Cats and the law: evolving protection for cats and owners

Nurse, Angus ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2486-4973 and Ryland, Diane (2014) Cats and the law: evolving protection for cats and owners. Journal of Animal Welfare Law . pp. 1-6. [Article]

Preview

PDF - Published version (with publisher's formatting) Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

This article examines the practical impact of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 on companion animal owners and their companions.

It argues that the true significance of the Act is in creating a 21st Century conception of animal welfare based on the needs of animals. Arguably this amounts to a form of rights given that the Act requires owners to consider the needs of individual animals representing a departure from previous legislation which was largely negative in scope i.e. specifying prohibited actions towards animals.

Instead, the Animal Welfare Act 2006 imposes a positive obligation to provide animal welfare, signalling an end to 'standard' approaches to animal welfare and instead requiring responsible, informed human-animal domestic relationships.

Actions (login required)

View Item