Animal cruelty can be broken down into two main categories: active and passive. Passive cruelty is typified by cases of neglect, in which the cruelty is a lack of action rather than the action itself. Oftentimes passive animal cruelty is accidental, born of ignorance. In many cases of neglect in which an investigator believes that the cruelty occurred out of ignorance, the investigator may attempt to educate the pet owner, then revisit the situation. In more severe cases, exigent circumstances may require that the animal be removed for veterinary care.
Alleged link to human violence and psychological disorders There are studies providing evidence of a link between animal cruelty and violence towards humans. A 2009 study found that slaughterhouse employment increases total arrest rates, arrests for violent crimes, arrests for rape, and arrests for other sex offenses in comparison with other industries. A large national survey by the
Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies found a "substantial overlap between companion animal abuse and child abuse" and that cruelty to animals "most frequently co-occurred with psychological abuse and less severe forms of physical child abuse." A history of torturing pets and small animals, a behavior known as
zoosadism, is considered one of the signs of certain
psychopathologies, including
antisocial personality disorder, also known as a psychopathic personality disorder. According to
The New York Times, "[the FBI has found that a history of cruelty to animals is one of the traits that regularly appears in its computer records of serial
rapists and
murderers, and the standard diagnostic and treatment manual for psychiatric and emotional disorders lists cruelty to animals a diagnostic criterion for
conduct disorders." "A survey of psychiatric patients who had repeatedly tortured dogs and cats found all of them had high levels of aggression toward people as well, including one patient who had murdered a young boy." Acts of intentional animal cruelty or non-accidental injury may be indicators of serious psychological problems. According to the
American Humane Association, 13% of intentional animal abuse cases involve
domestic violence. As many as 71% of pet-owning women seeking shelter at
safe houses have reported that their partner had threatened and/or hurt or killed one or more of their pets; 32% of these women reported that one or more of their children had also hurt or killed pets.
Battered women report that they are hesitant about leaving their abusers because they fear what will happen to the animals in their absence. Animal abuse is sometimes used as a form of
intimidation in domestic disputes. Cruelty to animals is one of the three components of the
Macdonald triad. This behavior is considered to be one of the signs of violent antisocial behavior in children and adolescents. According to the studies used to form this model, cruelty to animals is a common (but not universal) behavior in children and adolescents who grow up to become
serial killers and other violent criminals. It has also been found that children who are cruel to animals have often witnessed or been victims of abuse themselves. In two separate studies cited by the
Humane Society of the United States, roughly one-third of families suffering from domestic abuse indicated that at least one child had hurt or killed a pet.
Monkey hate is a form of
sadism where humans have a hatred for
monkeys and take pleasure in their suffering. The phenomenon drew public attention after a global monkey torture ring was uncovered by the
BBC in 2023.
Animal testing Animal testing is regulated to varying degrees in different countries. In some cases it is strictly controlled while others have more relaxed regulations. There are ongoing debates about the ethics and necessity of animal testing. Proponents argue that it has led to significant advancements in medicine and other fields while opponents raise concerns about cruelty towards animals and question its effectiveness and reliability.
Laboratory animal sourcing can and has involved animal cruelty, particularly when animals are obtained through illegal or unethical means, or when regulations are not followed. Even when legal and regulated, the use of animals in research is ethically controversial because it often involves causing harm or death to sentient beings.
International trade in primates The
international trade in primates sees 32,000 wild non-human
primates (NHPs) trapped and sold on the international market every year. They are sold mostly for use in
animal testing, but also for food, for exhibition in zoos and circuses, and for private use as
companion animals.
Unnecessary scientific experiments or demonstrations Under all three of the conceptual approaches to animal cruelty discussed above, performing unnecessary experiments or demonstrations upon animals that cause them substantial pain or distress may be viewed as cruelty. Due to changes in ethical standards, this type of cruelty tends to be less common today than it used to be in the past. For example, schoolroom demonstrations of oxygen depletion routinely suffocated birds by placing them under a glass cover, and animals were suffocated in the
Cave of Dogs to demonstrate the density and toxicity of carbon dioxide to curious travelers on the
Grand Tour.
Cruelties in connection with meals Cattle in religion and mythology are considered sacred in the
Indian religions of
Hinduism,
Jainism and
Buddhism, as well as in some
Chinese folk religion and in
African
paganism. Cattle played other major roles in many religions, including those of
ancient Egypt,
ancient Greece,
ancient Israel, and
ancient Rome. In some regions, especially most
states of India, the slaughter of cattle is prohibited and their meat (
beef) may be
taboo. The production of
foie gras (the
liver of a
duck or a
goose that has been specially fattened) involves the
force-feeding of birds with more food than they would eat in the wild, and more than they would voluntarily eat domestically. The feed, usually corn boiled with fat (to facilitate ingestion), deposits large amounts of
fat in the liver, thereby producing the fatty consistency sought by some
gastronomes.
Pinikpikan is a chicken or duck dish from the mountains of the
Cordillera region in the
Philippines. As a tradition of the indigenous
Igorot people, pinikpikan is prepared by beating a live
chicken to death with a stick prior to cooking. The beating bruises the chicken's flesh by bringing blood to its surface, which is said to improve the flavour after cooking. The
Homarus lobster is usually cooked alive. The
Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 covers all
vertebrates and some
invertebrates such as
octopuses and
lobsters. , China
Bile bears, sometimes called battery bears, are
bears kept in captivity to harvest their
bile, a digestive fluid produced by the
liver and stored in the
gallbladder, which is used by some
traditional Asian medicine practitioners. It is estimated that 12,000 bears are farmed for bile in
China,
South Korea,
Laos,
Vietnam, and
Myanmar. Demand for the bile has been found in those nations as well as in some others, such as
Malaysia and
Japan.
Kopi luwak, also known as
civet coffee, is a
coffee that consists of partially digested
coffee cherries, which have been eaten and
defecated by the
Asian palm civet (
Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). The cherries are
fermented as they pass through a civet's
intestines, and after being defecated with other fecal matter, they are collected.
Asian palm civets are increasingly caught in the wild and traded for this purpose. Growing numbers of intensive civet "farms" have been established and are operated in Southeast Asia, confining tens of thousands of animals to live in
battery cages and be force-fed. is an -based
liqueur made in
Okinawa,
Japan. Other common names include habu sake or Okinawan snake wine. is named after the habu snake,
Protobothrops flavoviridis, which belongs to the
pit viper subfamily of vipers, and is closely related to the
rattlesnake and
copperhead. There are two methods of inserting the snake into the alcohol. The maker may choose to simply submerge the snake in the alcohol and seal the bottle, thus drowning the snake. Alternatively, the snake may be put on ice until it passes out, at which point it is gutted, bled and sewn up. When the viper is thawed and awakens, it will quickly die in an aggressive striking manner, which is what most producers look for. The manufacturer will then put the Habu in an ethanol bath for a month to preserve it.
Alfred Brehm wrote the following about the capture of sea turtles in the 19th century:
Eating live animals , a traditional
Sardinian
sheep milk cheese that contains insect
larvae
Eating live animals is a practice found in various cultures around the world, often considered a delicacy or traditional food. However, this practice may be considered cruel, as eating live animals or parts of live animals can cause significant suffering and distress, and is even unlawful in certain jurisdictions under animal cruelty laws.
Eating live seafood in Japanese cuisine includes practices such as
ikizukuri (freshly killed and arranged to appear alive), and
odorigui (seafood eaten while still moving), including
odori ebi ("dancing shrimp"). All are controversial for animal welfare reasons. One example of eating live larvae is the
witchetty grub of
Aboriginal Australian cuisine, which can be eaten alive and raw or cooked.