虐待动物(animals, cruelty to)
指故意地或任性地对动物施加痛苦、折磨或使其致死，或者有意地或恶意地将动物弃置不顾。世界上第一项关於家养动物的反虐待法律或许已包括在1641年麻萨诸塞湾殖民地的法典中；1822年英国通过了类似的立法。世界上第一个动物福利协会，即保护动物协会，於1824年在英格兰成立，1866年成立美国预防虐待动物协会。在世界上大多数国家里，不同程度的虐待动物都是非法的，20世纪末叶，人们对濒临灭绝物种的关心进一步推动了反虐待运动。通过了许多法律反映了这种关心，尽管很少执行，除非有公众的压力。运动争取通过的法令从虐待饲养的动物到斗牛（bullfighting）和活体动物解剖（vivisection）。工厂化饲养则牵扯到各种明显残酷的例子，但多数现仍未受法律的监督。亦请参阅animal rights。
English version：
animals, cruelty to
Willful or wanton infliction of pain, suffering, or death upon an animal or the intentional or malicious neglect of an animal. Perhaps the world's first anticruelty law, which addressed the treatment of domesticated animals, was included in the legal code of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1641); similar legislation was passed in Britain in 1822. The world's first animal welfare society, the Society for the Protection of Animals, was established in England in 1824; the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was chartered in 1866. In varying degrees, cruelty to animals is illegal in most countries, and interest in endangered species gave further impetus to the anticruelty movement in the late 20th century. Reflecting such interest, many laws have been passed, though they are seldom enforced unless public pressure is brought to bear. Acts targeted by the movement have ranged from the mistreatment of domesticated animals to bullfighting and vivisection. Factory farming, which involves various evidently cruel practices, has remained largely exempt from legal scrutiny. See also animal rights.
