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The Two Sides of the Non-Human-Animal Bond: Reflections on Using and Abusing Companion Animals

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Human/Animal Relationships in Transformation

Part of the book series: The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series ((PMAES))

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Abstract

This chapter concerns the complexity of interspecies relationships in contemporary world. These relationships are ever-changing, yet continuously prone to anthropocentric attitudes and practices, prompting a reflection on the ways people use and abuse (other) animals. The authors offer an outlook on these phenomena focusing on the human-animal bond, with particular interest in animal-assisted interventions and other contexts where animals serve people. This chapter points out that the bond and partnership often contrast with the grim reality of animals being subjected to human-first attitudes and human-centered policies. Such attitudes and policies may subsequently lead to abusive practices. In their typology of animal abuse, the authors point to its less discussed varieties, such as institutional abuse originating in either legislation or decision-making. This chapter calls for further exploration of what truly entails using and abusing members of other species.

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Acknowledgments

Karin Hediger received support from an Ambizione grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant PZ00P1_174082).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Administration and Social Sciences, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland

    Michał Piotr Pręgowski

  2. Faculty of Psychology, Open University, Heerlen, The Netherlands

    Karin Hediger & Marie-José Enders-Slegers

  3. Faculty of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

    Karin Hediger

Authors
  1. Michał Piotr Pręgowski
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  2. Karin Hediger
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  3. Marie-José Enders-Slegers
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Correspondence to Michał Piotr Pręgowski .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy

    Augusto Vitale

  2. Department of Philosophy, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy

    Simone Pollo

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Pręgowski, M.P., Hediger, K., Enders-Slegers, MJ. (2022). The Two Sides of the Non-Human-Animal Bond: Reflections on Using and Abusing Companion Animals. In: Vitale, A., Pollo, S. (eds) Human/Animal Relationships in Transformation. The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85277-1_10

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