Dog abusers must be caught red-handed

Dog food with sharp contents that can harm dogs is once again being spread in Malmö.

– Criminals who have used violence against people have often been cruel to animals at a young age, says forensic psychiatrist Axel Haglund.

The city of Malmö has issued a warning that dog food buns with sharp contents are once again being distributed. Buns have been found in seven places in the neighborhoods around Sankt Knuts torg in central Malmö. The city urges anyone who sees anything suspicious to contact the police.

– All police patrols that are out and about in Malmö have the knowledge that buns with dangerous content are being spread. It may become relevant that patrols, both visible and invisible, make targeted checks in places where this has happened before or could happen, says Nils Norling, press spokesperson at Malmö Police.

According to Norling, this type of crime is difficult to investigate. The police have seized and handed over buns to the forensic investigation, but no traces have been secured.

– A lot of the buns are homemade and have been baked in an oven, which tends to destroy any traces, says Nils Norling

The police need to catch the perpetrator or perpetrators red-handed and Norling urges anyone who sees something suspicious to contact the police:

– Feel free to take a picture or film.

Common in the background

Axel Haglund, who is a specialist in psychiatry and forensic psychiatry and chief physician at the Swedish Medical Research Agency, says that there is very little research on animal cruelty. He therefore refers to experiences gained in forensic psychiatric work.

– When in forensic psychiatry you meet people who have committed crimes and go through their background, it is not uncommon to see that they have committed cruelty to animals at a young age. It belongs to a trend towards anti-social life and violence against people, says Haglund.

Anti-social life means that the individual lives a life where he commits many different types of crime, that he is no stranger to breaking several different rules.

– But it is very difficult to say anything specific about what cruelty to animals at a young age leads to. Some may stop doing this when they mature, while for others it becomes a fascination and interest that appeals to them, says Haglund.

On the fringes of society

A speculation on Haglund’s part is that it could be about a person who developed an aversion to dogs or dog owners, or both.

– Or is it an aversion to society, for which dogs and dog owners become representatives? I read in a small report about animal abusers that those who commit cruelty to animals often live on the fringes of society in some way and do not have many contact surfaces with other people, which means that there is no one around who can sense the wrongdoing and flag.

TT: If the perpetrator were to be in some form of care and the care staff get wind of something, can they raise the alarm?

– We do have confidentiality in healthcare, but confidentiality can be broken in the event of serious crimes. It would possibly be applicable here, if the issue is gross animal cruelty.