Recent Research and Policy
The Sizes of Elephant Groups in Zoos: Implications for Elephant
Welfare. We are beginning to see a shift in public attitudes that
recognizes that keeping elephants (and, eventually, other megafauna)
in zoos fails to meet their basic needs. Read Mo...
Research Nutshell
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE AND ANIMAL ABUSE
STUDY SUMMARY:
Research has long since documented a relationship between human
violence and animal abuse, but more research is needed to help
understand the psychology of individuals who...
Teaching Kindness
Humane education programs in schools are one way of teaching children
kindness toward animals. The larger lesson of empathy fostered by
these programs applies to relationships with human beings as well. In
a study of fourth graders in Australia, r...
DNA Breed Testing in Dogs
New technology has created DNA tests that determine, with varying
degrees of precision, the breed(s) present in mixed-breed dogs. A
recent study by Victoria Voith, D.V.M., demonstrated the disparity
between visual and DNA identification of dogs, a...
Abuse vs. Neglect
Incidents of animal abuse fall into two general categories:
malicious, often premeditated cruelty (such as beatings) and more
incidental forms of neglect (such as starvation). However, the level
of suffering for the animal victims is comparable re...
Dogs as Food and Pets
The use of dogs as food persists in some cultures, most visibly in
Asia, and in South Korea in particular, even in regions where dogs are
also kept as companions. Numerous campaigns to stop the dog-meat trade
have met with strong resistance. A rec...
Naming Dairy Cows
One of the core principles of animal rights is that each animal is a
unique individual, and humane treatment standards should reflect the
needs of each member of a species, not always (or even necessarily)
the species as a whole. A recent study pu...
Willingness to Pay
One of the obstacles of reforming factory farming practices is the
higher cost related to improved farm animal welfare. Mass-produced
eggs, milk and meat are cheaper than products from facilities where
animals are not kept caged or intensively con...
Pedagogy and Humane Education
A study on the impact of an undergraduate course in Human-Animal
Studies (HAS), focusing on animal abuse, indicates that an academic
examination of human relationships with animals can result in more
empathetic attitudes toward both nonhuman and h...
Lessons from Litigation
In a study soon to be published in the journal _Society & Animals_,
Steven Tauber of the University of South Florida examined the
effectiveness of litigation as a tool for animal advocates. As the
study notes, "...the courts are a significant aren...
