Bird Study Shows Abuse Victims Become Abusers When Grown

There has been a long standing debate as to whether or not those who abuse children are inherently "evil" or if it is something that is learned. People are not birds of course, but there might be something we can learn, something that should at least be considered, by observing the habits of other creatures. An interesting read here...

Abused baby boobies grow up to abuse other chicks

By Matt Walker Editor, BBC Nature

Chicks abused by older birds are more likely to grow up to become abusers themselves, scientists have found.

Researchers studying a colony of Nazca boobies, a colonial seabird, found the birds perpetuate a "cycle of violence".

Juvenile birds that are maltreated by older, non-relatives grow up to become more violent towards other chicks.

It is the first evidence from a wild animal that, as in humans, "child abuse" can be socially transmitted down the generations.

Details of the discovery are published in the journal The Auk by Martina Müller, David Anderson and colleagues from Wake Forest University, North Carolina, US.

Article continues at link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/14418174