The Link: a topic at the heart of One Voice's concerns

For forty years, there has been a growing interest in what is now called "the Link", that is to say

Over the past two decades, more and more factual studies have been published on animal abuse and its links to violence against human beings, and this area of research is now recognized as a discipline in its own right. Sociologists, criminologists, social workers, psychologists and lawyers (2). In this field, animal abuse is commonly defined as:

Today, it is increasingly recognized that animal abuse is a potential indicator of aggressive or violent behaviour towards humans. A variety of initiatives are emerging around the world in favour of measures and procedures that take this knowledge into account in order to prevent the escalation of violence within families and society.

The National Link CoalitionThe National Link Coalition, headquartered in the United States, is a pioneer in promoting the Link. This coalition is led by a steering committee of US specialists in the prevention of all forms of domestic violence, whose mission is to promote policies and practices to improve the safety of people and animals.

In 2008, One Voice led the company in recognizing the relationship between animal abuse and violence against people by sponsoring an inaugural conference at Oxford University entitled "The Link Between Animal Abuse and violence against humans ". This conference was a start for the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics (OCAE), (3) whose president and co-founder, Andrew Linzey, is also vice president of One Voice. It brought together leaders in this field to analyse the Link and its profound implications in social and legal policy around the world and to set up an essential research agenda.

Papers presented at this conference by academics and specialists in crime and crime prevention, law enforcement, social action, animal welfare, child protection, education and compassion, veterinary services, spousal care and the elderly were the subject of a published book, the Link Between Animal Abuse and Human Violence (4). This book has been translated by One Voice (under the title Link: violence on animals and humans) to raise awareness of these issues in France (5).

The problem of the Link is particularly important for One Voice, which bases its action on an ethic of non-violence and works to promote the protection of animals as a societal value, based on the belief that all life must be respected. In 2008, as part of its mission to build a better, non-violent future for humans and animals,One Voice also launched the "I listen to my conscience" initiative (6).

53 %

French households have a pet

28 %

French households have a cat

25 %

French households have a dog

The Link question is very relevant in France, where 53% of households have at least one domestic animal. About 25% of households have a dog and 28% of households have a cat. France is even the country with the highest pet population in Europe with 7.5 million dogs, 11.5 million cats, 7 million birds, 2 million rodents and 27 million fish (7).

Sources
1 Phil Arkow, dans sa préface de l’ouvrage d’Eleonora Gullone Animal Cruelty, Antisocial Behaviour, and Aggression: More than a Link, The Palgrave MacMillan Animal Ethic Series, 2012.
2 Flynn, Clifton P., Understanding Animal Abuse: A Sociological Analysis, Lantern Books, 2012.
3 http://www.oxfordanimalethics....http://jecoutemaconscience.one...
4 The Link Between Animal Abuse and Human Violence, Sussex Academic Press (1er déc. 2009).
5 Andrew Linzey, Le Lien : Violences sur les animaux et les humains, One Voice, 2012.
6 http://jecoutemaconscience.one...