First International Conference on animal abuse and human violence
On 18th September 2007 the first major conference on
the relationship between animal abuse and human violence will be held at Kebble College, Oxford.
This important academic event will explore how humans who abuse animals can become violent towards other humans. This link was already established in the 1970s, but only now researchers, clinicians, child care services, animal protection agencies, magistrates and legislators are starting to take the implications seriously.
The conference programme covers a range of academic perspectives: psychology, ethics, sociology, criminology, law, philosophy, anthropology, politics, medicine and veterinary science. The conference will interest professional people working in the front line including social workers, lawyers, health visitors, psychologists, vets and the police, as well as those interested in child welfare, animal welfare, domestic violence, women's rights, crime prevention and enforcement.
A few interesting presentation titles include:
- Animal Abuse and Interpersonal Violence: An Overview of Past Research and Pathways to Future Study (Professor Frank Ascione)
- The Link between Animal Abuse and Sadistic Serial Murder (Professor Jack Levin)
- Offending Patterns and Criminal Profiling of Individuals who Hunt with Dogs (John Cooper)
- Intensive Farming: Institutionalising Violence (Dr Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson)
- And many more interesting speakers from around the world
Animals Count would like the government to take the violence link more serious and calls for:
- Compulsory humane education to become part of the curriculum at all levels
- The development of a central database with details of animal abuse offenders that is shared among all stakeholders
- Closer collaboration between all stakeholders in order to prevent crime and abnormal behavioural development in young offenders
- Stronger sentences and better enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act
- Compulsory 'Responsible Animal Care' courses for all people looking after animals
- The establishment of a basic governmental animal health care system comparable to the NHS in order to help those animals that have become victim of domestic abuse and other animals in need of emergency treatment where owners do not have sufficient funds.
- Governmental support for care facilities where battered women (or in rare cases men), children and companion animals are looked after
For more information on the conference and registration, click here.