Animals and Crime at the American Society of Criminology 2005 - 2018
With a few exceptions among green and critical criminologists, criminology has not focused on violence against non-human animals. While there are several notable publications, and a few conference presentations each year, the theoretical foundation is limited and the boundaries of criminological study regarding animals are poorly defined.
In preparation for the 2017 Annual Meetings of the American Society of Criminology, the final programs for ASC conferences from 2005 through 2017 were searched for key terms related to animals, food, and farms. Environmental crime is also included, primarily related to advocacy on behalf of animals and the environment.
The same terms were searched in the 2018 program and results were added to the list. The number of animal-related papers has increased in each of the last two years, arguably with increased focus. Wildlife crime is an emerging issue, with panels in each of the last two years. We also see a recurring search for a theoretical home, most often focused on "green" criminology, with some (declining?) connections to rural criminology.
Papers appear on many unrelated panels, such as this one, with just a few thematic panels.
An annotated Excel file listing the number of presentations, categorized by key themes, and saved for the web, can be viewed here.
Search terms: animal, farm, food