Sax, Boria

Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, Volume 22, Number 4, December 2009

This article looks at familiars in a context of folklore. Possible precedents for familiars include shamanic animal helpers, mascots of deities or saints, and local spirits, all of which are usually classified by folklorists as "grateful animals." Stories of witches and familiars are in the mainstream of European folklore, and their sole novelty lies in the fact that those figures were demonized.

Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 65, No. 3, 2009, pp. 615--632

Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 65, No. 3, 2009, pp. 451--461

Campbell, Brian C.

Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, Volume 22, Number 3, September 2009 , pp. 239-253(15)

Abstract:

Agricultural scientists now acknowledge the wisdom and practicality behind traditional (agro)ecological knowledge (TEK). Integration of TEK into contemporary organic agricultural systems is complicated, however, by the fact that agronomists, social scientists, and extension agents began systematically eradicating traditional practices decades ago in the name of modernization.

 Faure, Eric; Kitchener, Andrew C.

Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, Volume 22, Number 3, September 2009 , pp. 221-238(18)

Abstract:

A review of the archaeological and historical records reveals several lines of evidence that people have had close relationships with felids. Almost 40% of felid species have been tamed on all continents, excluding Europe and Oceania, but only one species was domesticated.

Morven G. McEachern

Lancaster University Management School, University of Lancaster, Lancaster, UK

Monika J.A. Schro¨der and Joyce Willock

Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh, UK

Jeryl Whitelock

University of Bradford, Bradford, UK

Roger Mason

University of Salford, Salford, UK

Abstract

Purpose - This paper aims to explore ethical purchasing behaviours and attitudes, relating to the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Wilson, D. A. H.

Anthrozoos. 2008. 21: 4, 317-337.

During 1921 and 1922, before the passage of the Performing Animals (Regulation) Act in 1925, a British parliamentary Select Committee undertook a detailed investigation into the degree to which animal performances in the circus and on the music-hall stage depended on cruelty. The investigation took place against a background of intense public interest that had been stimulated by the emergence of a new pressure group, the Performing Animals' Defence League. This paper examines the nature of political and press interests in the surrounding controversy and the detail of political involvement in a prolonged public dispute that suddenly arose after the war and was kept on the boil by fulminations in the national and trade press and on the floor of Parliament. As sides were taken, the motives, characteristics, and contributions of politicians and press are discussed, together with the debates contributing to the legislation and its aftermath.

Case, L.

Journal of Animal Science. 2008. 86: 11, 3245-3251.

  We are a nation of dog lovers. Never before in our history have we spent more time, money, and emotional energy on a group of animals that are kept solely for companionship. Pet food sales are a multi-billion dollar industry, and pet owners are spending more than 11 billion dollars each year on veterinary care. This devotion is further illustrated by the exponential growth of the pet supply industry, including increasing numbers of pet superstores, play-parks, training centers, and doggie day care centers. During the 1980s, recognition of the human-animal bond led to serious study of the roles that dogs play in our lives. These studies have shown that pets provide significant benefits to our emotional, physical, and social well being. It is ironic then, that at a time when we recognize and appreciate our bonds with animal companions, dark elements of this relationship are equally pervasive. Animal shelters in the United States kill between 3 and 4 million dogs and cats annually. Dog fighting, although outlawed, has reached epidemic proportions in some areas of the country. Episodes of animal cruelty and neglect are reported with alarming frequency in the media; so frequently that discussions of the connection between animal cruelty and human violence have become daily parlance. How then did we come to have such paradoxical perceptions and treatment of our canine companions? This question is explored through an examination of the ancestry of the dog and the prevailing myths and facts about domestication. Historical and present-day perceptions of the wolf and the impact that these attitudes may have upon perceptions of dogs are examined.

Riedel, J.; Schumann, K.; Kaminski, J.; Call, J.; Tomasello, M.; 

Animal Behaviour. 2008. 75: 3, 1003-1014.

Although dogs, Canis familiaris, are skilful at responding to human social cues, the role of ontogeny in the development of these abilities has not been systematically examined. We studied the ability of very young dog puppies to follow human communicative cues and successfully find hidden food. In the first experiment we compared 6-, 8-, 16- and 24-week-old puppies in their ability to use pointing gestures or a marker as a cue. The results showed that puppies, independent of age, could use all human communicative cues, provided; only their success at using the marker cue increased with age. In the second and third experiments we investigated the flexibility of the puppies' understanding by reducing the degree to which they could use local enhancement to solve these problems. Here, subjects could not simply approach the hand of the experimenter and follow its direction to the correct location because cups were placed next to the dog instead of next to the experimenter. Six-week-old puppies readily used all of the human communicative cues provided. These findings support the hypothesis that domestication played a critical role in shaping the ability of dogs to follow human-given cues.

Young, M. S., 1985,

Veterinary Clinics of North America - Small Animal Practice, v. 15, p. 297-309.

The process of domestication, which began 12,000 years ago, before the beginnings of agriculture, continues as humans and domestic animals coexist, interact, and profoundly influence the shape of each other's social spaces. Although its beginnings were simple, this process has become increasingly complex. Attention to relationships between humans and companion animals commonly focuses on dogs and cats; however, companion animals and pets take various shapes in numerous places with and have diverse, overlapping functions and specializations.