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Physical Cruelty of Companion Animals

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The Palgrave International Handbook of Animal Abuse Studies

Abstract

This chapter highlights the ambiguity surrounding the meaning and significance of animal cruelty and the ambivalence that characterises our treatment of animals. The contradictions in how we regard animals seem greatest when we look at our varied relationships with companion animals, ranging from complete devotion to indifference. The chapter establishes how the ambiguous, conflicting nature of cruelty has shaped attempts to explain it, document its prevalence and determine appropriate ways of responding to it. Through focusing on animals typically considered pets, the authors sift through some of the distortions and projections that surround dominant interpretations of cruelty. Using a symbolic interactionist perspective, they question the belief that cruelty has an objective definition, independent of context. They also challenge the assumption that harming pets as well as other animals necessarily predicts future violent behaviour. Finally, drawing upon recent empirical research largely from the USA, the authors specify the conditions under which cruelty to pets may signal, in particular, extreme forms of violence and consequently argue that appropriate responses to cruelty requires understanding of the context in which it occurs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA

    Arnold Arluke

  2. Department of Sociology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA

    Leslie Irvine

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  1. Arnold Arluke
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  2. Leslie Irvine
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Correspondence to Arnold Arluke .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Criminology, University of South Wales , Pontypridd, United Kingdom

    Jennifer Maher

  2. Centre for Criminology, University of South Wales , Pontypridd, United Kingdom

    Harriet Pierpoint

  3. Criminology Department, University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine, USA

    Piers Beirne

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Arluke, A., Irvine, L. (2017). Physical Cruelty of Companion Animals. In: Maher, J., Pierpoint, H., Beirne, P. (eds) The Palgrave International Handbook of Animal Abuse Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-43183-7_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-43183-7_3

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