A Member of the Family: A Practical Ideal Type for Including Companion Animals in Protective Orders

Date

2011-10

Authors

Taylor, Loi N.

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Abstract

Research Purpose: The purpose of this research is threefold using the 13 states that passed legislation to include companion animals in protective orders between 2006 and 2009. The first purpose is to establish a practical ideal type for the automatic inclusion of companion animals in protective orders in cases of domestic violence using the International Institute for Animal Law's The Domestic Abuse Animal Protection Act and incorporating certain mandates for practitioners and public employees. The second is to gauge how closely states have modeled their laws to the practical ideal type. The final purpose is to showcase one state whose statute best fits the practical ideal type. This research treats instances of animal abuse as part of the domestic violence umbrella. Methodology: The applied research paper utilizes content analysis to gauge how closely the language contained in the statutes of the 13 states studied fits the model legislation. Because the actual statutes serve as the resource for analysis, the index scoring is dichotomous. Results: Based on the analysis, each of the 13 states that include companion animals in domestic violence protective orders follow the outline of The Domestic Animal Abuse Act.

Description

An Applied Research Project Submitted to the Department of Political Science, Texas State University-San Marcos, in Partial Fulfillment for the Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Public Administration, Fall 2011.

Keywords

domestic violence, animal abuse, family law, cross-reporting, Public Administration

Citation

Taylor, L. N. (2011). A member of the family: A practical ideal type for including companion animals in protective orders. Masters of Public Administration, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX.

Rights

Rights Holder

Rights License

Rights URI