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The following article begins with my recollection of the only academic conference on Zdziechowski that was organised still under the communist regime in the autumn of 1984 at the Jagiellonian University and ends with a description of the discussion on the genesis and power of evil, with the participation of Czesław Miłosz and Leszek Kołakowski, which was triggered in Poland immediately after the publication of the last edition of On Cruelty in 1993. On Cruelty was first published in 1928 in the journal Przegla̧d Współczesny [Contemporary Review] in Krakow, a second time in 1938 in the volume of articles In the Face of the End, Krakow 1938, and a third – and so far last – time also in Krakow in 1993. On Cruelty, published three times but so far only in Polish, has never been thoroughly analysed or even discussed, which is why this article focuses on discussing it and related questions about the origins and nature of evil, mainly in Europe and Asia, from the earliest times to the present. Zdziechowski was particularly outraged when the cruelty he condemned was justified by religion, especially Christianity (Catholic and Protestant). From these condemnations, he described the activities of the Inquisition, the witch trials, cruelty to animals, and – in the introduction – the “psychology of cruelty.” At the same time, however, he meticulously listed the names of those political and spiritual leaders in Europe and Asia, theologians and thinkers, who, over many centuries, up to the present day, have resolutely spoken out against evil, including cruelty, within and outside the Church. A separate and important issue is Zdziechowski’s attitude to Tsarist Russia and Bolshevism, as outlined in his work On Cruelty. On the one hand, he pointed out that at least two rulers of Russia before 1917 – Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great – had made major contributions to the history of cruelty in Europe and Asia. But Bolshevism, which Zdziechowski condemned in the strongest terms, was in his eyes not a continuation of pre-1917 Russian despotism, but emanated from the depths of Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the relationship between cruelty to animals, aggression, and empathy in primary school children. The relationship between pet ownership, love for animals in the family, and engaging in cruelty to animals was also investigated. The sample consisted of 1,248 students (633 girls, 615 boys) between the ages of 8 and 11 years (M = 9.59, SD = 0.63) and 41 classroom teachers living in Istanbul, Turkey. Students completed the Turkish version of the Children and Animals Inventory (CAI-TR) and the Empathy Index for Children and Adolescents (ES), and their classroom teachers completed the Teacher Assessment of Social Behavior (TASB). Results indicated that cruelty to animals was significantly correlated with aggression (r = 0.41, p < 0.01) and empathy (r = –0.35, p < 0.01). Children whose parents did not like animals were more cruel to animals (p < 0.001), and those who did not own a pet also exhibited higher levels of animal cruelty (p < 0.05). Regression analysis showed that gender, owning a pet, love for animals in the family, aggression, and empathy accounted for 25% of the total variance (R2 = 0.253) in cruelty to animals. Limitations and directions for further research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a comparative analysis of the legal content of animal protection legislation in the Slovak Republic with that of Italian legislation. Firstly, we compare the legal systems in the Slovak Republic and Italy with respect to the animal protection laws, especially criminal law in both countries. This comparison of the two different legislations allows detection of identical or different characteristics in the area of animal protection, which could be used later as an inspiration for lawmakers in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes media and judicial reaction to the first publicly acknowledged case of animal hoarding in Sweden--a 60-year-old Swedish woman who purportedly "rescued" 150 swans over several years by bringing many back to her one-room apartment. Reports in the press and social media reflected curiosity if not admiration for this woman, who was dubbed the "Swan Lady." Although some condemned her deeds and saw her as guilty of animal cruelty, most commentators were more fascinated by her ability to capture the aggressive and large birds, and bring them to her home. While judicial reaction framed this case as one of animal cruelty, the response was sympathetic and people failed to consider the Swan Lady's mental health when examining her behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article interrogates the concept of the ‘civilizing process’ by examining cultural change through a micro-study of the policing of cock-fighting and prize-fighting, two phenomena of popular culture, which moved from being tolerated to being prohibited in the nineteenth century. It uses as its empirical base the criminal justice system of Cumbria to examine how this cultural change was negotiated, and shows how ordinary policemen were key to the process. Cock-fighting and prize-fighting were contests that attracted crowds of men who bet heavily on the outcome. However, in Cumbria there were important differences of attitude towards these two activities and their management by the police and courts varied. Prize-fighting was dealt with swiftly and effectively, whereas opinions were divided on cock-fighting and the practice continued well into the twentieth century. Local cultures rather than middle-class opinion at the county or national level, determined whether these activities would survive, for regional traditions and practices shaped the effectiveness of the response to prohibited blood sports. It was at the local level where the elimination or toleration of plebeian sports was negotiated, and in this the police and courts were crucial as agents of social change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Critics of the animal rights movement often point out that a perfectly vegetarian world would result in a drastic reduction of the number of farm animals. This article is the first to systematically analysis the merits of this objection. The article provides several alternative ways of naming the objection, including "the animal elimination problem," "the carnivore's claim," and "the chicken and the bathwater dilemma." It also compares the animal elimination problem to the goal of humane societies to spay and neuter companion animals. The ways in which the animal welfare movement avoids this problem by substituting compassion for rights is also explored. A potentially fatal flaw of the "animal elimination" objection is the difficulty of talking about future or theoretical entities. Can animals not yet born have rights? Moreover, does it make sense to say that animals born into suffering might wish to never have been born? Several hypothetical scenarios are developed to address these questions. The author argues that the animal elimination problem does stall on the puzzle of assigning interests to hypothetical animals, yet there is a moral intuition about our relationship to the future that is worth considering. On secular grounds, there are no strong reasons to claim that we have duties to animals not yet existing, but Christian theology complicates the picture. The article ends with an exploration of the commands in Genesis to both humans and nonhuman animals to procreate and fill the world. The author concludes that Christians do have a duty to bring future animals into existence if they can do so within moral limits prescribed by the Genesis narrative itself. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is a rich literature within the Jewish tradition, both from biblical exegesis and Talmudic and Midrashic commentary, of concern for animals. In particular, there are injunctions against cruelty that are reflected, for example, in the traditions of kashrut, of humane slaughtering. But the important message is that tradition maintains that caring for animals is a necessary precursor to caring for humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood cruelty to animals is a symptom of conduct disorder that has been linked to the perpetration of violence in later life. Research has identified several factors associated with its etiology, including social factors. However, no cross-cultural studies on this phenomenon have been reported. This study investigated childhood cruelty to animals in Japan, Australia and Malaysia. Parents of 1,358 children between the ages of 5 and 13 years completed the Children’s Attitudes and Behaviours towards Animals questionnaire (CABTA) which assesses Typical and Malicious Cruelty to animals. Analyses revealed no overall differences between children from these countries on either scale. However, younger boys were more likely to be cruel than younger girls in each country, and younger children in Australia and Japan were more likely to be cruel that older children in those countries. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research, and recommendations for future studies are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Western research, cruelty to animals in childhood has been associated with comorbid conduct problems and with interpersonal violence in later life. However, there is little understanding of the etiology of cruelty to animals, and what in the child's life may require attention if the chain linking animal cruelty and later violence is to be broken. The study reported in this paper investigated the association between parent-reported cruelty to animals, and parent- and self-reported psychological strengths and weaknesses in a sample of 379 elementary school children in an Eastern context, Malaysia. No gender differences were found in relation to cruelty to animals or psychological problems, as assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). However, there were different predictors of cruelty to animals for boys and girls. Regression analyses found that for boys, parent-reported hyperactivity was a unique predictor of Malicious and Total Cruelty to animals. For girls, self-reported conduct problems was a unique predictor of Typical Cruelty to animals. Parent-reported total difficulties were associated with Typical, Malicious, and Total Cruelty to animals. We suggest that routine screening of children with an instrument such as the SDQ may help to detect those children who may need to undergo further assessment and perhaps intervention to break the chain linking childhood cruelty to animals and later conduct problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cruelty to animals may be a particularly pernicious aspect of problematic child development. Progress in understanding the development of the problem is limited due to the complex nature of cruelty as a construct, and limitations with current assessment measures. The Children and Animals Inventory (CAI) was developed as a brief self- and parent-report measure of F. R. Ascione's (1993) 9 parameters of cruelty. The CAI emerged as a reliable, stable, and readily utilized measure of cruelty using parent and child reports. Children (especially the older children) reported higher rates of cruelty than their parents and boys reported more cruelty than girls. Self- and parent-reports showed good convergence with independent observations of cruelty versus nurturance during free interactions with domestic animals. The results indicate that cruelty to animals can be reliably measured using brief child and parent report measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: There is a paucity of research regarding children who are cruel to animals (CTA). Previous studies have suggested that being CTA is linked with recurrent aggression in adulthood. In this report, children with persistent conduct problems who are CTA are examined. Method: A clinic-referred sample of 141 children and a community sample of 36 children between the ages of 5–12 were assessed using a test battery of questionnaires for parents, teachers and the child on mental health symptoms, self-perception, demographics and psychosocial factors. Forty of the clinic-referred children and one of the community group were rated by their parents as sometimes or definitely cruel to animals. The CTA, non-CTA and community samples were compared. Results: The CTA group had more conduct symptoms compared with the non-CTA group. However, the older CTA group unexpectedly reported a higher self-esteem compared with the non-CTA group. There was no significant difference between the two clinic-referred groups in gender, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and internalising symptoms, and psychosocial factors. Conclusion: Being CTA is possibly a marker of a subgroup of conduct disorder which has a poor prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anecdotal reports of cruelty to pet animals in families where partner battering occurs are common but there exist few empirical data on this issue. Determining the forms and prevalence of such cruelty is important since abuse of pets may be a method batterers use to control their partners, may be related to batterers' lethality, and may result in children in such families being exposed to multiple forms of violence, a significant risk for mental health problems. Thirty-eight women seeking shelter at a safe house for battered partners voluntarily completed surveys about pet ownership and violence to pets. Of the women reporting current or past pet ownership, 71% reported that their partner had threatened and/or actually hurt or killed one or more of their pets. Actual (as distinct from threatened) harm to pets represented the majority (57%) of reports. Fifty-eight percent of the full sample of women had children and 32% of these women reported that one or more of their children had hurt or killed pet animals; in 71% of these cases, the women had also reported animal abuse (threatened or actual) by their partner. This study represents one of the first empirical analyses of the prevalence of animal maltreatment in a sample of battered women. The high prevalence rate of batterers' threatened or actual harm of animals and the relatively high rate of animal abuse reported for the children in this sample are relevant for future research and policy analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]