Understanding Animal Abuse

by Clif Flynn

Overview

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 Flynn asks why studying animal abuse is important, examines the connections between animal abuse and human violence, surveys the theses surrounding the supposed link between abuse of animals and humans, and lays out some theoretical perspectives on the issue. The book offers recommendations for policy and professionals and directions for future research. Ultimately, Understanding Animal Abuse challenges the reader to consider animal abuse as not limited just to harmful acts committed by individuals. It asks us to extend our notion of abuse to the systemic cruelty of factory farms and vivisection laboratories.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781590563403
Publisher:	Lantern Books NY
Publication date:	04/01/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	472,609
File size:	395 KB

Table of Contents

Introduction and Acknowledgments vii

1 Why Studying Animal Abuse Is Important 1

Defining Animal Abuse 2

Why Violence to Animals Was Ignored 3

Why Animal Abuse Must Receive Attention 4

2 A Sociological Approach to Understanding Animal Abuse 17

Individual/Psychopathological vs. Social/Cultural Models of Violence and Abuse 17

Social Structure and Animal Abuse 19

3 The Connections between Animal Abuse and Human Violence 33

Family Violence 33

Other Forms of Violence and Antisocial Behavior 40

4 "The Link" 47

The Progression Thesis/Graduation Hypothesis 47

Evaluating the Evidence for "the Link" 50

Issues and Challenges for Future Research on the Link 54

5 Explaining Animal Abuse: Theoretical Perspectives 63

Feminist Theories 63

Symbolic Interactionism 65

Combining the Two Approaches: A Feminist-Interactionist Explanation of Woman-Battering and Pet Abuse 75

Agnew's Social-Psychological Theory of Animal Abuse 82

6 Recommendations for Policy and Professionals and Directions for Future Research 87

Policy Recommendations 87

Directions for Future Research 95

7 Expanding the Sociological Imagination: An Inclusive Sociology of Animal Abuse 109

Conclusions 111

References 113

About the Author 131