Kim Vascik, left, and Dorsha Moreno.
DORSHA Moreno, an animal rights activist and pet service business owner, told Variety that animal abuse and domestic violence are correlated behaviors.
She was at the recently held Earth Day Mini Night Market in Chalan Kanoa, adjacent to Doctor Torres Drive, where a viral video documented a dog shooting incident that occurred earlier this month.
“Allowing animal cruelty to keep happening in our community increases the chances of domestic violence against women,” Moreno said. “If our police and government are not acting, [there will be] more and more abuse in our households.”
Moreno cited a document titled “Animal Cruelty’s Link to Other Forms of Violence” from the Animal Legal Defense Fund to back up her claim.
The document states that “animal abuse can be an indicator of other forms of violence and conversely, violence against humans — particularly domestic violence, and child and elder abuse.”
The Saipan Humane Society, which partners with the Saipan Mayor’s Office-Dog Control Program to care for the island’s stray animals, made a similar argument. In an Instagram post that denounced the April 2024 dog shooting incident, SHS said acts of violence toward animals “indicate broader issues of violence and aggression.”
Moreno suggested that one reason for the aggression toward the island’s boonie dogs is the uncontrolled growth of their population.
“I think that maybe with the number of strays on our streets, it increases more aggression toward the animals,” she said. “Maybe they get into their property. I know that there were incidents of a dog attacking their chickens and roosters. So that can create some animosity toward the animals, but I don’t feel that justifies killing the [dog].”
To help prevent future acts of animal cruelty, Moreno said she and her business partner Kim Vascik go to Garapan Elementary School and Isla Montessori School to conduct an animal welfare outreach program. They want to see a “kinder youth toward our animals,” she said.
Moreno likewise called for an end to the “backyard” breeding of small dogs.
“We have seen an increase in the smaller types of animals that are being bred in the backyard coming into the shelters,” she said. “Malteses, Shi Tzus, they come into the shelter and they do not do well in the shelter. It takes a week for them to disintegrate. It’s a terrible way for them to suffer. Eventually they’re euthanized.”
She said pets and the island’s stray dogs and cats need to be neutered so they cannot repopulate.
