Until the last decade of the twentieth century, the abusive or cruel treatment of animals had received virtually no attention among academicians. Since then, however, empirical studies of animal abuse, and its relation to other forms of violence toward humans, have increased not only in number but in quality and stature. Sociologists, criminologists, social workers, psychologists, legal scholars, feminists, and others have recognized the myriad reasons that animal abuse is worthy of serious scholarly focus. In his overview of contemporary sociological understanding of animal abuse, Clifton Fly.

Animal Cruelty is an anthology that addresses all critical aspects of animal cruelty including: its history and prevalence; related legislation; special types of cruelty (hoarding, poaching, blood sports, etc.); its link to other types of violence and crime; theories used to explain animal cruelty; the role of the media; and emerging issues related to animal cruelty. The text is suitable for undergraduate and graduate classes in criminal justice, criminology, psychology, law, sociology, animal studies, and other disciplines, and is especially well-suited for use in classes on such topics as animal cruelty, animal welfare, deviant behavior, animal law, violent crime, veterinary studies, abnormal psychology, and animal husbandry. This second edition includes chapter updates related to legislation, prevalence and incidence of animal cruelty, and research findings, as well as the addition of two completely new chapters related to veterinary forensics and cruelty towards roaming dogs.

How can we make sense of acts of cruelty towards animals?

Animal abuse is an increasingly recognized issue throughout the world and makes headlines every year. The plight of animals is well documented, but the hidden cost to those who help is not fully understood. This practical handbook covers definitions, types and explanations of forms of animal abuse, and then examines the impacts of animal abuse on professionals and provides coping strategies. The book concludes with a guide to dealing with animal abuse, including providing first aid for common emergencies and dealing with the human abusers.

Animal abuse as a predictor of abuse against humans has been documented extensively. Experts have explored alternatives to identify the early signs and stop the cycle. This book offers an up-to-date compendium that covers the historical, legal, research and applied issues related to animal abuse and cruelty.

Confronting Animal Abuse presents a powerful examination of the human-animal relationship and the laws designed to protect it. Piers Beirne, a leading scholar in the growing field of green criminology, explores the heated topic of animal abuse in agriculture, science, and sport, as well as what is known, if anything, about the potential for animal assault to lead to inter-human violence. He convincingly shows how from its roots in the Irish plow-fields of 1635 through today, animal-rights legislation has been primarily shaped by human interest and why we must reconsider the terms of human-animal relationships. Beirne argues that if violations of animals' rights are to be taken seriously, then scholars and activists should examine why some harms to animals are defined as criminal, others as abusive but not criminal and still others as neither criminal nor abusive. Confronting Animal Abuse points to the need for a more inclusive concept of harms to animals, without which the meaning of animal abuse will be overwhelmingly confined to those harms that are regarded as socially unacceptable, one-on-one cases of animal cruelty. Certainly, those cases demand attention. But so, too, do those other and far more numerous institutionalized harms to animals, where abuse is routine, invisible, ubiquitous and often defined as socially acceptable. In this pioneering, pro-animal book Beirne identifies flaws in our traditional understanding of human-animal relationships, and proposes a compelling new approach.

Practitioners in the animal welfare field, law enforcement circles, and social services arena have often maintained that childhood cruelty to animals is a forerunner to violence against people. Does this behavior serve as a red flag with respect to extremely violent offenders, such as serial killers? Is it part of the cycle of violence associated with domestic abuse? Perez and Heide provide the first scientific examination of this relationship and examine issues of cruelty across different types of animals (pet, wild, stray, farm). The authors evaluate both qualitative and quantitative data to identify correlations between childhood cruelty and adult violent behavior, utilizing interviews and criminal records of violent and nonviolent inmates in a maximum security prison. Their findings will be of importance to a diverse audience, including researchers and practitioners in the field of juvenile justice, violence and domestic abuse, social welfare, animal welfare and animal rights and developmental psychologists and counselors, as well as law enforcement officers, district attorneys and judges, county and municipal officials, animal control officers, veterinarians, and school administrators, especially those concerned with intervention and prevention strategies.