Gender Dimensions of Animal Abuse and Wildlife Crime

There are many gender dimensions in non-human animal abuse and wildlife crime, from the dominance of male offenders across non-human animal abuse and wildlife crime studies, to the sexual and sexualised offences against non-human animals. From the gender distribution and gendered roles in our responses to these offences, to the development of feminist and ecofeminist perspectives on the causes and solutions. Despite these intersections, there is a distinct knowledge gap in the gender and sexuality dimensions of non-human animal abuse. This paper provides a nuanced overview of the gender dimensions of non-human animal abuse offenders in three UK empirical studies on animal sexual assault, the use and abuse dangerous (status) dogs, and wildlife crimes. This research demonstrates that while males perpetrate the majority of offences, the role of female offenders demands closer attention in order to explain and respond effectively to all non-human animal abuse offences and environmental crimes more broadly.