Animal cruelty – abuse and neglect

Yolanda Eisenstein

Chapter 14 in Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Animal Law, 2025, pp 52-54 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Animal cruelty is the infliction of unnecessary pain and suffering upon an animal. However, what constitutes unnecessary pain and suffering is far from settled. The laws against cruelty generally consider two types of illegal acts: 1) intentional abuse, where the actor intended to harm the animal, and 2) neglect, where the actor did not intend to harm the animal, but harm nonetheless occurred. Whether intentional animal abuse or neglect is legally actionable depends on many factors, including whether the law considers the victim an animal, the type of animal abused – companion, farmed, research, entertainment, or wild – intent, and whether certain exemptions or defences apply.

Keywords: Animal abuse; Cruelty; Neglect; Pain; Punishment; Suffering (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781803923666
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