Professionals Who Work With Animals and Their Perceptions of Animal Abuse

• In Event: Posters I

Abstract

The proposed poster will present research that examines the perceptions of animal abuse among professionals who work in the field with animals, such as veterinarians and employees at rescue networks, humane societies, and/or animal control agencies. Specifically, the focus of this research is to determine if such individuals believe the criminal justice system adequately responds to crimes committed against animals. The majority of existing animal abuse research has focused on the link that exists between committing acts of violence on animals and then committing future violent offenses on humans. There is a lack of research that has examined how the aforementioned professionals view the justice system’s response, and the goal of this research is to address that gap and add to the animal abuse literature. The results of semi-structured qualitative interviews will be presented, as well as a discussion pertaining to the implications of these results for the criminal justice system’s response to animal abuse.

Author

• Dustin Allen Richardson, Illinois State University