work on the Mannenberg Youth Lifestyle Campus which we announced a year ago‚ together with community leaders.
“The campus forms part of a R29 million investment in the youth of Mannenberg over the next three years‚” De Lille said.
“We believe that if the youth are given opportunities‚ they will not be tempted by the lure of gangsterism and drugs which has torn this community apart for too long.
Although some of the perpetrators are as young as seven‚ the SPCA said it had opened a criminal case at the Mannenberg police station. “Their callous actions were evil and one cannot even begin to imagine the terror their torturous acts must have had on their unsuspecting victims.”
“These are not images of young hooligans behaving badly but rather footage of tomorrow’s killers who‚ if left unchecked‚ will almost certainly kill again‚” SPCA spokesperson Belinda Abraham said.
However‚ Ward says that while “cruelty to animals in children can be a serious sign of a child who is on a path to criminality‚ it can also simply be an acting out of adult behaviour that children will regret and about which they will feel remorse.
“If so‚ that would be a good sign that these are not young criminals in the making‚” she said.
Ward suggested ways to help combat violence‚ particularly from one child to another‚ and from child to animal.
“Children (and animals) should be supervised at all times‚ to make sure they’re not getting into this kind of trouble.
“Second‚ interventions that promote empathy for animals and other people would be important: it’s hard to hurt someone or an animal if you can feel their pain
“Parenting (and teaching) where parents and teachers help children to recognise their own and others’ emotions will help to develop empathy too.”
— TMG Digital
Dog torture and killing may reflect children’s experience‚ says psychologist
The killing of a dog by children in one of Cape Town’s gang-ridden areas could be a result of them mimicking adults.
On Thursday TMG Digital reported that the SPCA had opened a criminal case after a video‚ showing a dog being abused and later killed by children in Mannenberg‚ had been making the rounds.
Dr Catherine Ward‚ psychology department head at the University of Cape Town‚ said mimicking adults is one of the key ways that children learn behaviour‚ good as well as bad.
The video shows the terrified dog‚ with a nylon rope around the neck‚ being dragged by its laughing tormentors. “You are going to die‚ die‚” the children scream‚ kicking the helpless creature and pelting it with chunks of concrete.
“The injured dog‚ yelping in agony‚ tries to get away but appears to be stunned. It stops moving after a devastating blow from a chunk of rock‚” the SPCA report read.
According to Ward‚ the SPCA has reports of dog fights in areas like Mannenberg‚ and it is likely that children have seen serious fights between adults‚ which have frightened them.
Children attempt to take psychological control over their fear by carrying out the same actions towards something smaller and less powerful than themselves.
“Neither is an excuse‚ but they do provide a sense that while these children have done something brutal‚ it’s likely that they have themselves been brutalised in some way‚ and that the responsibility lies with the behaviour of the adults around them‚” Ward explained.
“In addition‚ of course‚ clearly neither these children nor the dog were being well-supervised by adults‚ who should have intervened if they saw this going on — some of these children are far too young to be playing unsupervised away from home‚ and dogs should‚ of course‚ always be inside a secure property‚” she said.
Earlier this week‚ the City of Cape Town said in a statement that mayor Patricia de Lille had visited Mannenberg and said there were plans to help resolve problems in the area. So far R5‚5 million has been spent on a synthetic pitch to help create a sports facility.
“We have also begun the work on the Mannenberg Youth Lifestyle Campus which we announced a year ago‚ together with community leaders.
“The campus forms part of a R29 million investment in the youth of Mannenberg over the next three years‚” De Lille said.
“We believe that if the youth are given opportunities‚ they will not be tempted by the lure of gangsterism and drugs which has torn this community apart for too long.
Although some of the perpetrators are as young as seven‚ the SPCA said it had opened a criminal case at the Mannenberg police station. “Their callous actions were evil and one cannot even begin to imagine the terror their torturous acts must have had on their unsuspecting victims.”
“These are not images of young hooligans behaving badly but rather footage of tomorrow’s killers who‚ if left unchecked‚ will almost certainly kill again‚” SPCA spokesperson Belinda Abraham said.
However‚ Ward says that while “cruelty to animals in children can be a serious sign of a child who is on a path to criminality‚ it can also simply be an acting out of adult behaviour that children will regret and about which they will feel remorse.
“If so‚ that would be a good sign that these are not young criminals in the making‚” she said.
Ward suggested ways to help combat violence‚ particularly from one child to another‚ and from child to animal.
“Children (and animals) should be supervised at all times‚ to make sure they’re not getting into this kind of trouble.
“Second‚ interventions that promote empathy for animals and other people would be important: it’s hard to hurt someone or an animal if you can feel their pain
“Parenting (and teaching) where parents and teachers help children to recognise their own and others’ emotions will help to develop empathy too.”
— TMG Digital
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