REEDLEY, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – PETA announced on Wednesday that they have sent educational materials that urge kindness to animals and prevent violence by young people to schools in Reedley after a 12-year-old was caught on camera kicking a guinea pig and leaving it to die .
The video captured on a doorbell camera showed a child kicking a guinea pig outside a Reedley home, ultimately causing its death. It also showed the child chasing a chicken and then kicking the guinea pig, before fleeing the scene.
Following the incident, PETA’s humane education division sent the Kings Canyon Unified School District’s superintendent a letter that they say is urgent.
The letter states that there is an epidemic of youth violence surging throughout the United States. It also states that, as mental health and law-enforcement experts know well, cruelty to animals and violence against humans are inextricably linked.
The letter also says serial killers and school shooters tend to have a history of cruelty to animals. According to the letter, children who have witnessed the abuse of animals are more likely to abuse animals themselves.