Vegan Criminology

• In Event: Theoretical Analyses of Green/Environmental Crimes

Abstract

The Vegan Criminology website, and the teaching and advocacy materials contained within, represents an effort to organize around the concept of “vegan criminology.” With a few exceptions among green and critical criminologists, criminology has not focused on violence against non-human animals. While there are several notable publications, and a few conference presentations each year, the theoretical foundation is limited and the boundaries of criminological study regarding animals are poorly defined. Animal abuse is seldom included in criminology textbooks and a search for related syllabi yields few results aside from research ethics courses. While animal abuse is considered by criminology when trying to understand the progression of violence toward humans, limited attention has been given to topics such as corporate violence toward animals, animals as property, the environmental harms of large-scale meat production, and the criminalization of advocacy on behalf of animals and the environment. Vegan criminology includes a focus on animal rights and the rights of those attempting to protect animals, including efforts to document and prevent environmental threats, the legal status of animals, the widespread acceptance of treating animals as food, the role of patriarchy, and the use of animals for entertainment, sport, and experimentation.

Author

• Kenneth Mentor, University of North Carolina Wilmington