FBI Announces It Will Start Tracking Animal Cruelty Crimes in 2016

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Breitbart:

The FBI has announced that starting next year it will be adding a new category to its crime statistics reporting and for the first time will begin tracking crimes of animal cruelty.

 

Until now the FBI lumped animal cruelty crimes into a catch-all category with other crimes that do not easily fit in a particular category into its National Incident Based Reporting System, the Baltimore Sun reports.

 

Mary Lou Randour, senior adviser for animal cruelty programs and training at the nonprofit Animal Welfare Institute, told the paper that until now there wasn’t an easy way to see national statistics.

 

“There was no way to find out how often it occurs, where it occurs, and whether it was on the increase,” Randour told the paper. “Empirical data is important. It’s going to give us information about animal cruelty crime so we can plan better about intervention and prevention.”

 

Randour noted that these stats are important for tracking early instances of anti-social or violent behavior in individuals that may go on to cause more problems for society. Often, she noted, animal cruelty is a precursor to later violence.

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Will this include PETA?