The social, legal and public health aspects of animal protection

Recognizing animal abuse and assessing its extent is important, since animal abuse and maltreatment are the first steps to aggression against people. Judging an animal's wellbeing requires professional knowledge and practical experience. Due to media coverage, a wider audience has been affected by the concept of animal protection. My aim was to make assessment of animal abuse and the wellbeing of animals measurable for those too, who are non-professionals in this field. I have taken into consideration the philosophical, biological, veterinary and legal backgrounds of the issue; I have followed the development of professional literature about sensing pain, drawing a parallel between animal and human algesia as well as reacting to pain and finding a close connection between them. I have conducted in-depth interviews with people who are playing an active role in judging cases of animal abuse. My questions were related to their responsibilities in cases of animal abuse, as well as how the reporting of these cases could be made easier. My conclusions: it is essential to provide adequate training for civil animal rights activists; it is important to establish a National Foundation for the Prevention of Cruelty Against Animals. The sphere of authority of the police officers and the animal rights activists would be made clear, which would solve the conflicts between them. The number of unnecessary measures could be reduced by using a system, which may be realized by means of online reporting interfaces. It would be useful to fill in a checklist, which is beneficial in the judgement procedure, both from a financial point of view and regarding allocated time. I have made an online reporting interface, which could make procedure faster and could be lifesaving for the animals.