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Confronting Animal Abuse: Law, Criminology, and Human-Animal Relationships

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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…

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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. In this pioneering, pro-animal book Beirne identifies flaws in our traditional understanding of human-animal relationships, and proposes a compelling new approach. 252 p.

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Authors expertises affiliations

  • Piers Beirne. Professor of Sociology and Legal Studies. University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME (USA).
  • Publication date (reprint original edition 2009 to digital version): 2015-07 – Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

3 reviews for Confronting Animal Abuse: Law, Criminology, and Human-Animal Relationships

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30 April 2018

Beirne brilliantly demonstrates how concern about animal abuse is primarily motivated by human self-interest. He attends to the tension between suggesting that the criminal justice system take animal abuse more seriously on the one hand and adding to the already immense criminalized and marginalized populations on the other. Beirne shows that criminology needs to confront these issues and that criminologists cannot simply accept anthropocentric definitions of what constitutes harm and crime.

Avatar for Amy J Fitzgerald
Amy J Fitzgerald
30 April 2018

Piers Beirne has the knack of asking questions that are sometimes uncomfortable, occasionally confronting, yet always thought provoking and considerate. This book takes us on a fascinating and highly informative journey into the contentious world of animal cruelty and human specieism. It not only challenges how we look at the issues, but also raises concerns about how we ought to respond to them at a practical level as well. It is a must read.

Avatar for Rob White
Rob White
30 April 2018

Beirne, who originated the non-speciesist approach to criminology and is a leading exponent of green criminology, brings together for the first time his main themes and research interests within one text. As the originator of this approach, this book will further establish Beirne’s reputation as the leading scholar of non-speciesist criminology. The originality in identifying a serious problem in traditional analyses of human-nonhuman relations is a major contribution to the field.

Avatar for Roger Yates
Roger Yates