View source for Cruelty to animals

{{Short description|Negligent or abusive action against non-human animals by humans}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Animal rights sidebar}}
[[File:This Horse is in Terrible Shape.jpg|thumb|A malnourished horse eating at a veterinary clinic]]
[[File:Chat plombé.jpg|thumb|Chest X-ray of a cat that has been shot; the white spots are shotgun pellets]]
'''Cruelty to animals''', also called '''animal abuse''', '''animal neglect''' or '''animal cruelty''', is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by [[humans]] of [[suffering]] or [[Injury|harm]] upon non-human [[animals]]. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suffering for specific achievements, such as killing animals for entertainment; cruelty to animals sometimes encompasses inflicting harm or suffering as an end in itself, referred to as [[zoosadism]].

Divergent approaches to [[Animal rights by country or territory|laws concerning animal cruelty]] occur in different jurisdictions throughout the world. For example, some laws govern methods of killing animals for food, clothing, or other products, and other laws concern the keeping of animals for entertainment, education, research, or pets. There are several conceptual approaches to the issue of cruelty to animals.

Even though some practices, like [[animal fighting]], are widely acknowledged as cruel, not all people and nations have the same definition of what constitutes animal cruelty. Many would claim that [[Docking (animal)|docking]] a piglet's tail without an anesthetic constitutes cruelty.  Others would respond that it is a routine technique for meat production to prevent harm later in the pig's life. Additionally, laws governing animal cruelty vary from nation to nation. While it is routine practice in the [[United States]], docking a piglet's tail as part of regular practice is prohibited in the [[European Union]] (EU).<ref name="Hussain">{{Cite web |last=Hussain |first=Grace |title=Animal Cruelty: What Is Animal Cruelty and How to Recognize It |url=https://sentientmedia.org/animal-cruelty/ |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=Sentient Media |date=20 August 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[Utilitarianism|Utilitarian]] advocates argue from the position of [[costs and benefits]] and vary in their conclusions as to the allowable treatment of animals. Some utilitarians argue for a weaker approach that is closer to the animal welfare position, whereas others argue for a position that is similar to animal rights. [[Animal rights]] theorists criticize these positions, arguing that the words "unnecessary" and "humane" are subject to widely differing interpretations and that animals have basic rights. They say that most animal use itself is unnecessary and a cause of suffering, so the only way to ensure protection for animals is to end their status as property and to ensure that they are never viewed as a substance or as non-living things.

== Definition and viewpoints ==
{{Main|Animal welfare|Animal rights}}

Throughout history, some individuals, like [[Leonardo da Vinci]] for example, who once purchased caged birds in order to set them free,<ref name="warburton">{{cite book |last1=Warburton |first1=Nigel |title=Philosophy: the basics |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-69317-2 |pages=71 |edition=5th}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://digital.library.yale.edu/cdm/ref/collection/rebooks/id/24652 |title=The life of Leonardo da Vinci by Giorgio Vasari |publisher=Yale University Library Digital Collections |access-date=21 August 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706163415/http://digital.library.yale.edu/cdm/ref/collection/rebooks/id/24652 |archive-date=6 July 2015 }}</ref> were concerned about cruelty to animals. His notebooks also record his anger with the fact that humans used their dominance to raise animals for slaughter.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2011/nov/30/leonardo-da-vinci-animal-rights-activist |title=Leonardo da Vinci unleashed: the animal rights activist within the artist |last=Jones |first=Jonathan |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=30 November 2011 |access-date=21 August 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016122713/http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2011/nov/30/leonardo-da-vinci-animal-rights-activist |archive-date=16 October 2015 }}</ref> According to contemporary philosopher [[Nigel Warburton]], for most of human history the dominant view has been that animals are there for humans to do with as they see fit.<ref name="warburton" /> Sociologist [[David Nibert]] emphasizes that the process of [[domestication]] dramatically increased the exploitation of animals by humans, particularly in [[Eurasia]], Much of this exploitation involved not only direct physical violence, but also structural violence as their systemic oppression and enslavement "resulted in their inability to meet their basic needs, the loss of self-determination, and the loss of opportunity to live in a natural way." He says that the remains of domesticated animals from thousands of years ago found during archeological excavations revealed numerous bone pathologies, which provide evidence of extreme suffering:

{{Blockquote|Excavations from 8500 BCE revealed bone deformities in enslaved goats and cows and provided "some indication of stress, presumably due to the conditions in which these early ''domestic'' animals were kept." Remains of sheep and goats from the early Bronze Age show a marked decrease in bone thickness, reflecting calcium deficiencies "resulting from the combined effects of poor nutrition and intensive milking."<ref>{{cite book |last=Nibert |first=David |date=2013 |title=Animal Oppression and Human Violence: Domesecration, Capitalism, and Global Conflict |location= |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|url=https://cup.columbia.edu/book/animal-oppression-and-human-violence/9780231151894|pages=10–11 |isbn=978-0231151894}}</ref>}}

Several religious traditions, especially those originating in [[India]], have promoted animal welfare as an important or fundamental concept, even to the point of promoting [[vegetarianism]] or [[veganism]]. Examples include [[Buddhism]], [[Jainism]], [[Hinduism]] (cattle are sacred animals in [[India]]), and some forms of [[Judaism]] (many Orthodox Jews do not wear leather).

[[René Descartes]] believed that non-humans are automata—complex machines with no soul, mind, or reason.<ref name=MMidgley>{{cite journal|last1=Midgley|first1=Mary|title=Descartes' prisoners|journal=[[New Statesman]]|date=24 May 1999|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/node/149215|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208053932/http://www.newstatesman.com/node/149215|archive-date=8 December 2015}}</ref> In [[Cartesian dualism]], consciousness was unique to human among all other animals and linked to physical matter by divine grace. However, close analysis shows that many human features such as complex sign usage, [[Tool use by animals|tool use]], and [[Animal consciousness|self-consciousness]] can be found in some animals.<ref name="cassuto" />

[[Charles Darwin]], by presenting the theory of [[evolution]], revolutionized the way that humans viewed their relationship with other species. Darwin believed that not only did human beings have a direct kinship with other animals, but the latter had social, mental, and moral lives too. Later, in ''[[The Descent of Man]]'' (1871), he wrote: "There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher mammals in their mental faculties."<ref name="charles">{{cite book|last1=Darwin|first1=Charles|author-link=Charles Darwin|title=The Descent of Man|publisher=D. Appleton and Company|date=1871|page=[https://archive.org/details/descentman00darwgoog/page/n44 34]|url=https://archive.org/details/descentman00darwgoog|access-date=2 March 2020|archive-date=2 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802163159/https://archive.org/details/descentman00darwgoog|url-status=live}}</ref>

Modern philosophers and intellectuals, such as [[Peter Singer]] and [[Tom Regan]], have argued that animals' ability to feel pain as humans do makes their well-being worthy of equal consideration.<ref>Rader, Priscilla, "Virtue Ethics and Non-Human Animals: The Missing Link to the Animal Liberation Movement" (2012). Humanities Capstone Projects. Paper 13.</ref> There are many precursors of this train of thought. [[Jeremy Bentham]], the founder of [[utilitarianism]], famously wrote in his ''An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation'' (1789):<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/b/bentham/jeremy/morals/complete.html|title=An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation|website=ebooks.adelaide.edu.au|language=en|access-date=5 April 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908002155/https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/b/bentham/jeremy/morals/complete.html|archive-date=8 September 2015}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|The question is not, can they reason nor can they talk? but, can they suffer?}}

These arguments have prompted some to suggest that animals' well-being should enter a social welfare function directly, not just indirectly via its effect only on human well-being.<ref name=norwood>{{cite journal|last1=Norwood|first1=FB|last2=Lusk|first2=JL|title=Direct versus indirect questioning: An application to the well-being of farm animals|journal=Soc Indic Res|date=2010|volume=96|issue=3|pages=551–565|doi=10.1007/s11205-009-9492-z|s2cid=145217722}}</ref> Many countries have now formally recognized [[Animal rights by country or territory|animal sentience and animal suffering]], and have passed anti-cruelty legislation in response.

==Forms==
Animal cruelty can be broken down into two main categories: active and passive. Passive cruelty is typified by cases of neglect, in which the cruelty is a lack of action rather than the action itself. Oftentimes passive animal cruelty is accidental, born of ignorance. In many cases of neglect in which an investigator believes that the cruelty occurred out of ignorance, the investigator may attempt to educate the pet owner, then revisit the situation. In more severe cases, exigent circumstances may require that the animal be removed for veterinary care.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/animal_cruelty.php |title=Pet-Abuse.Com – Animal Cruelty |publisher=Pet-abuse.com |access-date=6 November 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211105757/http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/animal_cruelty.php |archive-date=11 December 2008 }}</ref>

===Industrial animal farming===
{{Main|Intensive animal farming}}
[[File:Killing - Harling Farm.webm|thumb|Footage of a 'Quality Assured' pig farm in England]]
[[File:East Anglian Pig Co. Exposed - Animal Equality Undercover Investigation.webm|thumb|Cruelty in a pig farm]]
[[File:Animal Abuse Battery Cage 01.jpg|thumbnail|Egg laying hens in a crowded cage]]
[[File:Legebat2.jpg|thumbnail|A chicken egg production facility]]
Farm animals are generally produced in large, industrial facilities that house thousands of animals at high densities; these are sometimes called [[factory farms]]. The industrial nature of these facilities means that many routine procedures or animal husbandry practices impinge on the welfare of the animals and could be considered cruelty, with Henry Stephen Salt claiming in 1899 that "it is impossible to transport and slaughter vast numbers of large and highly-sensitive animals humanely".<ref>Salt, H.S. (1899) The Logic of Vegetarianism: Essays and Dialogues. London.</ref>
It has been suggested the number of animals hunted, kept as companions, used in laboratories, reared for the fur industry, raced, and used in zoos and circuses, is insignificant compared to farm animals, and therefore the "animal welfare issue" is numerically reducible to the "farm animal welfare issue".<ref name=leahy>{{cite journal|last1=Matheny|first1=Gaverick|last2=Leahy|first2=Cheryl|title=Farm-Animal Welfare, Legislation, and Trade|journal=Law and Contemporary Problems|date=2007|volume=70|issue=1|pages=325–358}}</ref> Similarly, it has been suggested by campaign groups that chickens, cows, pigs, and other farm animals are among the most numerous animals subjected to cruelty. For example, because male chickens do not lay eggs, newly hatched males are [[Chick culling|culled]] using macerators or grinders.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-bershadker/are-farm-animals-not-cons_b_5709659.html|title=Are Farm Animals Not Considered Animals?|date=25 August 2014|work=The Huffington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827112109/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-bershadker/are-farm-animals-not-cons_b_5709659.html|archive-date=27 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraphtv/6122453/Shocking-undercover-footage-from-an-egg-hatchery.html|title=Video: Shocking undercover footage from an egg hatchery – Telegraph|date=1 September 2009|work=Telegraph.co.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308172245/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraphtv/6122453/Shocking-undercover-footage-from-an-egg-hatchery.html|archive-date=8 March 2018}}</ref> Worldwide [[meat consumption|meat]] [[overconsumption]] is another factor that contributes to the miserable situation of farm animals.<ref name="JSos">{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/comment/are-we-the-cruellest-weve-ever-been-the-way-we-treat-animals-suggests-we-are-20151004-gk168p.html|title=Are we the cruellest we've ever been? The way we treat animals suggests we are|date=19 October 2015|access-date=12 November 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123212903/http://www.smh.com.au/comment/are-we-the-cruellest-weve-ever-been-the-way-we-treat-animals-suggests-we-are-20151004-gk168p.html|archive-date=23 November 2015}}</ref>
Many undercover investigators have exposed the animal cruelty taking place inside the factory farming industry and there is evidence to show that consumers provided with accurate information about the process of meat production and the abuse that accompanies it has led to changes in their attitudes.<ref>Fiber-Ostrow, Pamela, Lovell, Jarret S. (2016) behind a veil of secrecy: animal abuse, factory farms, and Ag-Gag legislation. Contemporary Justice Review [online]. 19(2), 230 – 249.</ref>

The [[American Veterinary Medical Association]] accepts [[Maceration (food)|maceration]] subject to certain conditions, but recommends [[Chick culling#Recommended culling practices|alternative methods of culling]] as more humane.<ref>[https://www.avma.org/KB/Policies/Documents/euthanasia.pdf AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals: 2013 Edition] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201174132/https://www.avma.org/KB/Policies/Documents/euthanasia.pdf |date=1 February 2014 }}. avma. org</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/060915e.aspx|title=Executive Board meets pressing needs|date=September 2006 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006102705/https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/060915e.aspx|archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> Egg-laying hens are then transferred to "[[battery cages]]" where they are kept in high densities. Matheny and Leahy attribute [[osteoporosis]] in hens to this caging method.<ref name=leahy /> Broiler chickens suffer similar situations, in which they are fed steroids to grow at a super-fast speed, so fast that their bones, heart, and lungs often cannot keep up. Broiler chickens under six weeks old suffer painful crippling due to fast growth rates, whilst one in a hundred of these very young birds dies of heart failure.<ref>Rev. Sci. Tech. Off. Int. Epiz.,. Global Perspectives on Animal Welfare: Asia, the Far East, and Oceania (n.d.): n. pag. 24 February 2005. Web.</ref>

To reduce aggression in overcrowded conditions, shortly after birth piglets are castrated, their tails are amputated, and their teeth are clipped,<ref name=cassuto>{{cite journal|last1=Cassuto|first1=David N.|title=Bred Meat: The Cultural Foundation of the Factory Farm|journal=Law and Contemporary Problems|date=2007|volume=70|issue=1|pages=59–87}}</ref> and are earmarked. Calves are sometimes raised in [[Veal#Veal crates|veal crates]], which are small stalls that immobilize calves during their growth, reducing costs and preventing muscle development, making the resulting meat a pale color, preferred by consumers.<ref name=leahy />

In the United States, animal cruelty such as [[soring]], which is illegal, sometimes occurs on farms and ranches, as does lawful but cruel treatment such as [[livestock branding]]. Since [[ag-gag]] laws prohibit video or photographic documentation of farm activities, these practices have been documented by [[secret photography]] taken by [[whistleblower]]s or [[Undercover operation|undercover operatives]] from such organizations as [[Mercy for Animals]] and the [[Humane Society of the United States]] posing as employees. Agricultural organizations such as the [[American Farm Bureau Federation]] have successfully advocated for laws that tightly restrict secret photography or concealing information from farm employers.<ref name=NYT4613>{{cite news|title=Taping of Farm Cruelty Is Becoming the Crime|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/us/taping-of-farm-cruelty-is-becoming-the-crime.html|access-date=7 April 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 April 2013|author=Richard A. Oppel Jr.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407164714/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/us/taping-of-farm-cruelty-is-becoming-the-crime.html|archive-date=7 April 2013}}</ref>

=== Welfare concerns of farm animals ===
{{See also|Animal slaughter|Overview of discretionary invasive procedures on animals}}
The following are lists of invasive procedures that cause pain, routinely performed on farm animals, and housing conditions that routinely cause animal welfare concerns. In one survey of United States homeowners, 68% of respondents said they consider the price of meat a more important issue.<ref name="norwood" />
{| class="wikitable"
|+Welfare concerns of farm animals
|- valign="top"
! scope=" col" | Species
! scope=" col" | Invasive procedures
! scope=" col" | Housing
|-
|[[Broiler|Broiler chickens]]
|
*[[Debeaking]]
|
* High stocking density
* Restricted movement
|-
| [[Cattle]]
|
* [[Livestock branding|Branding]]<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Schwartzkopf-Genswein|first1=K. S.|last2=Stookey|first2=J. M.|last3=Welford|first3=R.|s2cid=18911989|date=1 August 1997|title=Behavior of cattle during hot-iron and freeze branding and the effects on subsequent handling ease|journal=Journal of Animal Science|volume=75|issue=8|pages=2064–2072|issn=0021-8812|pmid=9263052|doi=10.2527/1997.7582064x}}</ref>
* [[Castration]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LpIbwuYIyEcC&q=cattle+castration+painful&pg=PT70|title=Pain Management, An Issue of Veterinary Clinics: Food Animal Practice|last=Coetzee|first=Hans|date=19 May 2013|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-1-4557-7376-3|language=en|access-date=5 April 2017|archive-date=29 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729200451/https://books.google.com/books?id=LpIbwuYIyEcC&pg=PT70&dq=cattle+castration+painful|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Livestock dehorning|Dehorning]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/LiteratureReviews/Pages/Welfare-Implications-of-Dehorning-and-Disbudding-Cattle.aspx|title=Welfare Implications of Dehorning and Disbudding Cattle|website=www.avma.org|language=en-us|access-date=5 April 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623173534/https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/LiteratureReviews/Pages/Welfare-Implications-of-Dehorning-and-Disbudding-Cattle.aspx|archive-date=23 June 2017}}</ref>
* [[Ear tag]]ging<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/us/ear-tagging-proposal-may-mean-fewer-branded-cattle.html|title=Ear-Tagging Proposal May Mean Fewer Branded Cattle|last=Goode|first=Erica|date=25 January 2012|work=The New York Times|access-date=5 April 2017|issn=0362-4331|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406111331/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/us/ear-tagging-proposal-may-mean-fewer-branded-cattle.html|archive-date=6 April 2017}}</ref>
* [[Nose ring (animal)|Nose ringing]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fzc7CgAAQBAJ&q=cattle+nose+ring+pain&pg=PA111|title=Improving Animal Welfare, 2 Edition: A Practical Approach|last=Grandin|first=Temple|date=21 July 2015|publisher=CABI|isbn=978-1-78064-467-7|language=en|access-date=5 April 2017|archive-date=29 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729200202/https://books.google.com/books?id=fzc7CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA111&lpg=PA111&dq=cattle+nose+ring+pain|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Physical restraint|Restraint]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grandin.com/references/abdlps.html|title=Restraint of Livestock|website=www.grandin.com|access-date=5 April 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213024104/http://www.grandin.com/references/abdlps.html|archive-date=13 December 2017}}</ref>
* [[Docking (animal)|Tail docking]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xPt1BgAAQBAJ&q=cattle+tail+docking+pain&pg=PA21|title=Cow Talk: Understanding Dairy Cow Behaviour to Improve Their Welfare on Asian Farms|last1=Doyle|first1=Rebecca|last2=Moran|first2=John|date=3 February 2015|publisher=Csiro Publishing|isbn=978-1-4863-0162-1|language=en|access-date=5 April 2017|archive-date=29 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729200519/https://books.google.com/books?id=xPt1BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA21&dq=cattle+tail+docking+pain|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Tongue [[Resection (surgery)|resection]] (calves)
| 
* High stocking density (feedlots)
* Restricted movement (feedlots)
* [[Veal]] crates
|-
|[[Dairy cattle]]
|
* [[Physical restraint|Restraint]]
* [[Dairy cattle#Reproduction|Artificial insemination]]
* [[Livestock dehorning|Dehorning]]
* [[Ear tag]]ging
* [[Docking (animal)|Tail docking]]
* [[Livestock branding|Branding]]
* [[Nose ring (animal)|Nose ringing]]
|
* High stocking density
* Restricted movement
* Separation from a born child (calves)
* Bounded by milk machines
|-
|[[Domestic turkey]]s
|
*[[Debeaking]]
*[[Snood (anatomy)|Desnooding]]{{efn|' Desnooding' is the removal of the [[Caruncle (bird anatomy)|snood]], a fleshy appendage on the forehead of turkeys.}}
* Detoeing
*[[Devocalization]]
*[[Spur (zoology)|Spur]] removal
* Toe clipping
|
* High stocking density
* Restricted movement
|-
|[[Dog meat|Dogs]]
|
*[[Castration]]
*[[Docking (animal)|Docking]]
*[[Cropping (animal)|Ear cropping]]
*[[Earmark (agriculture)|Ear notching]]
*[[Dog meat consumption in South Korea|Slaughter by electrocution]]
* Slaughter by beating<ref name=":1" />
|
*High stocking density<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/winter-olympics-2018/2018/02/12/inside-grim-scene-korean-dog-meat-farm-miles-winter-olympics/328322002/|title=Inside the grim scene of a Korean dog meat farm, just miles from the Winter Olympics|last=Rogers|first=Martin|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-05|archive-date=8 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200108140317/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/winter-olympics-2018/2018/02/12/inside-grim-scene-korean-dog-meat-farm-miles-winter-olympics/328322002/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Restricted movement<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.stopyulinforever.org/the-issue/|title=The Issue|website=Stop Yulin Forever|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031192128/http://www.stopyulinforever.org/the-issue/|archive-date=31 October 2019}}</ref>
|-
|[[Duck]]s and [[Goose|geese]]
|
* [[Foie gras controversy|Force-feeding]]
*[[Down feather#Animal cruelty|Live-plucking]]
*[[Wing clipping]]
|
* High stocking density
* Restricted movement
|-
|[[Chicken|Egg laying hens]]
|
*[[Debeaking]]
*[[Blinders (poultry)|Blinders]]{{efn|'Blinders' or 'spectacles' are included as some versions require a pin to pierce the nasal septum.}}
*[[Dubbing (poultry)|Dubbing]]{{efn|'Dubbing' is the procedure of removing the [[Comb (anatomy)|comb]], [[Wattle (anatomy)|wattles]] and sometimes [[earlobes]] of poultry. Removing the wattles is sometimes called "dewattling".}}
|
* High stocking density
* Restricted movement
|-
|[[Goats]] and [[sheep]]
| 
*[[Animal identification|Ear tagging]]
*[[Earmark (agriculture)|Ear notching]]
*[[Livestock dehorning|Dehorning]]
* Marking{{efn|' Marking' is the simultaneous mulesing, castration, and tail docking of lambs.}}
*[[Mulesing]]{{efn|' Mulesing' is the removal of strips of wool-bearing skin from around the breech ([[buttocks]]) of a sheep to prevent [[Myiasis|flystrike (myiasis)]]}}
*[[Docking (animal)|Tail docking]]
*[[Bruxism|Teeth grinding]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Sheep dentistry, including tooth trimming|url=http://www.ava.com.au/policy/105-sheep-dentistry-including-tooth-trimming|publisher=Australian Veterinary Association|access-date=1 May 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725000521/http://www.ava.com.au/policy/105-sheep-dentistry-including-tooth-trimming|archive-date=25 July 2014}}</ref>
|
* High stocking density (fine wool industry, [[live export]])
* Restricted movement (fine wool industry, [[live export]])
|-
|[[Horse]]s
|
*[[Castration]]
*[[Livestock branding|Branding]]
*[[Curb chain|Chaining]]
|
* High stocking density
* Restricted movement
|-
| [[Pig]]s
|
* [[Castration]]
*[[Animal slaughter#Stunning--Various methods are used to kill or render an animal unconscious during animal slaughter.|CO<sub>2</sub> stunning]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stunning of Pigs with Carbon Dioxide: Submission to the OIE by the International Coalition for Animal Welfare |website=International Coalition for Animal Welfare |date=2019-12-20|url=http://icfaw.org/Documents/Stunning%20of%20pigs%20with%20carbon%20dioxide.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220221450/http://icfaw.org/Documents/Stunning%20of%20pigs%20with%20carbon%20dioxide.pdf|archive-date=2019-12-20|access-date=2021-03-29}}</ref>
* [[Cropping (animal)|Ear cropping]]
* [[Animal identification|Ear tagging]]
* [[Earmark (agriculture)|Earmarking]]
* [[Nose ring (animal)|Nose ringing]]
* [[Docking (animal)|Tail docking]]
* [[Tattooing]]
* Teeth clipping
* [[Tusk]] trimming
|
* [[Gestation crates]]
* High stocking density
* Restricted movement
|}
{{Notelist|2}}

=== Fur industry ===
[[File:Oikeutta eläimille - Fur farming in Finland 12.jpg|thumb|A fox with dismembered tail in a fur farm cage]]
Animal welfare activists suggest a total ban on fur production due to the suffering inflicted on animals, especially minks. It has been suggested that fur production is immoral as fur clothes are luxury items. Minks are solitary and territorial animals; however, in fur farms, they are raised in cages and skinned after being killed either by breaking their necks or using lethal gas.<ref name= "for">{{cite web |last1=Bale |first1=Rachael |title=Fur Farms Still Unfashionably Cruel, Critics Say |date=17 August 2016 |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/08/wildlife-china-fur-farming-welfare/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001210656/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/08/wildlife-china-fur-farming-welfare/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 October 2019 |publisher=National Geographic |access-date=5 November 2020}}</ref>

===Alleged link to human violence and psychological disorders===
There are studies providing evidence of a link between animal cruelty and violence towards humans.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lockwood |first1=Randall |last2=Hodge |first2=Guy R. |date=1986 |title=The tangled web of animal abuse: The links between cruelty to animals and human violence |journal=Readings in Research and Applications |pages=77–82 |url=https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/abstractdb/AbstractDBDetails.aspx?id=155688 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623163557/https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/abstractdb/AbstractDBDetails.aspx?id=155688 |archive-date=23 June 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Arluke |first1=A. |author1-link=Arnold Arluke |last2=Levin |first2=J. |last3=Luke |first3=C. |last4=Ascione |first4=F. |year=1999 |title=The relationship of animal abuse to violence and other forms of antisocial behavior |journal=Journal of Interpersonal Violence |volume=14 |issue=9 |pages=963–975 |doi=10.1177/088626099014009004|s2cid=145797691 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Alleyne, E. |author2=Tilston, L. |author3=Parfitt, C. |author4=Butcher, R.|year=2015|title=Adult-perpetrated animal abuse: development of a proclivity scale|journal=Psychology, Crime & Law|volume=21|issue=6|pages=570–588|doi=10.1080/1068316X.2014.999064|s2cid=143576557|url=https://kar.kent.ac.uk/48700/1/Alleyne%20et%20al.%20%28in%20press%29.pdf|access-date=5 December 2019|archive-date=29 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729011603/https://kar.kent.ac.uk/48700/1/Alleyne%20et%20al.%20%28in%20press%29.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Baxendale, S. |author2=Lester, L. |author3=Johnston, R. |author4=Cross, D.|year=2015|title=Risk factors in adolescents' involvement in violent behaviours|journal=Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research|volume=7|issue=1|pages=2–18|doi=10.1108/jacpr-09-2013-0025}}</ref> A 2009 study found that slaughterhouse employment increases total arrest rates, arrests for violent crimes, arrests for rape, and arrests for other sex offenses in comparison with other industries.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Fitzgerald|first1=Amy J.|last2=Kalof|first2=Linda|last3=Dietz|first3=Thomas|date=2009|title=Slaughterhouses and Increased Crime Rates: An Empirical Analysis of the Spillover From "The Jungle" Into the Surrounding Community|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1086026609338164|journal=[[Organization & Environment]]|publisher=[[SAGE Publications]]|location=Santa Barbara, California|volume=22|issue=2|pages=158–184|doi=10.1177/1350508416629456|s2cid=148368906|access-date=30 October 2019|archive-date=25 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525203329/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1086026609338164|url-status=live}}</ref> A large national survey by the [[Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies]] found a "substantial overlap between companion animal abuse and child abuse" and that cruelty to animals "most frequently co-occurred with psychological abuse and less severe forms of physical child abuse."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1 = Muri | first1 =K.|last2=Augusti|first2=E.M.|last3=Bjørnholt|first3=M.|last4=Hafstad|first4=G.S| year = 2022 | title = Childhood experiences of companion animal abuse and its co-occurrence with domestic abuse: Evidence from a national youth survey in Norway | url = | format = | journal = [[Journal of Interpersonal Violence]] | volume = 37|issue = 23–24| pages = NP22627–NP22646| doi =10.1177/08862605211072176| pmid =35156447| pmc =9679564| s2cid =246806885| doi-access =free}}</ref>

A history of torturing pets and small animals, a behavior known as [[zoosadism]], is considered one of the signs of certain [[psychopathology|psychopathologies]], including [[antisocial personality disorder]], also known as a psychopathic personality disorder. According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', "[the FBI has found that a history of cruelty to animals is one of the traits that regularly appears in its computer records of serial [[rape|rapists]] and [[serial killer|murderers]], and the standard diagnostic and treatment manual for psychiatric and emotional disorders lists cruelty to animals a diagnostic criterion for [[conduct disorder]]s."<ref name="aggression-v-animals">{{cite book|first=Alan R.|last=Felthous|location=West Lafayette, Indiana|pages=159–167|publisher=Purdue University Press|title=Aggression against Cats, Dogs, and People. In Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal Violence: Readings in Research and Applications.|year=1998}}</ref> "A survey of psychiatric patients who had repeatedly tortured dogs and cats found all of them had high levels of aggression toward people as well, including one patient who had murdered a young boy."<ref name="aggression-v-animals" /> [[Robert K. Ressler]], an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's [[behavioral sciences]] unit, studied serial killers and noted, "Murderers like this ([[Jeffrey Dahmer]]) very often start by killing and torturing animals as kids."<ref>{{cite news | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEEDF113EF934A3575BC0A967958260&scp=309&sq=Daniel+Goleman&st=nyt | title = Clues to a Dark Nurturing Ground for One Serial Killer | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date = 7 August 1991 | first = Daniel | last = Goleman | access-date = 30 April 2010 | archive-date = 23 August 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200823201105/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/07/us/clues-to-a-dark-nurturing-ground-for-one-serial-killer.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

Acts of intentional animal cruelty or non-accidental injury may be indicators of serious psychological problems.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/animal_cruelty.php|title=Pet-Abuse.Com – Animal Cruelty|website=Pet-abuse.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206004238/http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/animal_cruelty.php|archive-date=6 December 2010|access-date=17 March 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Caitlin|last=Gibson|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/loudoun-program-underscores-the-link-between-domestic-violence-animal-abuse/2014/09/23/9c4f9512-432a-11e4-b47c-f5889e061e5f_story.html|title=Loudoun Program Underscores the Link between Domestic Violence, Animal Abuse|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=September 24, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916192901/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/loudoun-program-underscores-the-link-between-domestic-violence-animal-abuse/2014/09/23/9c4f9512-432a-11e4-b47c-f5889e061e5f_story.html|archive-date=September 16, 2016}}</ref> According to the [[American Humane Association]], 13% of intentional animal abuse cases involve [[domestic violence]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanhumane.org/interaction/support-the-bond/fact-sheets/animal-abuse-domestic-violence.html|title=Facts About Animal Abuse & Domestic Violence|website=[[American Humane Association]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120064959/http://www.americanhumane.org/interaction/support-the-bond/fact-sheets/animal-abuse-domestic-violence.html|archive-date=20 November 2012|access-date=12 November 2006}}</ref> As many as 71% of pet-owning women seeking shelter at [[women's shelter|safe houses]] have reported that their partner had threatened and/or hurt or killed one or more of their pets; 32% of these women reported that one or more of their children had also hurt or killed pets. [[Battered women]] report that they are prevented from leaving their abusers because they fear what will happen to the animals in their absence. Animal abuse is sometimes used as a form of [[intimidation]] in domestic disputes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animaltherapy.net/DomesticViolence.html|title=Domestic Violence & the Animal Abuse Link|publisher=Animaltherapy.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229144457/http://www.animaltherapy.net/DomesticViolence.html|archive-date=29 December 2008|access-date=6 November 2008}}</ref>

Cruelty to animals is one of the three components of the [[Macdonald triad]], behavior considered to be one of the signs of violent antisocial behavior in children and adolescents. According to the studies used to form this model, cruelty to animals is a common (but not universal) behavior in children and adolescents who grow up to become [[serial killers]] and other violent criminals. It has also been found that children who are cruel to animals have often witnessed or been victims of abuse themselves.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Duncan | first1 = A. |display-authors=et al | year = 2005 | title = Significance of Family Risk Factors in Development of Childhood Animal Cruelty in Adolescent Boys with Conduct Problems | journal = [[Journal of Family Violence]] | volume = 20 | issue = 4| pages = 235–239 | doi=10.1007/s10896-005-5987-9| s2cid = 40008466 }}</ref> In two separate studies cited by the Humane Society of the United States, roughly one-third of families suffering from domestic abuse indicated that at least one child had hurt or killed a pet.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Humane Society of the United States]] |url=http://www.hsus.org/hsus_field/first_strike_the_connection_between_animal_cruelty_and_human_violence/animal_cruelty_and_family_violence_making_the_connection/ |title=Animal Cruelty and Family Violence: Making the Connection |access-date=26 October 2008  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025001436/http://www.hsus.org/hsus_field/first_strike_the_connection_between_animal_cruelty_and_human_violence/animal_cruelty_and_family_violence_making_the_connection/ |archive-date=25 October 2008 }}</ref>

===Cultural rituals===
Many times, when [[Asiatic elephant]]s are captured in [[Thailand]], handlers use a technique known as the [[training crush]], in which "handlers use sleep-deprivation, hunger, and thirst to 'break' the elephants' spirit and make them submissive to their owners"; moreover, handlers drive nails into the elephants' ears and feet.<ref name=Hile>{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/10/1016_021016_phajaan.html|title=Activists Denounce Thailand's Elephant "Crushing" Ritual|last=Hile|first=Jennifer|date=16 October 2002|work=[[National Geographic Society]]|access-date=1 October 2014|quote=Just before dawn in the remote highlands of northern Thailand, west of the village Mae Jaem, four-year-old elephant bellows as seven village men stab nails into her ears and feet. She is tied up and immobilized in a small, wooden cage. Her cries are the only sounds to interrupt the otherwise quiet countryside. The cage is called a "training crush." It's the centerpiece of a centuries-old ritual in northern Thailand designed to domesticate young elephants. In addition to beatings, handlers use sleep deprivation, hunger, and thirst to "break" the elephants' spirit and make them submissive to their owners.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218231457/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/10/1016_021016_phajaan.html|archive-date=18 February 2007}}</ref>

The practice of cruelty to animals for [[divination]] purposes is found in ancient cultures, and some modern religions such as [[Santeria]] continue to do animal sacrifices for the healing and other rituals. [[Taghairm]] was performed by ancient Scots to summon devils.

===Entertainment===
====Television and filmmaking====
[[File:Protest against animal abuse in Mashhad (1).jpg|250px|thumb|Demonstrations against animal cruelty in Iran]]
Animal cruelty has long been an issue in [[filmmaking]] industry, with even some big-budget [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] films receiving criticism for allegedly harmful—and sometimes lethal—treatment of animals during production. Court decisions have addressed films that harm animals such as videos that in part depict dog fighting.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.capitalpress.com/AP-Supreme-Court-pit-bull-videos-042010|agency=Associated Press|title=Court voids law aimed at animal cruelty videos|first=Mark|last=Sherman|date=10 April 2010|access-date=10 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512161642/http://www.capitalpress.com/AP-Supreme-Court-pit-bull-videos-042010|archive-date=12 May 2012}}</ref>

The [[American Humane Association]] (AHA) has been associated with monitoring American film-making since the release of the film ''[[Jesse James (1939 film)|Jesse James]]'' (1939), in which a horse was pushed off a plank and drowned in a body of water after having fallen 40 feet into it.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/18071/Jesse-James/articles.html|title=Turner Classic Movies - TCM.com|website=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=20 July 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816183504/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/18071/Jesse-James/articles.html|archive-date=16 August 2016}}</ref> Initially, monitoring of animal cruelty was a partnership between the AHA and the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (also called the Hays office) through the [[Motion Picture Production Code]]. Provisions in the code discouraged "apparent cruelty to children and animals", and because the Hays Office had the power to enforce this clause, the AHA often had access to sets to assess adherence to it. However, because the AHA's Hollywood office depended on the Hays Office for the right to monitor sets, the closure of the Hays Office in 1966 corresponded with an increase in animal cruelty on movie sets.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/73437045|title=27 Jun 1982, Page 14 - The Pantagraph at Newspapers.com|access-date=20 July 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827090907/http://www.newspapers.com/image/73437045/|archive-date=27 August 2016}}<sup>[subscription required]</sup></ref>

By 1977, a three-year contract was in place between the [[Screen Actors Guild]] (SAG) and the [[American Federation of Television and Radio Artists]] which specified that the AHA should be "consulted in the use of animals 'when appropriate'", but the contract did not provide a structure for what "appropriate" meant, and had no enforcement powers. This contract expired in 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/139631080/|title=30 Sep 1980, Page 56 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch at Newspapers.com|access-date=20 July 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818194614/https://www.newspapers.com/image/139631080/|archive-date=18 August 2016}}</ref>

One of the most infamous examples of animal cruelty in the film was [[Michael Cimino]]'s flop ''[[Heaven's Gate (film)|Heaven's Gate]]'' (1980), in which numerous animals were brutalized and even killed during production. Cimino allegedly killed chickens and bled horses from the neck to gather samples of their blood to smear on actors for ''Heaven's Gate'', and also allegedly had a horse blown up with [[dynamite]] while shooting a battle sequence, the shot of which made it into the film. This film played a large part in renewed scrutiny of animal cruelty in films and led to renewed official on-set jurisdiction to monitor the treatment of animals by the AHA in 1980.<ref name=":0" />

After the release of the film ''[[Reds (film)|Reds]]'' (1981), the star and director of the picture, [[Warren Beatty]] apologized for his Spanish film crew's use of [[tripwire]]s on horses while filming a battle scene, when Beatty was not present. Tripwires were used against horses when ''[[Rambo III]]'' (1988) and ''[[The 13th Warrior]]'' (1999) were being filmed. A [[water buffalo]] was sliced nearly in half during the production of ''[[Apocalypse Now]]'' (1979), while a donkey was bled to death for dramatic effect for the Danish film ''[[Manderlay]]'' (2005), in a scene later deleted from the film.

[[File:Animal Cruelty Sea Turtle.jpg|thumb|Captured sea turtle at Jamestown, Accra, Ghana]]
There is a case of cruelty to animals in the [[South Korea]]n film ''[[The Isle]]'' (2000), according to its director [[Kim Ki-Duk]].<ref>Andy McKeague, [http://dvd.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_7779.php An Interview with Kim Ki-Duk and Suh Jung on The Isle] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128010318/http://dvd.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_7779.php |date=28 November 2007 }} at monstersandcritics.com, 11 May 2005. Retrieved 11 March 2006.</ref> In the film, a real [[frog]] is skinned alive while [[fish]] are mutilated. Seven animals were killed for the camera in the controversial [[Italy|Italian]] film ''[[Cannibal Holocaust]]'' (1980).<ref name="Fango">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/4101 |title=Pointless Cannibal Holocaust Sequel in the Works |magazine=Fangoria |access-date=13 January 2007  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221071540/http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/4101 |archive-date=21 February 2007 }}</ref> The images in the film include the slow and graphic beheading and ripping apart of a [[turtle]], a [[monkey]] being beheaded and its brains being consumed by natives and a [[spider]] being chopped apart. ''Cannibal Holocaust'' was only one film in a collective of similarly themed movies ([[cannibal film]]s) that featured unstaged animal cruelty. Their influences were rooted in the films of [[Mondo film]]makers, which sometimes contained similar content. In several countries, ''Cannibal Holocaust'' was banned or allowed for release with most of the animal cruelty edited out.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}

The SAG has contracted with the AHA for monitoring animal use during filming or while on the set.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sag.org/entertainment-industry-faq|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616193950/http://www.sag.org/entertainment-industry-faq|title=Entertainment Industry FAQ|archive-date=16 June 2008}}</ref> Compliance with this arrangement is voluntary and only applies to films made in the United States. Films monitored by the American Humane Association may bear one of their end-credit messages. Many productions, including those made in the United States, do not advise AHA or SAG of animal use in films, so there is no oversight.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101110015309/http://www.americanhumane.org/protecting-animals/programs/no-animals-were-harmed/movie-rating-system.html Movie Rating System. Earning Our Disclaimer]. American humane. org</ref>

Some other animal welfare organizations worldwide, such as the Animal Anti-Cruelty League in South Africa, have also monitored the use of animals in the film.

====Internet videos====
Cruelty to animals has often been filmed on video and uploaded to [[social media website]]s or private Internet groups. This may involve large-scale, systematic operations; a notable example of this was a global monkey torture ring uncovered by the [[BBC]] in June 2023, where participants would produce and distribute videos of monkeys being hurt and killed.<ref name="Gunter Henschke Ajengrastri 2023 j165">{{cite web | last1=Gunter | first1=Joel | last2=Henschke | first2=Rebecca | last3=Ajengrastri | first3=Astudestra | title=Global network of sadistic monkey torture exposed by BBC | website=BBC News | date=2023-06-19 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-65951188 | access-date=2023-09-16}}</ref> Individuals who have published animal cruelty content include [[Luka Magnotta]], a Canadian murderer who uploaded [[YouTube]] videos of himself torturing and killing cats;<ref name="Pearce 2019">{{cite web | last=Pearce | first=Tilly | title=Don't F**k With Cats: The horrifying truth of murderer Luka Magnotta | website=Metro | date=2019-12-19 | url=https://metro.co.uk/2019/12/19/netflixs-dont-fk-cats-horrifying-truth-self-obsessed-murderer-luka-magnotta-11935581/ | access-date=2023-12-16}}</ref> Rubén Marrero Pernas, a man in [[Cuba]] who was found to be raping, torturing then killing dogs and recording the acts online for an audience;<ref>{{Cite news|last=Echarry|first=Irina|date=November 18, 2018|title=Zoosadism in Cuba and No Law to Punish it|work=Havana Times|url=https://havanatimes.org/diaries/irina-echarry/zoosadism-in-cuba-and-no-law-to-punish-it/}}</ref> and Leighton Labute, a Canadian man who was arrested in 2020 for torturing and killing three hamsters, and uploading the video to social media.<ref name="Zielinski 2021 b975">{{cite web | last=Zielinski | first=Jen | title=Kelowna hamster killer handed conditional sentence, not allowed in pet stores | website=Summerland Review | date=2021-08-18 | url=https://www.summerlandreview.com/news/kelowna-hamster-killer-handed-conditional-sentence-not-allowed-in-pet-stores/ | access-date=2023-09-17}}</ref><ref name="Potenteau 2021 v742">{{cite web | last=Potenteau | first=Doyle | title=Kelowna man, 21, receives conditional sentence for torturing, killing hamsters — Okanagan | website=Global News | date=2021-08-18 | url=https://globalnews.ca/news/8123769/kelowna-man-conditional-sentence-killing-hamsters/ | access-date=2023-09-17}}</ref>

The video-sharing site [[YouTube]] has been criticized for hosting thousands of videos of real-life animal cruelty, especially the feeding of one animal to another for entertainment and spectacle. Although some of these videos have been flagged as inappropriate by users, YouTube has generally declined to remove them, unlike videos that include [[copyright infringement]].<ref>Times online, [http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2284380.ece timesonline.co.uk] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519094714/http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2284380.ece |date=19 May 2011 }} 19 August 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2007.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080105110831/http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1255 Uproar at fish cruelty on YouTube]. practicalfishkeeping.co.uk. 17 May 2007.</ref>

{{World circus bans}}

====Circuses====
The use of animals in the [[circus]] has been controversial since animal welfare groups have documented instances of animal cruelty during the training of performing animals. Animal abuse in circuses has been documented such as keeping them in small enclosures, lack of veterinary care, abusive training methods, and lack of oversight by regulating bodies.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/wildlife/circus/2004_HSUS_Circus_Incidents.pdf | title = Circus Incidents: Attacks, Abuse and Property Damage | publisher = [[Humane Society of the United States]] | date = 1 June 2004 | access-date = 15 December 2015 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304194511/http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/wildlife/circus/2004_HSUS_Circus_Incidents.pdf | archive-date = 4 March 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/circuses_entertainment/facts/circus_facts.html| title = Circuses| publisher = [[Humane Society of the United States]]| access-date = 15 December 2015| url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222131038/http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/circuses_entertainment/facts/circus_facts.html| archive-date = 22 December 2015}}</ref> Animal trainers have argued that some criticism is not based on fact, including beliefs that shouting makes the animals believe the trainer is going to hurt them, that caging is cruel and common, and that the use of whips, chains or training harms animals.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.lionden.com/faqs.htm#+Do%20circus%20trainers/handlers%20abuse%20animals | last = Patton | first = K | date = 1 April 2007 | access-date = 23 May 2008 | title = Frequently Asked Questions: Do circus trainers/handlers abuse animals? | publisher = lionden.com  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080621073945/http://www.lionden.com/faqs.htm#+Do%20circus%20trainers/handlers%20abuse%20animals | archive-date = 21 June 2008 }}</ref>

Bolivia has enacted what animal rights activists called the world's first ban on all animals in circuses.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/31/bolivia-bans-circus-animals Bolivia bans all circus animals] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221012504/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/31/bolivia-bans-circus-animals |date=21 February 2017 }}. Associated Press (via Guardian). 31 July 2009. Retrieved on 14 December 2011.</ref>

====Animal fighting====
[[File:Stier geveld5.jpg|thumb|250px|A bull dying in a bullfight]]
[[Bullfighting]] is criticized by animal rights or animal welfare activists, referring to it as a cruel or barbaric [[blood sport]] in which the bull suffers severe stress and slow, torturous death.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=League Against Cruel Sports |title=What is bullfighting? |url=http://www.league.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=1938  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930072409/http://www.league.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=1938 |archive-date=30 September 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The suffering of bullfighting bulls |url=http://english.stieren.net/index.php?id=390  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126084718/http://english.stieren.net/index.php?id=390 |archive-date=26 January 2009 }}</ref> Several activist groups undertake anti-bullfighting actions in Spain and other countries. In Spain, opponents of bullfighting are referred to as ''anti-taurinos.''

''The Bulletpoint Bullfight'' warns that bullfighting is "not for the squeamish", advising spectators to "be prepared for blood". It details prolonged and profuse bleeding caused by horse-mounted lancers, the charging by the bull of a blindfolded, armored horse who is "sometimes doped up, and unaware of the proximity of the bull", the placing of barbed darts by banderilleros, followed by the matador's fatal sword thrust. It stresses that these procedures are a normal part of bullfighting and that death is rarely instantaneous. It further warns those attending bullfights to "be prepared to witness various failed attempts at killing the animal before it lies down."<ref>'' The Bulletpoint Bullfight'', p. 6, {{ISBN|978-1-4116-7400-4}}</ref>
[[File:Toro Jubilo IV.jpg|thumb|250px|The Toro Jubilo, Madrid, 2014]]
The "[[Medinaceli|Toro Jubilo]]" or [[Toro embolado]] in [[Province of Soria|Soria]], [[Medinaceli]], Spain, is a festival associated with animal cruelty. During this festival, balls of [[Pitch (resin)|pitch]] are attached to a bull's horns and set on fire. The bull is then released into the streets and will run around in pain, often smashing into walls in an attempt to douse the fire as spectators attempt to dodge the animal. The pitch balls can burn for hours, and they burn the bull's horns, body, and eyes. The animal rights group [[PACMA]] has described the fiesta as "a clear example of animal mistreatment".<ref>{{cite web|website=Typically Spanish – Spain News|url=http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32664.shtml|title=Toro Jubilo fiesta returns to Medinaceli, Soria|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121029022313/http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32664.shtml |date=29 October 2012 |archive-date=29 October 2012}}</ref>

[[Dog fighting]] is a sport that turns dogs against one another in a ring or a pit for gambling or the entertainment of the spectators.

====Rattlesnake round-ups====
[[Rattlesnake round-up]]s, also known as '''rattlesnake rodeos''', are annual events common in the rural [[Midwest]] and [[Southern United States]], where the primary attractions are captured wild [[rattlesnakes]] which are sold, displayed, killed for food or [[animal product]]s (such as [[snakeskin]]) or released back into the wild. The largest rattlesnake round-up in the United States is held in [[Sweetwater, Texas]]. Held every year since 1958, the event currently attracts approximately 30,000 visitors per year and in 2006 each annual round-up was said to result in the capture of 1% of the state's rattlesnake population.<ref name="CBS">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/11/ap/strange/mainD8G98IPG4.shtml|title=Texas Town Welcomes Rattlesnakes, Handlers|date=March 11, 2006|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=2008-02-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060329083639/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/11/ap/strange/mainD8G98IPG4.shtml|archive-date=2006-03-29}}</ref>
Rattlesnake round-ups became a concern by [[animal welfare]] groups and conservationists due to claims of animal cruelty.<ref name=Arena>{{cite book|author=Arena, Phillip C.|chapter=Rattlesnake Round-ups|editor=Knight, Richard L.|editor2=Gutzwiller, Kevin J.|title=Wildlife and recreationists: coexistence through management and research|publisher=Island Press|year=1995|isbn=978-1-55963-257-7|pages=313–322|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hg3kLAc1lCkC&pg=PA318|display-authors=etal|access-date=11 August 2019|archive-date=23 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200823201122/https://books.google.com/books?id=Hg3kLAc1lCkC&pg=PA318|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=ASIH>{{cite web|title=American Society of Ichthyologists and herpetologists position paper on Rattlesnake roundups|publisher=American Society of Ichthyologists and herpetologists|url=http://www.asih.org/files/positionpaper.pdf|access-date=2008-10-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517154433/http://www.asih.org/files/positionpaper.pdf|archive-date=17 May 2008}}</ref><ref name=Rubio>{{cite book|author=Rubio, Manny|chapter=Rattlesnake roundups|title=Rattlesnake: Portrait of a Predator|publisher=Smithsonian Books|year=1998|isbn=1-56098-808-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ry90QgAACAAJ|access-date=7 August 2019|archive-date=23 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200823201111/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ry90QgAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> In response, some round-ups impose catch-size restrictions or releasing captured snakes back into the wild.<ref name=Noxen>{{cite web|title=Noxen Rattlesnake Roundup|url=http://noxenpa.com/snakes.html|website=Noxen, Pa|access-date=3 November 2015}}</ref><ref name="CBS2">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/21/national/main6418228.shtml|title=Environmentalists Tackle the Rattlesnake Rodeo|date=April 21, 2010|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=7 August 2019|archive-date=29 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529012836/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/21/national/main6418228.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Warfare===
[[Military animal]]s are creatures that have been employed by humankind for use in [[war]]fare. They are a specific application of [[working animal]]s. Examples include [[Horses in warfare|horses]], [[Dogs in warfare|dogs]] and [[Military dolphin|dolphin]]s. Only recently has the involvement of animals in war been questioned, and practices such as using animals for fighting, as [[Animal-borne bomb attacks|living bombs]] or for military [[Animal testing|testing]] purposes (such as during the [[Bikini atomic experiments]]) may now be criticized for being cruel.<ref name="aa-war">
{{cite web|access-date=5 September 2009|archive-date=20 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120091208/http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/news_other/ALL/913//|date=1 June 2003|publisher=[[Animal Aid]]|title=Animals in War – The unseen casualties|url=http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/news_other/ALL/913//}}
</ref>

[[Anne, Princess Royal|Princess Anne, Princess Royal]], the patron of the British [[Animals in War Memorial]], stated that animals adapt to what humans want them to do, but that they will not do things that they do not want to, even with training.<ref name="telegraph-war">
{{cite news
 |url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3626468/They-served-and-suffered-for-us.html
 |title = They served and suffered for us
 |newspaper = [[The Daily Telegraph]]
 |date = 1 November 2004
 |access-date = 5 September 2009
 |location = London
 |first = Eluned
 |last = Price
 |url-status = live
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111016040147/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3626468/They-served-and-suffered-for-us.html
 |archive-date = 16 October 2011
 }}
</ref> Animal participation in the human conflict was commemorated in the United Kingdom in 2004 with the erection of the [[Animals in War Memorial]] in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]], [[London]].<ref name="BBC-memorial">
{{cite news
 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4037873.stm
 |title = Animal war heroes statue unveiled
 |newspaper = [[BBC News]]
 |date = 24 November 2004
 |access-date = 5 September 2009
 |url-status = live
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090216230948/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4037873.stm
 |archive-date = 16 February 2009
 }}
</ref>

In 2008 a video of a [[United States Marine Corps|US Marine]] throwing a puppy over a cliff during the [[Iraq conflict]] was popularised as an [[internet meme|internet phenomenon]] and attracted widespread criticism of the soldier's actions for being an act of cruelty.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3481977.ece |title=Puppy-toss video makes Marine figure of hate |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=4 March 2008 |access-date=4 September 2009 |location=London |first=Philippe |last=Naughton |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513091742/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3481977.ece |archive-date=13 May 2008 }}</ref>

===Unnecessary scientific experiments or demonstrations===

{{World laws on cosmetic animal testing}}{{Main|Testing cosmetics on animals|Countries banning non-human ape experimentation}}
Under all three of the conceptual approaches to animal cruelty discussed above, performing unnecessary experiments or demonstrations upon animals that cause them substantial pain or distress may be viewed as cruelty. Due to changes in ethical standards, this type of cruelty tends to be less common today than it used to be in the past. For example, schoolroom demonstrations of oxygen depletion routinely suffocated birds by placing them under a glass cover,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/lairetlemondear00manggoog|title=L'air et le monde aérien|first=Arthur|last=Mangin|date=23 August 1865|publisher=Tours, A. Mame et fils|via=Internet Archive|access-date=23 August 2020|archive-date=1 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401100904/https://archive.org/details/lairetlemondear00manggoog|url-status=live}}</ref> and animals were suffocated in the [[Cave of Dogs]]<ref>{{cite journal|last=Taylor|first=Alfred S.|title=An Account of the Grotta del Cane; With Remarks Upon Suffocation by Carbonic Acid|journal=The London Medical and Physical Journal|date=October 1832 |volume=LXVIII |issue=76 |series=New Series |pages=278–285|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eegEAAAAQAAJ&q=An+account+of+the+Grotta+del+Cane&pg=RA1-PA278|access-date=6 June 2020|archive-date=29 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729220231/https://books.google.com/books?id=eegEAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA278&lpg=RA1-PA278&dq=An+account+of+the+Grotta+del+Cane|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Fleming & Johnson, Toxic Airs: Body, Place, Planet in Historical Perspective, Pittsburgh, 255–256.</ref><ref>Kroonenberg, Why Hell Stinks of Sulfur: Mythology and Geology of the Underworld, Chicago, 2013, 41–45.</ref> to demonstrate the density and toxicity of carbon dioxide to curious travelers on the [[Grand Tour]].

===No pet policies and abandonment===
{{Main|Overpopulation in domestic pets|Pet abandonment}}
Many apartment complexes and rental homes institute no-pet policies. No pet policies are a leading cause of animal abandonment, which is considered a crime in many jurisdictions. In many cases, abandoned pets have to be euthanized due to the strain they put on animal shelters and rescue groups. Abandoned animals often become feral or contribute to feral populations. In particular, feral dogs can pose a serious threat to pets, children, and livestock.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/08/0821_030821_straydogs.html|title=U.S. Facing Feral-Dog Crisis|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421131008/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/08/0821_030821_straydogs.html|archive-date=21 April 2014}}</ref>

In [[Ontario, Canada]], no pet policies are outlawed under the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Act and are considered invalid even when a tenant signs a lease that includes a no pets clause.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/life/homes/2012/12/07/why_nopet_rental_clauses_lack_teeth.html|title=Why no-pet rental clauses lack teeth|date=7 December 2012|work=thestar.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720024623/https://www.thestar.com/life/homes/2012/12/07/why_nopet_rental_clauses_lack_teeth.html|archive-date=20 July 2017}}</ref> Similar legislation has also been considered in [[Manitoba]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/no-pet-policy-for-man-renters-could-be-outlawed-1.932467|title=No-pet policy for Man. renters could be outlawed|date=15 February 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413132526/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/no-pet-policy-for-man-renters-could-be-outlawed-1.932467|archive-date=13 April 2014}}</ref>

===Hunting===
[[File:Rhino poaching.jpg|thumb|Rhinoceros killed for their horns]]
[[Trophy hunting]] is largely a recreational activity causing death and injury to a significant number of animals. In [[poaching]] the animal is killed and valuable parts such as tusks or bones are collected. Canned hunting refers to the practice of bringing exotic animals as trophies to private land for hunting. Despite being cruel to animals, hunting is practiced in thousands of private properties around the world and is considered a profitable business.<ref name="Peta-hunting">{{cite web |title=Why Sport Hunting Is Cruel and Unnecessary |url=https://www.peta.org/issues/wildlife/wildlife-factsheets/sport-hunting-cruel-unnecessary/ |website=PETA|date=15 December 2003 }}</ref>

==Laws by country==
{{Main|Animal rights by country or territory}}
Many jurisdictions around the world have enacted statutes that forbid cruelty to some animals but these vary by country and in some cases by the use or practice.

===Africa===
====Egypt====
{{Main|Animal welfare in Egypt}}

Egyptian law states that anyone who inhumanely beats or intentionally kills any domesticated animal may be jailed or fined.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sparelives.org/Animal_Legislations.pdf|title=Legislature Related to Animals in Egyptian Law}}{{Dead link|date=August 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The Egyptian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was established over a hundred years ago and was instrumental in promoting a 1997 ban on bullfighting in Egypt.<ref>[http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/654/li1.htm Humanity, through animal care] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216074346/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/654/li1.htm |date=16 December 2008 }}. Weekly.ahram.org.eg (10 September 2003). Retrieved on 14 December 2011.</ref>

In ancient Egyptian law, the killers of cats or dogs were executed.<ref>[http://dogsinthenews.com/issues/0207/articles/020714a.htm (Not-So-) BIZARRE DOG LAW California Man Faces Life in Prison for Killing Dog; and Tennessee Judge Slam-Dunks Puppy Mill Owners] 14 July 2002 Dogs in the News {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219231324/http://dogsinthenews.com/issues/0207/articles/020714a.htm |date=19 December 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Dennis C. Turner|title=The domestic cat: the biology of its behaviour|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kO5y0fnLUD4C&pg=PA185|access-date=15 December 2011|date=26 June 2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-63648-3|pages=185–|archive-date=13 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013024837/http://books.google.com/books?id=kO5y0fnLUD4C&pg=PA185|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Nigeria ====
Animal cruelty in Nigeria is prohibited under Section 495 of the Criminal Code (1990). These include, according to 495(1)(a), cruelly beating, kicking, over-loading, infuriating, or terrifying an animal, or allowing this to happen as the owner. Section 495(1)(b) defines failure to act as the willful or unreasonable doing or omission of any act that causes unnecessary suffering (or as the owner, permitting an act that causes unnecessary suffering). This section also prohibits transporting animals in a way that causes unnecessary suffering (c), administering poison (d), performing operations without due care (e), and actions related to animal fighting (f).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nigeria {{!}} World Animal Protection 
|quote=Despite the fact that there is no report that anybody has ever been tried and convicted for the offense, the 1999 Constitution prohibits the abuse of animals under Miscellaneous Offences. It states in Chapter 50 on 'Cruelly to Animals' that any person who cruelly beats, kicks, ill-treats, over-rides, over-drives, over-loads, tortures, infuriates, or terrifies any animal, or causes or procures, or, being the owner, permits any animal to be so used "is guilty of an offense of cruelty and is liable to imprisonment for six months or to a fine of fifty nairas, or to both such imprisonment and fine."
|url=https://api.worldanimalprotection.org/country/nigeria#:~:text=Section%20495%20of%20the%20Criminal%20Code%20(1990)%20prohibits%20acts%20of |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=api.world animal protection. org}}</ref>

====South Africa====
The Animal Protection Act No 71 of 1962 in [[South Africa]] covers "farm animals, domestic animals and birds, and wild animals, birds, and reptiles that are in captivity or under the control of humans."

The Act contains a detailed list of prohibited acts of cruelty including overloading, causing unnecessary suffering due to confinement, chaining or tethering, abandonment, unnecessarily denying food or water, keeping in a dirty or parasitic condition, or failing to provide veterinary assistance. There is also a general provision prohibiting wanton, unreasonable, or negligible commission or omission of acts resulting in unnecessary suffering. The [[Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (South Africa)|Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries]] for 2013/14 to 2016/17 mentions updating animal protection legislation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nspca.co.za |title=NSPCA Cares about all Animals |publisher=Nspca.co.za |access-date=4 October 2018 |archive-date=5 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005020033/https://nspca.co.za/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[NSPCA]] is the largest and oldest animal welfare organization in South Africa that enforces 90% of all animal cruelty cases in the country by means of enforcing the Animals Protection Act.

====South Sudan====
The Criminal Code of [[South Sudan]] has laws against the maltreatment of animals. The laws read:<ref>[http://www.sudantribune.com/IMG/pdf/penal_code_act_2008.pdf The Penal Code Act, 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000802/http://www.sudantribune.com/IMG/pdf/penal_code_act_2008.pdf |date=4 March 2016 }}. sudantribune.com</ref>

''196. Ill-treatment of Domestic Animal''.
:Whoever cruelly beats, tortures, or otherwise willfully ill-treats any tame, domestic, or wild animal, which has previously been deprived of its liberty, or arranges, promotes, or organizes fights between cocks, rams, bulls, or other domestic animals or encourages such acts, commits an offense, and upon conviction, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months or with a fine.
''197. Riding and Neglect of Animal''.
:Whoever wantonly rides, overdrives, or overloads any animal or intentionally drugs or employs any animal, which by reason of age, sickness, wounds or infirmity is not in a condition to work, or neglects any animal in such a manner as to cause it unnecessary suffering, commits an offense, and upon conviction, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or with a fine or with both.

===Americas===
====Argentina====
In [[Argentina]], National Law 14346 sanctions from 15 days to one year in prison for those who mistreat or inflict acts of cruelty on animals.<ref>{{cite web|title=LEY 14346 – MALOS TRATOS Y ACTOS DE CRUELDAD A LOS ANIMALES|url=http://www.cmc.unl.edu.ar/docs/LEY%2014346.pdf|publisher=Gobierno República de Argentina|access-date=7 September 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222194504/http://www.cmc.unl.edu.ar/docs/LEY%2014346.pdf|archive-date=22 December 2014}}</ref>

==== Brazil ====
{{Main|Animal welfare and rights in Brazil}}
Brazil is a high-volume animal producer, slaughtering around 30.8 land-based animals per person per year, compared to a global average of 10.1. The country's dependency on farmed animals is relatively high, with around 8 farmed animals per person, double the global average of 4.1.
A 1998 law prohibits the abuse of domestic and wild animals. It imposes more serious penalties for cruelty than the 1934 decree, with a sentence of 3 months to a year plus a fine, with the penalty increased by one-sixth to one-third of the animal is killed.

====Canada====
{{Main|Animal welfare and rights in Canada}}

In Canada, it is an offense under the Criminal Code to intentionally cause unnecessary pain, suffering, or injury to an animal.<ref name="CC cruelty to animals">[http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-209.html#s-445. "Cruelty to Animals"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150304135739/http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/page-209.html |date=4 March 2015 }}, Criminal Code, s. 445.1.</ref> Poisoning animals is specifically prohibited.<ref name="CC cruelty to animals"/><ref>[http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-209.html#s-445. "Cattle and Other Animals"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150304135739/http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/page-209.html |date=4 March 2015 }}, Criminal Code, s. 445.</ref> It is also an offense to threaten to harm an animal belonging to someone else.<ref>[http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-132.html#h-83 "Assaults"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911075340/http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-132.html |date=11 September 2014 }}, Criminal Code, s. 264.1(1)(c).</ref> Most provinces and territories also have animal protection legislation.<ref>[http://www.afac.ab.ca/Public/Teachers/awlcanada.pdf "A Report on Animal Welfare Law in Canada"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911082230/http://www.afac.ab.ca/Public/Teachers/awlcanada.pdf |date=11 September 2014 }}, Alberta Farm Animal Care, June 2004.</ref> However, it is not explicitly illegal in Canadian law to kill a dog or cat for consumption.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canine-carcasses-at-edmonton-restaurant-were-coyotes-1.382176|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317053051/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canine-carcasses-at-edmonton-restaurant-were-coyotes-1.382176|archive-date=2016-03-17|title=Canine carcasses at Edmonton restaurant were coyotes - Canada - CBC News|date=2016-03-17|access-date=2019-11-05}}</ref>

The [[Animal Legal Defense Fund]] releases an annual report ranking the animal protection laws of every province and territory based on their relative strength and general comprehensiveness. In 2014, the strongest four jurisdictions were [[Manitoba]], [[British Columbia]], [[Ontario]], and [[Nova Scotia]]. The weakest four were [[Saskatchewan]], [[Northwest Territories]], [[Quebec]], and [[Nunavut]].<ref>[http://aldf.org/press-room/press-releases/2014-canadian-animal-protection-laws-rankings/2014 "2014 Canadian Animal Protection Laws Rankings"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810215113/http://aldf.org/press-room/press-releases/2014-canadian-animal-protection-laws-rankings/2014/ |date=10 August 2014 }}, 5 June 2014, Animal Legal Defense Fund, report available for download at the link.</ref>

====Chile====
Law 20380 established sanctions including fines, from 2 to 30 Mensual Tributary Units, and prison, from 541 days to 3 years, for those involved in acts of animal cruelty. Also, it facilitates animal care through school education and establishes a Bioethics Committee to define policies related to experiments with animals.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ley 20380, SOBRE PROTECCIÓN DE ANIMALES|url=http://www2.sag.gob.cl/Pecuaria/bvo/BVO_11_I_semestre_2010/PDF_articulos/ley_20380_3-10-09_protecc_animales.pdf|publisher=MINISTERIO DE SALUD; SUBSECRETARÍA DE SALUD PÚBLICA|access-date=7 September 2013|language=es|date=October 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107181620/http://www2.sag.gob.cl/Pecuaria/bvo/BVO_11_I_semestre_2010/PDF_articulos/ley_20380_3-10-09_protecc_animales.pdf|archive-date=7 January 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Bullfight-Bogotá-1.jpg|thumb|250px|A [[Bullfighting|bullfight]] in Bogotá, a legacy of Spanish culture. The practice of bullfighting is criticized by numerous organizations in Colombia. It remains legal in the country.]]

====Colombia====
{{Main|Animal rights in Colombia}}

In [[Colombia]], there is little control over cruel behaviors against animals, and the government has proposed that [[bullfighting]] be declared a "[[Cultural Heritage]]"; other activities like [[cockfighting]] are given the same legal treatment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cultoro.com/blog/2012/10/17/el-gobierno-colombiano-se-compromete-a-que-los-toros-sean-patrimonio-cultual/|title=Colombian president offers to grant bullfighting status of cultural heritage|access-date=17 October 2012}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==== Costa Rica ====
[[File:Grecia tucan.jpg|thumb|250px|Toucan Grecia with 3D printed prosthetic beak after losing half its beak]]
In 2017, after many years of legal wrangling, Costa Rica passed their Animal Welfare Law. It includes prison sentences of three months to one year for harming or killing a domesticated animal or for conducting animal fights. There are monetary fines for those who mistreat, neglect or abandon animals, for breeding or training animals for fighting, or for violating regulations on animal experimentation. The law does not cover agricultural practices, [[aquaculture]], [[Zootechnics|zootechnical]] or [[veterinary]] activities, killing of animals for consumption, for sanitary or scientific reasons, or reproductive control. Wild animals are covered under the Wild Life Act.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ticotimes.net/2017/06/12/solis-animal-welfare-law-costa-rica|title=President Solís signs new Animal Welfare Law|website=The Tico Times|location=Costa Rica|first=L|last=Arias|date=June 12, 2017|access-date=1 August 2020|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801131030/https://ticotimes.net/2017/06/12/solis-animal-welfare-law-costa-rica|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ticotimes.net/2017/05/14/animal-welfare-bill-costa-rica|title=Lawmakers pass Animal Welfare Bill on first-round vote|website=The Tico Times|location=Costa Rica|first=L|last=Arias|date=May 14, 2017|access-date=1 August 2020|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801230358/https://ticotimes.net/2017/05/14/animal-welfare-bill-costa-rica|url-status=live}}</ref>

The bill had stalled its motion through the legislature until an injured [[toucan]] was found which had lost the top half of its beak. News and images of the injured bird, [[Grecia (toucan)|now named Grecia]], raised enough contributions to create a [[3D printing|3D printed]] [[prosthesis]] for her, and helped spur the bill's progress.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/08/27/491372643/after-losing-half-a-beak-grecia-the-toucan-becomes-a-symbol-against-abuse
 |title = After Losing Half A Beak, Grecia The Toucan Becomes A Symbol Against Abuse |last = Khan |first = Carrie |date = 27 August 2016 |publisher = [[NPR]] |access-date = 14 September 2016 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160914030016/http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/08/27/491372643/after-losing-half-a-beak-grecia-the-toucan-becomes-a-symbol-against-abuse |archive-date = 14 September 2016 }}</ref>

====Mexico====
The current policy of [[Mexico]], in [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]], condemns physical harm to animals as [[property]] damage to the owners of the abused animal, considering the animals as owned property.

In [[criminal law]], the situation is different. In December 2012, the [[Legislative Assembly of the Federal District]] reformed the existing Penal Code of [[Mexico City]], establishing abuse and cruelty to animals as criminal offenses, provided the animals are not deemed to be plagues or [[pest (organism)|pests]]. Abandoned animals are not considered to be plagues. A subsequent reform was entered into force on 31 January 2013, by a decree published in the Official Gazette of the Federal District. The law provides penalties of six months to two years imprisonment, and a fine of 50 to 100 days at minimum wage, to persons who cause obvious injury to an animal, and the penalty is increased by one-half of those injuries endanger its life. The penalty rises to two to four years of prison, and a fine of 200 to 400 days at minimum wage, if the person intentionally causes the death of an animal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://el5poder.org/blogs/entry/Por-fin-reforma-al-C-digo-Penal-del-D-F-sobre-maltrato-animal|title=Finally, reform to the Penal Code of Mexico City on animal abuse|access-date=9 February 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130414154122/http://el5poder.org/blogs/entry/Por-fin-reforma-al-C-digo-Penal-del-D-F-sobre-maltrato-animal|archive-date=14 April 2013}}</ref>

This law is considered to extend throughout the rest of the 31 constituent states of the country. In addition, The Law of Animal Protection of the Federal District is wide-ranging, based on banning "unnecessary suffering". Similar laws now exist in most states.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oem.com.mx/laprensa/notas/n2827566.htm|title=Lawmakers seek to position Federal enforcement of the Law of Animal Protection of the Federal District|access-date=9 February 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722075004/http://www.oem.com.mx/laprensa/notas/n2827566.htm|archive-date=22 July 2013}}</ref>

====United States====
{{Main|Animal welfare in the United States}}

The primary federal law relating to animal care and conditions in the US is the [[Animal Welfare Act of 1966]], amended in 1970, 1976, 1985, 1990, 2002, and 2007. It is the only Federal law in the United States that regulates the treatment of animals in research, exhibition, transport, and by dealers. Other laws, policies, and guidelines may include additional species coverage or specifications for animal care and use, but all refer to the Animal Welfare Act as the minimum acceptable standard.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/AWA2007/intro.shtml |title=Legislative History of the Animal Welfare Act |access-date=7 April 2010  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302102008/http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/AWA2007/intro.shtml |archive-date=2 March 2013 }}</ref>

The [[Animal Legal Defense Fund]] releases an annual report ranking the [[animal rights|animal protection laws]] of every state based on their relative strength and general comprehensiveness. In a 2013's report, the top five states for their strong anti-cruelty laws were [[Illinois]], [[Maine]], [[Michigan]], [[Oregon]], and [[California]]. The five states with the weakest animal cruelty laws in 2013 were [[Kentucky]], [[Iowa]], [[South Dakota]], [[New Mexico]], and [[Wyoming]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aldf.org/press-room/press-releases/annual-study-names-2013s-top-five-states-to-be-an-animal-abuser/|title=Annual Study Names 2013's "Top Five States to be an Animal Abuser"|work=Animal Legal Defense Fund|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140722032419/http://aldf.org/press-room/press-releases/annual-study-names-2013s-top-five-states-to-be-an-animal-abuser/|archive-date=22 July 2014|access-date=22 July 2014}}</ref>

In [[Massachusetts]] and [[New York (state)|New York]], agents of humane societies and associations may be appointed as special officers to enforce statutes outlawing animal cruelty.<ref>[http://www.ccja-acjp.ca/en/cjcr/cjcr93.html Book Review: Brute Force: Animal Police and the Challenge of Cruelty] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628201218/http://www.ccja-acjp.ca/en/cjcr/cjcr93.html |date=28 June 2009 }}. ccja-acjp.ca. Retrieved on 14 December 2011.</ref>

In 2004, a [[Florida]] legislator proposed a ban on "cruelty to bovines", stating: "A person who, for practice, [[entertainment]], or sport, intentionally fells, trips, or otherwise causes a cow to fall or lose its balance using roping, lassoing, dragging, or otherwise touching the tail of the cow commits a [[misdemeanor]] of the first degree."<ref name="floridaban">{{cite web | last = Emery | first = David | title = Florida to Consider Ban on Cow Tipping | publisher = About.com | url = http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/a/058976.htm | access-date = 7 June 2007 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070704141026/http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/a/058976.htm | archive-date = 4 July 2007 }}</ref> The proposal did not become law.<ref name="floridaban"/>

In the United States, [[cropping (animal)|ear cropping]], [[docking (animal)|tail docking]], rodeo sports, and other acts are legal and sometimes condoned. Penalties for cruelty can be minimal if pursued. Currently, 46 of the 50 states have enacted felony penalties for certain forms of animal abuse.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aldf.org/article.php?id=261 |title=ALDF: U.S. Jurisdictions With and Without Felony Animal Cruelty Provisions |publisher=Aldf.org |access-date=29 April 2009  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090629052448/http://www.aldf.org/article.php?id=261 |archive-date=29 June 2009 }}</ref> However, in most jurisdictions, animal cruelty is most commonly charged as a misdemeanor offense. In one recent California case, a felony conviction for animal cruelty could theoretically net a 25-year to a life sentence due to their [[three-strikes law]], which increases sentences based on prior felony convictions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.insidesocal.com/crime/2007/10/accused-dog-killer-an-excon-co.html|title=Accused Dog Killer Could Get 25 Years to Life in Prison|access-date=6 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818225243/http://www.insidesocal.com/crime/2007/10/accused-dog-killer-an-excon-co.html|archive-date=18 August 2010}}</ref>

In 2003, West Hollywood, California, passed an ordinance banning [[Onychectomy|declawing]] of house cats.<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/10/11/BA4MSO436.DTL&type=politics Judge allows California cities to ban cat declawing] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218111300/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=%2Fchronicle%2Farchive%2F2007%2F10%2F11%2FBA4MSO436.DTL&type=politics |date=18 December 2007 }}. Sfgate.com (11 October 2007). Retrieved on 14 December 2011.</ref> In 2007, Norfolk, Virginia passed legislation only allowing the procedure for medical reasons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wtkr.com/Global/story.asp?S=6427984|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211210727/http://www.wtkr.com/Global/story.asp?S=6427984|title=Norfolk Bans De-Clawing Of Cats|archive-date=11 December 2008}}</ref> However, most jurisdictions allow the procedure.

In April 2013, Texas Federal Court Judge [[Sim Lake]] ruled<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2013/04/animal-crush-video-charges-dismissed-in-first-case-162412.html|title='Animal crush' video charges dismissed in the first case under new law|work=POLITICO|date=23 April 2013 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928024724/http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2013/04/animal-crush-video-charges-dismissed-in-first-case-162412.html|archive-date=28 September 2013}}</ref> that the [[Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010]], which criminalized the recording, sale, and transport of videos depicting animal cruelty as obscenity, violates the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]]. Judge Lake noted that obscenity tests require an explicitly sexual depiction, which the criminalized videos lack. This follows the precedent set by ''[[United States v. Stevens]]'', which additionally held that restrictions on the possession of animal cruelty videos were unconstitutional.

In November 2019, then-U.S. President Donald Trump signed the [[Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act]], making certain intentional acts of cruelty to animals [[Federal crime in the United States|federal crimes]] carrying penalties of up to seven years in prison. The Act expanded upon the 2010 Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act signed by [[Barack Obama|President Barack Obama]] that banned the creation and distribution of videos that showed animals being crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or subjected to other forms of torture. The underlying acts, which were not included in the 2010 bill, are part of the PACT Act and are now felony offenses. The bill was unanimously passed in both the [[United States House of Representatives|House]] and [[United States Senate|Senate]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Zaveri |first1=Mihir |title=President Trump Signs Federal Animal Cruelty Bill Into Law |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/25/us/politics/trump-animal-cruelty-bill.html |access-date=10 October 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=November 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Zarrell |first1=Matt |title=President Trump signs animal cruelty bill into law, making it a federal felony |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-trump-sign-animal-cruelty-bill-law-making/story?id=67295654 |work=ABC News |date=November 25, 2019}}</ref>

=====State welfare laws=====
Several states have enacted or considered laws in support of humane farming.
* On 5 November 2002, Florida voters passed Amendment 10 by a margin of 55%, amending the Florida Constitution to ban the confinement of pregnant pigs in [[gestation crate]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.porknet.com/archive/110702.html#96977 |title=PorkNet Newsletter |publisher=MetaFarms.com, Inc |date=7 November 2002 |access-date=3 July 2008  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060314005853/http://www.porknet.com/archive/110702.html |archive-date=14 March 2006 }}</ref>
* On 14 January 2004, the bill AB-732 died in the California Assembly's Agriculture Committee.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.senate.ca.gov/sfa/2004/_04_DL04.HTM |title=Criminal Justice and Judiciary |publisher=California State Senate |year=2004  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218070048/http://www.senate.ca.gov/sfa/2004/_04_DL04.HTM |archive-date=18 February 2011 }}</ref> The bill would have banned gestation and veal crates, eventually being amended to include only veal crates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/03-04/bill/asm/ab_0701-0750/ab_732_cfa_20040114_122451_asm_comm.html |title=AB-732 Analysis |publisher=California State Assembly |date=14 January 2008  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726174913/http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/03-04/bill/asm/ab_0701-0750/ab_732_cfa_20040114_122451_asm_comm.html |archive-date=26 July 2010 }}</ref> On 9 May 2007, the bill AB-594 was withdrawn from the California State Assembly. The bill had been effectively killed in the Assembly Agriculture Committee, by replacing the contents of the bill with language concerning tobacco cessation coverage under Medi-Cal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asm.ca.gov/acs/committee/c53/publications/2007%20Mid%20Year%20Summary.doc |title=2007 Mid Year Summary |publisher=California Assembly Committee on Agriculture |year=2007  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110063726/http://www.asm.ca.gov/acs/committee/c53/publications/2007%20Mid%20Year%20Summary.doc |archive-date=10 January 2010 }}</ref> AB-594 was very similar to the current language of [[California Proposition 2 (2008)|Proposition 2]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_0551-0600/ab_594_cfa_20070508_133457_asm_comm.html |title=AB-594 Analysis |publisher=California State Assembly |date=9 May 2008  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011134348/http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_0551-0600/ab_594_cfa_20070508_133457_asm_comm.html |archive-date=11 October 2008 }}</ref>
* On 7 November 2006, Arizona voters passed [[Proposition 204]] with 62% support. The measure prohibits the confinement of calves in veal crates and breeding sows in gestation crates.<ref>Andrea Johnson, [http://www.farmandranchguide.com/news/livestock/polls-indicate-strong-support-for-pen-gestation-for-hogs/article_75ea7ecf-d292-5397-b056-63ff36c4b671.html "Polls Indicate Strong Support for Pen Gestation for Hogs"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622091131/http://www.farmandranchguide.com/news/livestock/polls-indicate-strong-support-for-pen-gestation-for-hogs/article_75ea7ecf-d292-5397-b056-63ff36c4b671.html |date=22 June 2017 }}. 29 March 2007</ref>
* On 28 June 2007, Oregon Governor [[Ted Kulongoski]] signed a measure into law prohibiting the confinement of pigs in gestation crates (SB 694, 74th Leg. Assembly, Regular Session).<ref>{{cite news| url=http://old.brownfieldagnews.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=96AD5AA7-BEEA-38F9-4397078DB6063307| title=Back door activists gain momentum| publisher=Learfield Communications, Inc.| date=5 July 2007| access-date=3 July 2008| archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717124256/http://old.brownfieldagnews.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=96AD5AA7-BEEA-38F9-4397078DB6063307| archive-date=17 July 2012}}</ref>
*In January 2008, Nebraska State Senate bill LB 1148, to ban the use of gestation crates for pig farmers, was withdrawn within five days amidst controversy.<ref>{{cite news | title=Farm Animal Welfare Bill Killed in Legislature | publisher=Omaha World Daily | date=17 February 2008}}</ref>
* On 14 May 2008, Colorado Governor [[Bill Ritter]] signed into law a bill, SB 201, that phases out gestation crates and veal crates.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS239162+14-May-2008+BW20080514 | title=Farm Sanctuary Applauds Colorado for Passing Legislation Phasing out Veal and Gestation Crates | work=Reuters | date=14 May 2008 | access-date=3 July 2008  | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091111222038/http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS239162+14-May-2008+BW20080514 | archive-date=11 November 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.fass.org/page.asp?pageID=312 | title=Farm Animal Welfare Measure Becomes Law | publisher=Federation of Animal Science Societies (FASS) | date=14 May 2008 | access-date=3 July 2008 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080615215410/http://www.fass.org/page.asp?pageID=312 | archive-date=15 June 2008 }}</ref>

====Venezuela====
[[Venezuela]] published a "Law for Protection of Domestic Fauna free and in captivity" in 2010, defining responsibilities and sanctions regarding animal care and ownership. Animal cruelty acts are fined, but are not a cause for imprisonment.<ref>{{cite web |title=LEY PARA LA PROTECCIÓN DE LA FAUNA DOMÉSTICA LIBRE Y EN CAUTIVERIO |url=http://images.eluniversal.com//2010/01/06/leyproteccionfauna.pdf |publisher=Diario El Universal |access-date=7 September 2013 |author=Asamblea Nacional de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202234955/http://images.eluniversal.com//2010/01/06/leyproteccionfauna.pdf |archive-date=2 December 2013 }}</ref> The law also forbids the possession, breeding, and reproduction of [[pit bull]] dogs, among similar breeds that are alleged to be aggressive and dangerous. It elicited reactions from dog owners, who said that [[aggressiveness in dogs]] is determined more by treatment by the owner than by the breed itself.{{cn|date=April 2023}}

=== Asia ===
====Israel====
Israel banned the sale of fur to the fashion industry in June 2021, being the first country in the world to do so.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Reich|first=Aaron|date=2021-06-10|title=Israel bans sale of fur to the fashion industry, the first country to do so|url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/israel-bans-the-fur-trade-to-fashion-industry-first-country-to-do-so-670538|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-16|website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609215516/https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/israel-bans-the-fur-trade-to-fashion-industry-first-country-to-do-so-670538 |archive-date=9 June 2021 }}</ref>

====China====
{{Main|Animal welfare and rights in China}}

As of the year 2006, there were no laws in China governing acts of cruelty to animals.<ref>Richard Spencer. [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/1512082/Just-who-is-the-glamorous-kitten-killer-of-Hangzhou.html Just who is the glamorous kitten killer of Hangzhou?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522121444/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/1512082/Just-who-is-the-glamorous-kitten-killer-of-Hangzhou.html |date=22 May 2018 }} 3 April 2006.</ref> There are no government-supported charitable organizations like the [[RSPCA]], which monitors the cases of animal cruelty. All kinds of animal abuses, such as to fish, tigers, and bears, are to be reported to law enforcement and [[animal welfare]].<ref name=bcrw>{{cite web|last=SBS Australia |title=The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World |url=http://www.sbs.com.au/blogarticle/108747/The-Biggest-Chinese-Resturant-in-the-World/blog/Documentaries-SBS |access-date=4 November 2008 }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name=swii>{{cite web|access-date=8 November 2008|archive-date=8 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108070741/http://www.multilingual-matters.net/jet/004/jet0040108.htm|last=Journal of Ecotourism|title=The Shark Watching Industry and its Potential Contribution to Shark Conservation|url=http://www.multilingual-matters.net/jet/004/jet0040108.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=rlys>{{cite web|access-date=8 November 2008|archive-date=23 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323100658/http://q.sohu.com/forum/15/topic/3835337|last=Sohu Forum|title=人類的飲食與野生動物的滅絕有著本質和必然的聯繫|url=http://q.sohu.com/forum/15/topic/3835337}}</ref><ref name=gjjl>{{cite web| last =中國青年報| title =國家禁令擋不住虎骨酒熱銷| url =http://zqb.cyol.com/content/2006-08/25/content_1490521.htm| access-date =4 November 2008| url-status =live| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090705125639/http://zqb.cyol.com/content/2006-08/25/content_1490521.htm| archive-date =5 July 2009}}</ref><ref name=cccs>{{cite web|url=http://www.jadecampus.com/1024/news/EarthTimes30mar07.htm|access-date=4 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517143233/http://www.jadecampus.com/1024/news/EarthTimes30mar07.htm|archive-date=17 May 2008|last=Jadecampus|title=Conservationists Call on China to Support Law Over Tiger Farms}}</ref><ref name=nsmz>{{cite web| last =中國青年報| title =拿什麼拯救你可憐的黑熊:能不能不用熊膽?| url =http://news.sina.com.cn/s/2003-11-21/15072183821.shtml| access-date =4 November 2008| url-status =live| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090109195053/http://news.sina.com.cn/s/2003-11-21/15072183821.shtml| archive-date =9 January 2009}}</ref>

In the absence of a unified law against animal mistreatment, the [[World Animal Protection]] notes that some legislation protecting the welfare of animals exists in certain contexts, especially ones used in research and zoos.<ref>{{cite web|title=China|url=http://api.worldanimalprotection.org/country/china|website=World Animal Protection|access-date=23 February 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219084755/http://api.worldanimalprotection.org/country/china|archive-date=19 December 2014}}</ref>

In September 2009, legislation was drafted to address deliberate cruelty to animals in China. If passed, the legislation would offer some protection to pets, captive wildlife, and animals used in laboratories, as well as regulate how farm animals are raised, transported, and slaughtered.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peterwedderburn/100010449/china-unveils-first-ever-animal-cruelty-legislation/|title=China unveils first-ever animal cruelty legislation|date=18 September 2009|access-date=18 September 2009|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110728103413/http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peterwedderburn/100010449/china-unveils-first-ever-animal-cruelty-legislation/|archive-date=28 July 2011}}</ref>

In 2008, the People's Republic of China was in the process of making changes to its stray-dog population laws in the capital city, [[Beijing]]. Mr. Zheng Gang who is the director of the Internal and Judicial Committee which comes under the Beijing Municipal People's Congress (BMPC), supported the draft of the Beijing Municipal Regulation on Dogs from the local government. The law would replace the Beijing Municipal Regulation on Dog Ownership, introduced in 1989. The extant regulation talked of "strictly" limiting dog ownership and controlling the number of dogs in the city. The proposed draft focused instead on "strict management and combining restrictions with management."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-07/18/content_246068.htm |title=Beijing loosens leash on pet dogs |publisher=Chinadaily.com.cn |access-date=6 November 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013081420/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-07/18/content_246068.htm |archive-date=13 October 2008 }}</ref>

====Hong Kong====
As of 2010, Hong Kong has supplemented or replaced the laws against cruelty with a positive approach using laws that specify how animals should be treated.<ref name=HK2010>[http://www.ke.hku.hk/assets/doc/Review-of-Animal-Welfare-Legisaltion-in-HK.pdf Review of Animal Welfare Legislation in Hong Kong] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721092607/http://www.ke.hku.hk/assets/doc/Review-of-Animal-Welfare-Legisaltion-in-HK.pdf |date=21 July 2011 }} by Amanda S. Whitfort and Fiona M. Woodhouse, June 2010. This document reviews animal welfare laws and compares them to those of Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, and the United States.</ref>
The government department primarily responsible for animal welfare in Hong Kong is the Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department (AFCD).

Laws enforced by the AFCD include these:
* the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (also enforced by the police)
* the Public Health (Animals and Birds) Ordinance (including regulations for licenses imposed on livestock keepers and animal traders and a Code of Standards for Licensed Animal Traders)
* the Dogs and Cats Ordinance
* the Pounds Ordinance
* the Rabies Ordinance
* the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance
In addition, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) does the following:
* enforces the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, which includes regulations for slaughterhouses and wet markets
* publishes a Code of Practice for the Welfare of Food Animals (which describes their transport)
* publishes Operational Guidelines for the Welfare of Food Animals at Slaughterhouses
The Department of Health does the following:
* enforces the Animals (Control of Experiments) Ordinance.
* publishes a Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals for Experimental Purposes

As of 2006, Hong Kong has a law titled "Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance", with maximum of 3-year imprisonment and fines of HKD$200,000.<ref>Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, "[http://www.legislation.gov.hk/blis_ind.nsf/CurAllEngDoc/504FD3C5228778AE88256489000BA497?OpenDocument Penalty for Cruelty to Animals] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523113410/http://www.legislation.gov.hk/blis_ind.nsf/CurAllEngDoc/504FD3C5228778AE88256489000BA497?OpenDocument |date=23 May 2013 }}," ''Prevention of Cruelty to Animals'' (Chapter 169, Section 3) 15 December 2006</ref>

====India====
{{Update section|reason=Contains 2012 information about a proposed act in 2011. Was it ever enacted?|date=August 2020}}
{{Main|Animal welfare and rights in India}}

[[The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act,1960|The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960]] was amended in the year 1982.<ref name=oldin>{{cite web|title=The prevention of cruelty to animals act,1960|url=http://envfor.nic.in/legis/awbi/awbi01.pdf|work=Amendments|publisher=Ministry of environment and Forests, Government of India|access-date=9 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417144747/http://envfor.nic.in/legis/awbi/awbi01.pdf|archive-date=17 April 2012}}</ref>
According to the newly amended ''Indian animal welfare act, 2011'' cruelty to animals is an offense and is punishable with a fine which shall not be less than ten thousand [[Rupees]], which may extend to twenty-five thousand rupees or with imprisonment up to two years or both in the case of a first offense. In the case of a second or subsequent offense, with a fine which shall not be less than fifty thousand Rupees, but may extend to one [[lakh]] Rupees and with imprisonment with a term which shall not be less than one year but may extend to three years.<ref name=India>{{cite web|title=Indian animal welfare act 2011|url=http://moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/draft-animal-welfare-act-2011.pdf|work=Chapter IV. Cruelty to animals|publisher=Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India|access-date=9 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105144858/http://moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/draft-animal-welfare-act-2011.pdf|archive-date=5 January 2012}}</ref> This amendment is currently awaiting ratification from the Government of India. The 1962 Act is the one that is practiced as of now. The maximum penalty under the 1962 Act is Rs. 50 (under $1).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://awbi.gov.in/uploads/regulations/163299293432Prevention%20of%20Cruelty%20to%20Animals%20(Amendment)%20Act,%201982%20(26%20of%201982).pdf|title=THE ANIMAL WELFARE ACT, 2011|website=awbi.gov.in|access-date=18 August 2023}}
</ref>
Many organizations, including ones such as the local [[SPCA]], PF, A, and Fosterdopt are actively involved in assisting the general population in reporting cruelty cases to the police and helping bring the perpetrator to justice. Due to this, much change has been observed in the subcontinent. In 2022, A provision of a maximum of five-year imprisonment with a minimum 75 thousand rupees fine for killing an animal has been made. The draft Bill also suggests five freedoms of animals including freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition and from fear and distress, under Section 3A.

====Iran====
Iranian government sponsored a law banning pets, breeding, selling, walking and keeping in the cities also including [[Najis]] animals/birds.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.radiofarda.com/a/efforts-to-decriminalize-the-keeping-of-pets-in-iran/31567432.html | title=کارزار حمایت از حیوانات خانگی در واکنش به طرح مجلس برای مقابله با "حیوانات مضر" | newspaper=رادیو فردا | date=18 November 2021 | last1=فردا | first1=رادیو }}</ref> Animals lives and wellbeing are to some limited extent protected under Islamic criminal code and [[feqh]]. Filming animal abuse is illegal.<ref>https://www.irna.ir/news/84150262/%D8%AA%D9%85%D9%87%DB%8C%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%AC%D9%84%D9%88%DA%AF%DB%8C%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AD%DB%8C%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A2%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C-%DA%86%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA {{bare URL inline|date=February 2024}}</ref> Euthanasia is haram.

====Japan====
{{Main|Animal welfare and rights in Japan}}

In Japan, the 1973 Welfare and Management of Animals Act (amended in 1999 and 2005)<ref>[http://www.cas.go.jp/jp/seisaku/hourei/data/AWMA_2.pdf Act on Welfare and Management of Animals (Act No. 105 1 October 1973)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926232052/http://www.cas.go.jp/jp/seisaku/hourei/data/AWMA_2.pdf |date=26 September 2011 }}. (PDF). cas.go.jp (in Japanese and English). Retrieved on 14 December 2011.</ref> stipulates that "no person shall kill, injure, or inflict cruelty to animals without a due course", and in particular, criminalizes cruelty to all mammals, birds, and reptiles possessed by persons; as well as cattle, horses, goats, sheep, pigs, dogs, cats, pigeons, domestic rabbits, chickens, and domestic ducks regardless of whether they are in captivity.
* Killing or injuring without due reason: up to one year's imprisonment with labor or a fine of up to one million yen
* Cruelty such as causing debilitation by discontinuing feeding or watering without due reason: a fine of up to five hundred thousand yen
* Abandonment: a fine of up to five hundred thousand yen

Separate national and local ordinances exist about ensuring the health and safety of animals handled by pet shops and other businesses.

Animal experiments are regulated by the 2000 Law for the Humane Treatment and Management of Animals, which was amended in 2006.<ref>Christopher S. Stevenson, Lisa A. Marshall and Douglas W. Morgan ''Japanese guidelines and regulations for scientific and ethical animal experimentation.'' Progress in Inflammation Research 2nd Edition 2006 p. 187. {{doi|10.1007/978-3-7643-7520-1_10}}</ref> This law requires those using animals to follow the principles outlined in the 3Rs and use as few animals as possible, and cause minimal distress and suffering. Regulation is at a local level based on national guidelines, but there are no governmental inspections of institutions and no reporting requirement for the numbers of animals used.<ref>[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200102/ldselect/ldanimal/150/15004.htm#a10 Select Committee on Animals In Scientific Procedures] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201152451/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200102/ldselect/ldanimal/150/15004.htm |date=1 December 2007 }} Report July 2002, Accessed 23 August 2007</ref>

==== Malaysia ====
{{Main|Animal welfare and rights in Malaysia}}
Cruelty towards animals protected under the Animal Welfare Act (2015) is punishable by a fine of 20–100,000 ringgit and/or imprisonment of up to three years. Cruelty towards animals protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act (2010) is punishable by a fine of 5–50,000 ringgit and/or up to one-year imprisonment.
Under the AA, a person commits an offense of animal cruelty if they "cruelly beats, kicks, ill-treats, overrides, overdrives, overloads, tortures, infuriates or terrifies any animal.

====Saudi Arabia====
Veterinarian Lana Dunn and several Saudi nationals report that there are no laws to protect animals from cruelty since the term is not well-defined within the Saudi legal system. They point to a lack of a governing body to supervise conditions for animals, particularly in pet stores and in the exotic animal trade with East Africa.<ref>[http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=120170&d=12&m=3&y=2009&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom Animal lovers lament lack of a law against cruelty] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909194315/http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=120170&d=12&m=3&y=2009&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom |date=9 September 2015 }}. Arabnews.com (12 March 2009). Retrieved on 14 December 2011.</ref>

==== South Korea ====
{{Main|Animal welfare and rights in South Korea}}

South Korea's animal welfare laws are weak by international standards.<ref name="apikorea">{{cite web |url=http://api.worldanimalprotection.org/country/korea |title=Korea |author=World Animal Protection |date=2 November 2014 |access-date=8 May 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512061443/http://api.worldanimalprotection.org/country/korea |archive-date=12 May 2016 }}</ref>
South Korea's animal protection law states that anyone who abuses or is cruel to animals may be sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison or fined 30 million won ($25,494), but the standards to decide penalties have been low as the animals are treated as objects under the current legal system, Choung said.

====Taiwan====
The Taiwanese Animal Protection Act was passed in 1998, imposing fines of up to NT$250,000 for cruelty. Criminal penalties for animal cruelty were enacted in 2009
, including a maximum of one-year imprisonment.<ref>Kaohsiung Municipal Institute for Animal Health, "[http://livstock.kcg.gov.tw/Templates/eng-act.htm Laws and Regulations]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}," ''Animal Protection Act'' last amended 11 July 2007.{{Dead link|date=September 2012}}</ref>

==== Thailand ====
{{Main|Animal welfare in Thailand}}

Thailand introduced its first animal welfare law in 2014. The ''[[Prevention of Animal Cruelty and Provision of Animal Welfare Act|Cruelty Prevention and Welfare of Animal Act, B.E. 2557 (2014)]]'' came into being on 27 December 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title=CRUELTY PREVENTION AND WELFARE OF ANIMAL ACT, B.E. 2557 (2014) |url=http://www.thaispca.org/civil-new.php?id_act=342 |website=Thai SPCA |access-date=11 May 2016  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513024715/http://www.thaispca.org/civil-new.php?id_act=342 |archive-date=13 May 2016 }}</ref><ref name=kan>{{cite news|last1=Kanchanalak|first1=Pornpimol|title=A landmark victory for animal rights|url=http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/A-landmark-victory-for-animal-rights-30247653.html|access-date=22 November 2015|work=The Nation|date=13 November 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925192214/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/A-landmark-victory-for-animal-rights-30247653.html|archive-date=25 September 2015}}</ref>

===Europe===
====European Union====
The [[European Union Council Directive 1999/74/EC]]<ref>[http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:1999:203:0053:0057:EN:PDF COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 1999/74/EC of 19 July 1999] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507115635/http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:1999:203:0053:0057:EN:PDF |date=7 May 2013 }}. European Union</ref> is a [[Directive (European Union)|directive]] passed by the [[European Union]] on the minimum standards for keeping egg laying hens which effectively bans conventional [[battery cages]]. The directive passed in 1999, banned conventional battery cages in the EU from 1 January 2012 after a 13-year phase-out.

It is also illegal in many parts of Europe to declaw a cat.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120426051740/http://www.dehumane.org/site/DocServer/Declawing_Cats_Manicure_or_Mutilation.pdf Declawing Cats: Manicure or Mutilation?]. dehumane.org</ref>

====France====
In France, cruelty to animals is punishable by imprisonment of two years and a financial penalty (€30,000).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCode.do;jsessionid=452F4C2F107FA1ACF4A278F9B6D5ADCF.tpdjo17v_1?idArticle=LEGIARTI000006418952&idSectionTA=LEGISCTA000006149860&cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006070719&dateTexte=20100128|title=Code pénal|publisher=legifrance.gouv.fr|access-date=28 November 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523181841/http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCode.do;jsessionid=452F4C2F107FA1ACF4A278F9B6D5ADCF.tpdjo17v_1?idArticle=LEGIARTI000006418952&idSectionTA=LEGISCTA000006149860&cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006070719&dateTexte=20100128|archive-date=23 May 2013}}</ref>

====Germany====
{{Further info|Animal welfare and rights in Germany|Animal welfare in Nazi Germany}}
In Germany, killing animals or causing significant pain (or prolonged or repeated pain) to them is punishable by imprisonment of up to three years or a financial penalty.<ref>[http://bundesrecht.juris.de/tierschg/__17.html § 17 Tierschutzgesetz (TierSchG)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507042747/http://bundesrecht.juris.de/tierschg/__17.html |date=7 May 2011 }}. Bundesrecht.juris.de. Retrieved on 14 December 2011.</ref>
If the animal is of foreign origin, the act may also be punishable as criminal damage.<ref>[http://bundesrecht.juris.de/stgb/__303.html § 303 Strafgesetzbuch (StGB)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101006180254/http://bundesrecht.juris.de/stgb/__303.html |date=6 October 2010 }}. Bundesrecht.juris.de. Retrieved on 14 December 2011.</ref>

====Italy====
Acts of cruelty against animals can be punished with imprisonment, for a minimum of three months up to a maximum of three years, and with a fine ranging from a minimum of 3,000 [[Euros]] to a maximum of 160,000 Euros, as for the law n°189/2004.<ref>[http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/04189l.htm The Italian Parliament – Law 189/2004 – Art. 544/ter/quater/quinquies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708040615/http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/04189l.htm |date=8 July 2011 }}. Camera. it. Retrieved on 14 December 2011. (in Italian)</ref>

====Ireland====
The ''Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2013/en/act/pub/0015/index.html|title=Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803042308/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2013/en/act/pub/0015/index.html|archive-date=3 August 2014}}</ref> came into force in 2014, improving animal protection.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0307/600705-animal-welfare/|title=New animal welfare legislation introduced|date=7 March 2014|work=RTE.ie|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025192627/http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0307/600705-animal-welfare/|archive-date=25 October 2014}}</ref> The maximum penalty is up to €250,000 and up to five years in prison. Sentences of up to three years have been imposed in several cases.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-30916816.html |title = Carlow man jailed for 'atrocious levels of animal cruelty' loses sentence appeal|date = 10 April 2019}}</ref>

====Portugal====
Since 1 October 2014, violence against animals has been a crime in [[Portugal]]. Legislation published in the ''[[Diário da República]]'' on 29 August criminalizes the mistreatment of animals and indicates that "those who, without reasonable cause, inflict pain, suffering, or any other hardship to a companion animal abuse" are to be subject to imprisonment of up to one year.<ref name=Portugal/> If such acts result in the "death of the animal", the "deprivation of an important organ or member", or "serious and permanent impairment of its capacity of locomotion", those responsible will be punished by imprisonment up to two years.<ref name=Portugal/>

As for pets, the new law provides that "whoever, having the duty to store, monitor or pet watch, abandons them, thereby putting in danger their food and the provision of care owed" faces up to six months imprisonment.<ref name=Portugal>{{cite web|url=http://boasnoticias.pt/noticias_Animais-Lei-que-criminaliza-maus-tratos-entra-em-vigor_21060.html|title=Boas Notícias – Animais: Lei que criminaliza maus-tratos entra em vigor|author=The Agency|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141003061452/http://boasnoticias.pt/noticias_Animais-Lei-que-criminaliza-maus-tratos-entra-em-vigor_21060.html|archive-date=3 October 2014}}</ref>

====Sweden====
In Sweden cruelty to animals is punishable by a financial penalty and prison for up to two years. The owner will lose the right to own animals and the animals will be removed from the owner.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lagen.nu/1962:700#K16P13|title=Brottsbalk (1962:700)|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412202941/https://lagen.nu/1962:700#K16P13|archive-date=12 April 2015}}</ref>

====Switzerland====
The [[Switzerland|Swiss]] animal protection laws are among the strictest in the world, comprehensively regulating the treatment of animals including the size of rabbit cages, and the amount of exercise that must be provided to dogs.<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703915204575103520836794314?KEYWORDS=Goetschel%27 Scales of Justice: In Zurich, Even Fish Have a Lawyer] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522040751/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703915204575103520836794314.html?KEYWORDS=Goetschel%27 |date=22 May 2013 }}, Deborah Ball. [[The Wall Street Journal]]. 6 March 2010</ref>

In the [[canton of Zurich]] an animal lawyer, [[Antoine Goetschel]], is employed by the canton government to represent the interests of animals in animal cruelty cases.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/mar/05/lawyer-who-defends-animals The lawyer who defends animals] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422214520/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/mar/05/lawyer-who-defends-animals |date=22 April 2016 }}, Leo Hickman. [[The Guardian]]. 5 March 2010</ref>

====Turkey====
Under [[Turkey]]'s Animal Protection Law No. 5199, cruelty to animals is considered a criminal offense, punishable by up to four years in prison.<ref name="mevzuat">{{cite web |url=https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=5199&MevzuatTur=1&MevzuatTertip=5 |title=Hayvanları Koruma Kanunu |language=tr |access-date=11 August 2021}}</ref> In July 2021, Turkey banned the opening of circuses which use animals, and dolphinariums.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkish-parliament-approves-animal-rights-bill/2298867 |title=Turkish parliament approves animal rights bill |agency=Anadolu Agency |date=9 July 2021 |access-date=11 August 2021}}</ref> Existing facilities will cease operations in ten years.<ref name="mevzuat"/> [[HAYTAP]], the Animal Rights Federation in Turkey, used to believe that the previous law did not contain a strong enough punishment for animal abusers.<ref>[http://www.haytap.org/index.php/201104293234/english-content/haytap-animal-rights-federation-in-turkey?catid=0 "HAYTAP: Animal Rights Federation in Turkey"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525110920/http://www.haytap.org/index.php/201104293234/english-content/haytap-animal-rights-federation-in-turkey?catid=0|date=25 May 2013}}, HAYTAP, accessed 7 December 2012</ref> In 2024, a cruelty to animals case caused widespread outrage in social media in Turkey. Eros, a cat kept in a housing complex in Küçükçekmece, Istanbul, was tortured to death by İbrahim Keloğlan on January 1 in the early morning. The moments when Keloğlan tortured Eros to death were recorded by the security cameras of the site. Keloğlan was released with a good behavior discount at the first hearing of the case held on February 8 at the Küçükçekmece 16th Criminal Court of First Instance. A campaign was launched on social media against Keloğlan, who was given a good behavior discount, saying “Let İbrahim Keloğlan be arrested”.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-15 |title=The villain tortured the poor cat to death in front of the camera |url=https://www.needsomefun.net/the-villain-tortured-the-poor-cat-to-death-in-front-of-the-camera/ |access-date=2024-02-15 |website=NSF News and Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

====United Kingdom====
{{Main|Animal welfare in the United Kingdom}}

In the [[United Kingdom]], cruelty to animals is a criminal offense for which one may be jailed for up to 6 months.<ref>[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006/pdf/ukpga_20060045_en.pdf Animal Welfare Act 2006. Chapter 45] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091207202218/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006/pdf/ukpga_20060045_en.pdf |date=7 December 2009 }}. (PDF). opsi.gov.uk. Retrieved on 14 December 2011.</ref>

On 18 August 1911, the House of Commons introduced the [[Protection of Animals Act 1911]] (c.27) following lobbying by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ([[RSPCA]]). The maximum punishment was six months of "hard labor" with a fine of 25 pounds.<ref>The Times, Monday, 1 January 1912; p. 3; Issue 39783; col F "The Animals' New Magna Charter"</ref>

In the [[Metropolitan Police Act 1839]] "fighting or baiting Lions, Bears, Badgers, Cocks, Dogs, or other Animals" was prohibited in London, with a penalty of up to one-month imprisonment, with possible hard labor, or up to five pounds. The law laid numerous restrictions on how, when, and where animals could be driven, wagons unloaded, etc. It also prohibited owners from letting mad dogs run loose and gave police the right to destroy any dog suspected of being rabid or any dog bitten by a suspected rabid dog. The same law prohibited the use of dogs for drawing carts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.animalrightshistory.org/animal-rights-law/victorian-legislation/1839-uk-act-london-police.htm |title=London Police Act 1839, Great Britain Parliament. Section XXXI, XXXIV, XXXV, XLII |access-date=23 January 2011  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424093224/http://www.animalrightshistory.org/animal-rights-law/victorian-legislation/1839-uk-act-london-police.htm |archive-date=24 April 2011 }}</ref>

Up until then, dogs were used for delivering milk, bread, fish, meat, fruit, vegetables, animal food (the cat's-meat man), and other items for sale and for collecting refuse (the [[rag-and-bone man]]).<ref>/{{cite book|author=Graham Robb|title=The discovery of France: a historical geography from the Revolution to the First World War|url=https://archive.org/details/discoveryoffranc00robb|url-access=registration|access-date=15 December 2011|year=2007|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-0-393-05973-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/discoveryoffranc00robb/page/167 167]–|archive-date=2 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802165241/https://archive.org/details/discoveryoffranc00robb|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2008/10/dog-carts-and-extinction-of-memory.html Dog Carts and the Extinction of Memory] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708065615/http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2008/10/dog-carts-and-extinction-of-memory.html |date=8 July 2011 }}. 15 October 2008</ref> As Nigel Rothfels notes the prohibition against dogs pulling carts in or near London caused most of the dogs to be killed by their owners<ref name=Rep>{{citation |title=Representing Animals |last=Rothfels |first=Nigel |year=2002 |page=12 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-34154-9}}. Chapter: 'A Left-handed Blow: Writing the History of Animals' by Erica Fudge</ref> as they went from being contributors to the family income to unaffordable expenses. Cart dogs were replaced by people with handcarts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.igg.org.uk/gansg/00-app1/rthdbike.htm|title=igg.org.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731080224/http://www.igg.org.uk/gansg/00-app1/rthdbike.htm|archive-date=31 July 2010}}</ref> About 150,000 dogs were killed or abandoned. Erica Fudge quotes [[Hilda Kean]]:<ref name=Rep/> {{blockquote |text=At the heart of nineteenth-century animal welfare campaigns is the middle-class desire not to be able to see cruelty.|sign=Hilda Kean |source=''Animal Rights'', 1998<ref name=Kean>[http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?mode=synopsis&bookkey=164753 ''Animal Rights'' by Hilda Kean], 1998, University of Chicago Press. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101111212814/http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?mode=synopsis&bookkey=164753 |date=11 November 2010 }}</ref>}}
The Protection of Animals Act 1911<ref name=PoA1911>[http://www.animallaw.info/nonus/statutes/stukuk1911c27.htm Protection of Animals Act 1911] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110213054257/http://www.animallaw.info/nonus/statutes/stukuk1911c27.htm |date=13 February 2011 }}. Animallaw.info (18 August 1911). Retrieved on 14 December 2011.</ref> extended the ban on draft dogs to the rest of the kingdom. As many as 600,000 dogs were killed or abandoned.

The Protection of Animals Act 1911 has since been largely superseded by the [[Animal Welfare Act 2006]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4339406.stm |title=Pet abuse law shake-up unveiled |date=14 October 2005 |newspaper=[[BBC News Online]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402150844/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4339406.stm |archive-date=2 April 2015 }}</ref> which also superseded and consolidated more than 20 other pieces of legislation, including the [[Protection of Animals Act 1934]] and the [[Abandonment of Animals Act 1960]]. The Act introduced a new welfare offense, which means that animal owners have a positive duty of care, and outlaws neglect to provide for their animals' basic needs, such as access to adequate nutrition and veterinary care.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/animals/overview/latest.shtml |title=BBC – Ethics – Animal Ethics: Animal Welfare Act |publisher=BBC |access-date=24 April 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523053144/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/animals/overview/latest.shtml |archive-date=23 May 2010 }}</ref>

Under the [[Criminal Damage Act 1971]], domestic animals can be classed as property that is capable of being "damaged or destroyed". A charge of criminal damage may be appropriate for the injury or death of an animal owned by someone other than the defendant, and prosecution under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 may also be appropriate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catsaway.org/cats-and-the-law.html |title=Cats And The Law – Cats Away |access-date=13 January 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213074601/http://catsaway.org/cats-and-the-law.html |archive-date=13 February 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/d_to_g/offences_involving_domestic_and_captive_animals/ |title=Offences involving Domestic and Captive Animals |publisher=The Crown Prosecution Service |access-date=13 January 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024234218/http://cps.gov.uk/legal/d_to_g/offences_involving_domestic_and_captive_animals/ |archive-date=24 October 2017 }}</ref>

===Oceania===
====Australia====
In Australia, all states and territories have enacted legislation governing animal welfare. The legislation is:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kb.rspca.org.au/what-is-the-australian-legislation-governing-animal-welfare_264.html|title=What is the Australian legislation governing animal welfare?|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025194057/http://kb.rspca.org.au/what-is-the-australian-legislation-governing-animal-welfare_264.html|archive-date=25 October 2014}}</ref>
*Animal Welfare Act 1992 (ACT)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/a/1992-45/default.asp|title=ACT legislation register – Animal Welfare Act 1992 – main page|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129234322/http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/a/1992-45/default.asp|archive-date=29 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/act/consol_act/awa1992128/|title=ANIMAL WELFARE ACT 1992|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125095621/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/act/consol_act/awa1992128/|archive-date=25 January 2016}}</ref>
*Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 (NSW)<ref name="Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 (NSW)">{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/maintop/view/inforce/act+200+1979+cd+0+N|title=NSW Legislation|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127191647/http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/maintop/view/inforce/act+200+1979+cd+0+N|archive-date=27 January 2016}}</ref><ref name="Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 (NSW) at Austlii">{{cite web|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/poctaa1979360/|title=PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ACT 1979|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125085815/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/poctaa1979360/|archive-date=25 January 2016}}</ref>
*Animal Welfare Act (NT)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://notes.nt.gov.au/dcm/legislat/legislat.nsf/d989974724db65b1482561cf0017cbd2/6883ea013062c5fd69257d0800261e5f?OpenDocument|title=ANIMAL WELFARE ACT}}{{Dead link|date=August 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nt/consol_act/awa128/|title=ANIMAL WELFARE ACT|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314035256/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nt/consol_act/awa128/|archive-date=14 March 2016}}</ref>
*Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 (Qld)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/current/act-2001-064|format=PDF|title=Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 (Qld)|website=legislation.qld.gov.au|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131080913/https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/current/act-2001-064|archive-date=31 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/acapa2001229/|title=ANIMAL CARE AND PROTECTION ACT 2001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125094600/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/acapa2001229/|archive-date=25 January 2016}}</ref>
*Animal Welfare Act 1985 (SA)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/ANIMAL%20WELFARE%20ACT%201985.aspx|title=South Australian Legislation|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131015931/https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/ANIMAL%20WELFARE%20ACT%201985.aspx|archive-date=31 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/consol_act/awa1985128/|title=ANIMAL WELFARE ACT 1985|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125090545/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/consol_act/awa1985128/|archive-date=25 January 2016}}</ref>
*Animal Welfare Act 1993 (Tas)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelaw.tas.gov.au/tocview/index.w3p;cond=;doc_id=63%2B%2B1993%2BAT%40EN%2B20160124210000;histon=;prompt=;rec=;term=|title=Legislation View Page|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160210003625/http://www.thelaw.tas.gov.au/tocview/index.w3p;cond=;doc_id=63%2B%2B1993%2BAT%40EN%2B20160124210000;histon=;prompt=;rec=;term=|archive-date=10 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/tas/consol_act/awa1993128/|title=ANIMAL WELFARE ACT 1993|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125091030/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/tas/consol_act/awa1993128/|archive-date=25 January 2016}}</ref>
*Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (Vic)<ref name=
"Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (Vic)">{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/LTObject_Store/LTObjSt6.nsf/DDE300B846EED9C7CA257616000A3571/6337C32351FF7731CA25796E007C36F5/$FILE/86-46aa081%20authorised.pdf|title=Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (Vic)|website=legislation.vic.gov.au}}</ref><ref name="Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (Vic) at Austlii">{{cite web|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/poctaa1986360/|title=PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ACT 1986|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125090042/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/poctaa1986360/|archive-date=25 January 2016}}</ref>
*Animal Welfare Act 2002 (WA)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/main_mrtitle_50_homepage.html|title=Western Australian Legislation|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130214624/http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/main_mrtitle_50_homepage.html|archive-date=30 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/wa/consol_act/awa2002128/|title=ANIMAL WELFARE ACT 2002|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125092348/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/wa/consol_act/awa2002128/|archive-date=25 January 2016}}</ref>

Welfare laws have been criticized as not adequately protecting animals.<ref>Graeme McEwen. [http://www.animalsaustralia.org/media/opinion.php?op=47 The fox is in charge of the chickens] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212210736/http://www.animalsaustralia.org/media/opinion.php?op=47 |date=12 December 2007 }} Animals Australia. Retrieved 4 July 2008.</ref> Whilst police maintain an overall jurisdiction in the prosecution of criminal matters, in many states officers of the [[Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Australia|RSPCA]] and other animal welfare charities are accorded authority to investigate and prosecute animal cruelty offenses.

====New Zealand====
{{Further|Animal welfare in New Zealand}}
The [[Animal Welfare Act 1999]] protects animals from maltreatment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1999/0142/latest/DLM49664.html|title=Animal Welfare Act 1999|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126003147/http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1999/0142/latest/DLM49664.html|archive-date=26 January 2016}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Bear-baiting]]
* [[Cat burning]]
* [[Crimes against nature]]
* [[Crush fetish]]
* [[Moral development]]
* [[RSPCA]]
* [[Goat throwing]]
* [[Pain in animals]]
* [[Poaching]]
* [[Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals]]
* [[List of animal welfare organizations]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading==
* [[Arnold Arluke]]. ''Brute Force: Animal Police and the Challenge of Cruelty'', Purdue University Press (15 August 2004), hardcover, 175 pages, {{ISBN|1-55753-350-4}}. An [[ethnography|ethnographic]] study of [[humane law enforcement officer]]s.
* Fiber-Ostrow, Pamela, Lovell, Jarret S. "Behind a veil of secrecy: animal abuse, factory farms, and Ag-Gag legislation." ''Contemporary Justice Review'' (2016) 19(2), 230 – 249.
* Lea, Suzanne Goodney (2007). ''Delinquency and Animal Cruelty: Myths and Realities about Social Pathology'', hardcover, 168 pages, {{ISBN|978-1-59332-197-0}}. Lea challenges the argument made by animal rights activists that animal cruelty enacted during childhood is a precursor to human-directed violence.
*{{cite book  |editor-last1=McArthur|editor-first1=Jo-Anne |editor-link1=Jo-Anne McArthur|editor-last2=Wilson|editor-first2=Keith|date=2020 |title=Hidden: Animals in the Anthropocene|url=https://weanimalsmedia.org/our-work/hidden/|location= |publisher=[[Lantern Books]]|isbn=978-1590566381}}
* Munro H. ''The battered pet'' (1999) In F. Ascione & P. Arkow (Eds.) Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, and Animal Abuse. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 199–208. {{ISBN|1-55753-143-9}}
* Tichelar, Michael. "Royalty and Opposition to Blood Sports in Twentieth‐Century Britain: From Imperial Spoils to Wildlife Conservation?." ''History'' 103.357 (2018): 588–609.
* Mance, Henry (2021). ''[[How to Love Animals|How to love animals : in a human-shaped world]]'' (First North American edition&nbsp;ed.). New York. {{ISBN|978-1-9848-7965-3}}. {{OCLC|1226175333}}
* {{cite news |last=Singer |first=Peter|author-link=Peter Singer|date=May 16, 2023 |title=Think humans' treatment of animals has improved in 50 years? Think again|url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-05-16/animal-cruelty-factory-farming|work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |location= |access-date=}}

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