International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy

Pampered or enslaved? the moral dilemmas of pets

Leslie Irvine

This essay discusses whether the practice of keeping pets, defined as a class of animals existing for human purposes, is morally acceptable. Clouding the issue is the…

Animal sacrifice: a model of paternal exploitation

Brian Luke

The late Nancy Jay described a striking feature of animal sacrifice: in many different cultures it functions to establish paternity. This article develops a theoretical…

Disciplining animals: sentience, production, and critique

Anna Williams

This essay critiques the assertion that an appreciation of animal sentience necessarily runs counter to their exploitation as industrial resources. It is argued that the…

International progress and regress on animal rights

Bonnie Berry

This paper addresses the social forces, such as cultural traditions, economic structures, and legal systems, affecting animal (human and nonhuman) rights. Also considered…

Consuming the surplus: expanding “meat” consumption and animal oppression

Bill Winders, David Nibert

The number of animals raised and slaughtered for food in the U.S. has increased dramatically since 1945. We examine how two factors have been fundamental in this expansion…