The criminal and criminological aspects of animal abuse - Animal abuse and the link between animal abuse and violence towards humans

Abstract

What is animal abuse? When asking this question most likely you would get many different answers. A statement published by an animal rights organizationi characterizes animal abuse as “any use or treatment of animals that seems unnecessarily cruel, regardless of whether the act is against the law”1. Another explanation postulated by F.R. Ascione, a pioneer in this field stated that animal abuse is a “socially unacceptable behaviour that intentionally causes unnecessary pain, suffering, or distress to and/or death of an animal” (Ascione, 1993). This term is more frequently referred to in scientific articles.