The animal welfare legislation that is discussed in this Dissertation is just a sample of the available legislation from the chosen foreign jurisdictions and South Africa. The chosen foreign jurisdictions were chosen as a lens to gain a needed perspective on South African animal welfare legislation. The legislation chosen for discussion falls within particular categories that are discussed fully in the later chapters.i Despite the fact that the animal rights and animal welfare movements are recorded to date back as far as 500B.C, the majority of jurisdictions throughout the world still consider animals to be property that can be bought, traded, hunted and after they are killed, their remains kept as trophies or souvenirs. Within these jurisdictions (which includes South Africa and the other four chosen foreign jurisdictions – Kenya, India, Switzerland and the United States of America) there is a demonstrated lack of proper enforcement of the animal welfare/animal anti-cruelty legislation, regulations and industry rules, which is made worse by the actions of uncaring, abusive and/or ignorant people. South Africa is no better or worse to the four chosen jurisdictions in that it has similar anti-cruelty/animal welfare legislation. The lack of proper enforcement of this animal welfare legislation in South Africa should be of great concern as many studies have indicated that there is a link between animal abuse/cruelty and ‘human’ abuse. The same studies also indicate that animal abusers are at a greater risk of becoming violent criminals or of committing a violent crime. For example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has noted that most serial killers in the USA had a history of torturing, abusing and killing animals before they moved on to torturing, abusing and/or killing humans in their adult life. Needed changes to the animal welfare legislation and how people view animals should be made in South Africa to ensure that welfare of animals is protected. For example, the Government could educate people about animal welfare in order to overcome any ignorance that may be the cause of animal pain and abuse, as well as strengthening existing animal welfare legislation. The eradication of ignorance, as well as a necessary change in the current animal welfare legislation, will help to create a real change in how people view and treat i Chapter 5 and 6. [iii] animals. People will come to realise that animals exist in their own right and that they were not created to serve or to be exploited by man.

Domestic violence remains a serious social issue. In North America, millions of women are victimized each year, and many of these women are victims of violence at the hand of their intimate partners. A small but growing body of research on domestic violence has shown that companion animals are among the victims of such violence. Abuse of or threats to the pets are used to control, manipulate and emotionally abuse the female partner. However, the majority of this research has focused on the perspective of the abused female partner; the male perspective is missing. Through semi-structured interviews with ten incarcerated men who have committed intimate partner violence (IPV), this thesis explores the abuser’s motivations for abuse of the pet as well as their perspective of pets in the context of a violent relationship. The findings indicate that, contrary to previous research, most men do not abuse pets in the relationship, and in fact have positive relationships with their pets. Just as pets are sources of comfort for women in abusive relationships, pets can be sources of comfort and support for the abusive men as well. When incorporated into violence intervention and treatment programs, relationships with pets can provide a venue for men construct a masculine identity in a positive way, and the treatment of animals can illustrate how violence is not an effective solution.

Being treated as a piece of meat has long been an issue around which feminist concerns regarding the representation of women and practices of cultural consumption coalesce. However, as the Humanities undergo a paradigm shift away from intrinsically privileging the human subject, this demands new consideration of how cultural figurations of meat can work to challenge the terms of the species border. This thesis offers close readings of contemporary film, literature, visual art, music and live performance produced between the late 1980s and the present day that stage carnal encounters with meat. I unite these figurations under the term ‘meaty bodies’, exploring how they question the supposedly self-evident line between the flesh that we are and the flesh that we may eat. Situating its theoretical approach within the tension between psychoanalytic and cultural theories of taboo and abjection and emerging ‘new materialist’ conceptualisations of matter, this thesis contributes to the project of disrupting the primacy of ‘the human’ and the workings of the species divide. The thesis begins by examining three cultural productions that humanise meat by using it to speak to themes of vulnerability, trauma and sexual desire respectively. The photographic series Perishables (Yolaçan, 2002–04), the live art performance My New York (Zhang, 2002) and the pornographic novella The Butcher (Reyes, 1988) utilise meat to speak to issues surrounding human embodiment. However, I suggest that this typically decouples meat from the animal body from which it derives. The thesis subsequently turns to four cultural productions that more directly engage with the violence inherent in the naturalisation of meat as animal body. Analysing the experimental text Diary of a Steak (Levy, 1997), the concept album One Pig (Herbert, 2011), the live art performance inthewrongplaceness (O’Reilly, 2004–09) and the feature film Beasts of the Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012), the thesis positions these cultural productions as a challenge to the species border through their attentiveness to contemporary issues surrounding meat consumption and production, including discussion of ‘meat panics’ such as the 1980s/1990s BSE crisis, the development of tissue-cultured meat and impending food scarcity. These close readings show that what I term a ‘carnal equivalence’ between human and animal flesh can be a powerful means of questioning the terms of the species border. Yet, in rendering their encounters with meat frequently difficult and strained, these cultural productions stage and generate ambivalence as integral to our relations with meat consumption and production in the contemporary moment. The thesis suggests that this uncertainty is indicative of a wider impasse within the Humanities, as the field seeks to decentralise ‘the human’ and the discourses that are invested in the continued dominance of this category, yet is still shaped by attachments and anxieties that render this move more difficult than may otherwise be supposed.

Negative reinforcement can be a powerful tool for behavior analysts, yet it is often overlooked as a treatment method. Pryor (1999) outlines a method for approaching a "timid" animal using a combination of negative reinforcement and positive reinforcement. When the animal stands still, the human operates a clicker, and then retreats from the animal. Gradually, the human moves closer to the animal through the clicking and retreating shaping process. Once the human is standing close enough, food may be offered as a positive reinforcer, and the negative reinforcer is canceled out. The purpose of this study was to experimentally demonstrate the click-retreat technique with cows. A multiple-baseline design across subjects was used to test this technique. Results show that the click and retreat technique was effective. Results are discussed in terms of the difference between the click-retreat technique and systematic desensitization.

This qualitative study explores the relationship between a childless married couple and their dog by looking at this phenomenon through a social constructionistic viewpoint. Human animal interaction has been studied in various different research scenarios, where this interaction was seen as enhancing health or well being in both the human and animal. This study focused on a more “human” role that an animal could play in the lives of people by becoming a family member and how this role affects the family as a whole. The research was conducted to determine whether a childless married couple could experience a fulfilling caring relationship with a dog within this formed family unit. Four elements that are commonly found in a caring relationship were identified and looked at as to whether they can also be found in the relationship that develops between a childless married couple and their dog. The four elements, love, attachment, need fulfilment and ritualisation also formed the broad predetermined themes investigated in this study. The participants were requested to complete an open-ended questionnaire in which the questions explored the relationship between the married couple and their dog. The data received from these questionnaires was then analysed through content analysis by using the predetermined themes as a framework but also allowing further themes and sub themes to develop from the research data. The participants indicated that they experienced the fulfilment of various needs in the relationship they have with their dog. This need fulfilment included the need for a family, the need for companionship, the need to be needed and the need for gratitude. Ritualisation occurred in the form of disciplinary methods and various set activities like fixed eating, sleeping and grooming times. The participants viewed their relationship with their dog as one that is formed out of mutual love and attachment. The feeling of love was expressed through companionship, trust and physical contact as well as the use of nicknames for their dog and by showing pride in their dog. A strong attachment also existed between the participants and their dogs. This attachment could be seen in the participants’ holiday arrangements that were usually made to accommodate the dog as well as the fact that they missed their dogs and believed their dogs to have also missed them when they were separated. They could become so attached to each other that they might experience separation anxiety and grief at the loss or the thought of losing their dogs. The four elements of caring were thus found in the relationship between a childless married couple and their dog. The existence of these elements suggests that a caring relationship can be formed between a childless married couple and their dog. This caring relationship can have positive emotional and physical influences on both the people and their dogs. / Dissertation (M (Research Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Psychology / unrestricted

Within human animal studies (HAS), as well as within the posthumanistic field in general, it has been pointed out that we still lack knowledge of how animals can be recognized as subjects and agents with the possession of cognitive and social abilities. At the same time, we see a re-evaluation of the human anthropocentric boundary between Man and the Beast – in the academic world as well as in the practice of everyday life. One example is how the prevalent ways of relating to and handling with horses – our traditional equine cultures – are under transition. Norms, attitudes and practices – not least those relating to equestrian sports – are changing; some people even believe in a “paradigm shift”, while others predict a future “horse revolution”. This ethnological contribution to the field of HAS aims to study the acknowledgement of the horse as subject, how it is being expressed and practised by egalitarian communities within the Swedish horse society, and what the implications of that acknowledgement are, for both human and horse. Consisting of interviews and participant observations and seen through the lens of a phenomenological HAS-perspective, the empirical material shows that the egalitarian approach implies ethical and practical consequences. Not only does it entail considerations regarding such things as horse keeping, riding style, competitions, training and conditioning methods – for some individuals it may also implicate a personal change, as they discover the horse’s message of presence and authenticity

<p>  </p> <p>A large portion of the demand for purebred dogs in the United States is met by commercial breeding (CB). CB is a contentious issue, and concern exists surrounding the quality and quantity of human-animal interactions in CB kennels. Quality of caretaker interactions has been demonstrated to affect welfare in livestock and laboratory animals, yet is widely understudied in kenneled dogs, especially those kept for CB. It therefore warrants investigation. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of a short, regular, positive caretaker interaction on physiological and behavioral metrics of dog welfare in CB kennels. Adult bitches (n = 47) from two CB kennels received a daily interaction with a familiar caretaker for two weeks. Half of the dogs (n = 24) received a 2-minute caretaker interaction with treats (CI), and the other half (n = 23) received treats only (TO). All other human interactions were limited to routine husbandry. Fecal secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), hair cortisol concentration (HCC), and behavior in response to human approach were measured at baseline (Day 0), after two weeks of treatment (Day 14), and two weeks after treatment ended (Day 28). Behavior during treatment delivery was scored from video on days 1, 2, 8, 9, 13, and 14. General linear mixed models were used with treatment type and timepoint as fixed effects, dog nested within pen as random effects, and welfare metrics as dependent variables. Data from both facilities were analyzed and presented separately. In Facility 1 (n = 25), treatment type did not affect hair cortisol concentration (HCC) or fecal secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA). However, HCC increased significantly from Day 0 to Day 28 (X2 = 5.83, <em>p </em>= 0.016) and fecal sIgA decreased significantly (X2 = 21.52, <em>p </em>< 0.001) over all three timepoints. Affiliative behavior in response to human approach increased over time with no significant effect of treatment type or tester (X2=10.549, <em>p</em>=0.001). Additionally, time spent in proximity to the caretaker significantly increased in both treatment groups during the daily interaction (CI: X2=14.047, <em>p</em><0.001, and TO: X2=5.121, <em>p</em>=0.024). In Facility 2 (n = 22), there was no effect of treatment type on physiological metrics, however, HCC decreased in time (X2 = 6.66, <em>p </em>= 0.009) in both treatment groups combined. Affiliative response to human approach increased over time in Facility 2 (X2=13.5782, <em>p</em>=0.001). During daily interactions, dogs from the TO group displayed increased affiliative (X2 = 8.58, <em>p </em>= 0.003) and decreased ambivalent (X2 = 10.42, <em>p </em>= 0.001) behaviors over time, while dogs from the CI group showed increasing latency to approach the caretaker (X2 = 4.38, <em>p </em>= 0.033). Changes in physiological and behavioral metrics differed by facility and treatment group. Factors such as variation in treatment quality and prior caretaker-animal relationship may play a role in dogs’ responses to the treatment. These results suggest that a caretaker interaction has the potential to improve welfare in dogs residing in CB kennels. However, careful consideration must be taken when implementing new protocols to avoid unintended increases in stress. For some adult dogs unaccustomed to extended, structured interactions with their caretakers, a 2-minute session may have resulted in increased physiological and behavioral stress, suggesting that a longer interaction might have jeopardized rather than improved their welfare. For these dogs, a more gradual introduction to human interactions may be more beneficial. This study offers new insight on the implementation of socialization, counterconditioning, and caretaker-dog interaction practices to maximize positive welfare in CB kennels. Future research is needed to further validate and expand upon these findings.</p>

The aim of this study is to investigate how moral issues surrounding one of the lengthiest environmental conflicts – the Canadian seal hunt controversy - were communicated by two Canadian mainstream newspapers: the national Globe and Mail, and the Newfoundland-based The Telegram in 2009, the year in which the European Union banned the import of all seal products on the basis of a moral standard relating to the welfare of animals. At a general level, the purpose of this work is to examine how the news media construe and convey environmental ethical positions when dealing with complicated environmental issues. To this end, this thesis draws from media framing theory to implement a qualitative linguistic analysis of the 99 news articles to analyze how seals and sealers – the two main subjects of moral worth in this controversy – were framed in the two newspapers. The analysis found that seals were predominantly framed in accordance with their perceived social and economic benefit, largely overlooking animal welfare considerations. Sealers, on the other hand, tended to be portrayed as people of moral rectitude and brave seafarers, with a concomitant onus placed on the cultural and economic importance of sealing for Northerners. The findings corroborate claims that our perceptions of animal species, especially those which are considered wildlife, and the type of our relationship with them vary in accordance with human utility. At the same time, these perceptions are influenced by the social and cultural aspects of humans' relationship with the environment that may trump considerations of animal welfare and compassion toward sentient animals. Seen in the perspective of environmental ethics debate, the seal hunt controversy reveals the current lack of consensus on determining the most sound ethical principle in order to ensure our treatment of the environment is morally consistent. As the seal hunt controversy is not a standalone phenomenon of the protest based in animal welfare considerations, this thesis can be of value for the future research of comparable environmental controversies. Reconciling antagonistic environmental ethics is important for environmental policy-making and management, in order to ensure a greater and more productive stakeholder participation in solving environmental issues more effectively, while at the same realizing our moral obligations towards the animal world and the rest of the nature.

Although humane education, promoting children's kindness toward animals, has been evaluated as a factor influencing children's kindness toward humans later in their life, the effect of a classroom pet hasn't been well studied. The current study investigated the influence of intensified daily interactions with living animals in the classroom on the development of empathy among Japanese children. Specifically, the study examined (a) the effect of introducing animals into the classroom on children's empathic behaviors and attitudes, and (b) the generalization of this animal-directed empathy to humans.

No description available.