Search Results (4)

Planetary boundary transgressions occur as the result of a conflict between human-engineered systems and the natural life-support systems on Earth. In this paper, we validate the Berkana Institute’s Two Loops Theory of Change which posits that big living systems cannot be changed from within. We can only abandon them and start over. We show that the desired objectives of world peace and planetary health can be attained through a “Planet B” style engineering of human systems to meet the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), sans SDG #8 (Economic Growth) and with the addition of Beyond Cruelty Foundation’s SDG #18 (Zero Animal Exploitation). We show that the transition to fully plant-based systems as envisioned in SDG #18 mitigates all seven planetary boundary transgressions and aids in the development of a regenerative, equitable, and sustainable civilization that we call Planet B. Full article

This review article reflects on the idea of the pet, or animal companion. It is a response to the tension between the important role animal companions play in the lives of many people and the ways they are ill-treated and discarded. In examining this apparent anomaly, the paper revisits Yi-Fu Tuan’s conception of pets as produced through the nexus of domination and affection. For Tuan, there is no anomaly in demonstrating both kindness and cruelty towards pets because, while pets may be objects of affection, they are created through practices of manipulation and control. The paper endorses Tuan’s conception of pets as an exercise in domination but argues for a more nuanced conception which allows for the possibility of different kinds of relations. In so doing, it provides an alternative model of human domination which can be seen in the ‘making’ of pets, drawing on a study of people’s relationships and lives with dog companions in the UK. The paper argues for an inclusive concept of pets, involving various species, and which recognises that pet–human relations differ according to the species which are kept. Ultimately, the paper suggests that the terms, concepts and theories we use to understand pets and human relations with them needs to be open to the diversity of species of animal kept and the ways in which this impacts human relations with them. Attention also needs to be paid to the varied kinds of relationship people have with pets based on different kinds of regard for animals. The paper also considers future directions for research, making the case for a critical approach to pet studies. Full article

Background: Animal cruelty appears to be widespread. Competing theories have been posed regarding the causes of animal cruelty leading to conflicting findings and little direction for public policies to combat it. Objective: To assess the applicability of extant theories of the causes of animal cruelty: domestic violence; deviance; perpetrator traits; and social disorganization. Methods: Data are drawn from police department reports of animal cruelty in the City of Detroit from 2007 to 2015; 302 incidences of animal cruelty were reported. Multiple regression is used to determine the theory which best appears to account for animal cruelty. Results: Common types of animal cruelty in Detroit are shooting; blunt force trauma; neglect; and dogfighting. While most incidents involve unknown persons; cruelty by owners; neighbors; and domestic partners is also common. Neighborhood conditions in terms of economic stress; vacancy and blight; and crime appear to have the greatest impact on animal cruelty. Conclusions: The findings from Detroit support deviance and social disorganization theories of animal cruelty. Neighborhood conditions in terms of economic stress, vacancy and blight, and crime appear to have the greatest impact on animal cruelty in this urban area. Full article

Infant features are physical traits that are characteristic of human infants and include facial features such as large and low-lying eyes, and a small nose and mouth. Animals possessing high levels of infant features elicit care-giving responses in humans. Despite this, animal cruelty is a common occurrence. The aim of this research was to determine whether the ability to recognise and/or attend to infant features is linked to subclinical psychopathic traits and attitudes towards animals. Using a community sample, participants (n = 387) completed a cuteness forced-choice task. Self-reported psychopathy and attitude towards animals were not related to the participants’ ability to detect cues of cuteness in human infants and animals. In a second study, participants (n = 142) were screened for low versus high primary psychopathy and low versus high animal attitude scores. A Psychopathy-Attitude Composite score was created and a subset of participants (n = 50) from the upper and lower quartiles completed a free-viewing eye-tracking task where ‘Cute’, ‘Neutral, ‘Monetary’ and ‘Control’ images were presented in pairs. Higher levels of psychopathic traits and an anti-animal welfare attitude were associated with decreased attention to ‘Cute’ images in terms of decreased dwell time, mean fixation duration and mean fixation count, measures of voluntary attention. There were a number of interactions between Psychopathy-Attitude Composite classification and attention to each image category in terms of dwell time, first fixation duration, mean fixation duration and fixation count. These findings support the theory that individuals with psychopathic traits recognise facial cues of vulnerability but choose to give them reduced attentional priority. This may have implications for animal welfare. Full article