Taken from American Humane Association for education purposes:
Numerous studies have shown a strong connection of this type of violence, and children who engage in acts of cruelty often graduate to violence against other children if not stopped.
Following are some statistics on domestic violence and animal cruelty:
Battered Women:
71% of abused women report that their batterers have threatened to hurt/kill their pets and have done so.
32% of battered women with children report that their children have hurt or killed pets.