Abstract
What makes an animal a companion animal and close friend rather than a nuisance or a danger? Human preferences, and national and regional laws regarding companion animals, are based on many principles, ranging from perceived trainability to cuteness, and this chapter presents evidence for a deeply arbitrary and changing cultural foundation for such categories. Perceptions of companion animals as helpers and friends, and “nuisance” animals as dangerous enemies, are seldom based on scientific fact. This chapter surveys characteristics of different animals and explores background reasons used by a motley crew of different cultures, including Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA, in an attempt to explain why different peoples focus on specific, and surprising, features to qualify creatures as “exotic,” “friendly,” “dangerous,” or “illegal.”
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
American Veterinary Medical Association. (2012). U.S. pet ownership and demographics sourcebook. Schaumburg, IL: American Veterinary Medical Association.
ASPCA (n.d.). ASPCA policy and position statements: Species suitable to be companion animals. Retrieved June 10, 2016 from http://www.aspca.org/about-us/aspca-policy-and-position-statements/species-suitable-be-companion-animals.
Bernke v. Stepp. (1947). 184 P.2d 615.
Bourke, A., Rendall, J., & Adamson, G. (2010). A lion called Christian. New York: Broadway Books.
Domestic Animals. (n.d.) West’s encyclopedia of American law, edition 2. (2008). Retrieved September 19, 2015, from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Domestic+animals
King James Bible. (2013). New York: Christian Art Publishers.
Kirkpatrick, N. (2015, July 10). How a dead raccoon got a sidewalk memorial and a hashtag. Washington Post, Morning Mix.
New Zealand Companion Animal Council. (2011). Companion animals in New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Companion Animal Council.
Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association. (2014). Pet population 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2015, from http://www.pfma.org.uk/pet-population-2014/
Pets in Israel. (n.d.). HebrewPedia. (2008). Retrieved September 5, 2015, from http://www.hebrewlessonsonline.com/pedia/hppetsinisrael.html
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. (2014). RSPCA policies on animal welfare. Horsham, England: RSPCA.
RSPCA Australia. (2013). RSPCA Australia knowledge database: Companion animals. Retrieved September 5, 2015, from http://kb.rspca.org.au/How-many-pets-are-there-in-Australia_58.html
Spradlin et al. v. Williams et al. (1999, July 13). Vol. 98 CV 790.
Statista. (2015). Number of freshwater fish in the United States from 2000 to 2015/2016 (in millions). Retrieved September 19, 2015, from http://www.statista.com/statistics/198104/freshwater-fish-in-the-united-states-since-2000/
Tiley, M. (Director), & Hawkins, C. (Producer). (2011). Fatal attractions: Pet Hyena [Television series episode]. In C. Hawkins (Producer), Fatal attractions. London: Oxford Scientific Films.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Waller, S. (2016). Companion Animals and Nuisance Species: Adventures in the Exotic, the Wild, the Illegal, and Cross-Cultural Comfort Zones. In: Pręgowski, M. (eds) Companion Animals in Everyday Life. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59572-0_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59572-0_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-59571-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-59572-0
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)