research papers for animal abuse

Extending Animal Cruelty Protections to Scientific Research

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INTRODUCTION

On November 25, 2019, the federal law H.R. 724 – the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (PACT) prohibiting the intentional harm of “living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians” was signed. [1] This law was a notable step in extending protections, rights, and respect to animals. While many similar state laws existed, the passing of a federal law signaled a new shift in public tone. PACT is a declaration of growing societal sentiments that uphold the necessity to shield our fellow creatures from undue harm. Protecting animals from the harm of citizens is undoubtedly important, but PACT does nothing to protect animals from state-sanctioned harm, particularly in the form of research, which causes death and cruelty. It is time to extend and expand protections for animals used in research.

There is a long history of animal experimentation in the US, but no meaningful ethical protections of animals emerged until the 20 th century. Proscription of human experimentation and dissection led to animals bearing the brunt of harm for scientific and medical progress. For instance, English physician William Harvey discovered the heart did not continuously produce blood but instead recirculated it; he made this discovery by dissecting and bleeding out living dogs without anesthesia. [2] Experiments like this were considered ethically tenable for hundreds of years. Philosophers like Immanuel Kant, Thomas Aquinas, and Rene Descartes held that humans have no primary moral obligations to animals and that one should be concerned about the treatment of an animal only because it could indicate how one would treat a human. [3] During the 20 th century, as agriculture became more industrialized and government funding for animal research increased, the social demand for ethical regulations finally began to shift. In 1966, the Animal Welfare Act (Public Law 89-544) marked the first American federal legislation to protect laboratory animals, setting standards for use of animals in research. [4]

There has been progress in the field of animal research ethics since Harvey’s experiments, but much work remains. In the US alone, there are an estimated 20 million mice, fish, birds, and invertebrates used for animal research each year that are not regulated by the Animal Welfare Act. [5] Instead, the “3Rs Alternatives” approach (“reduce, replace, and refine”) [6] is one framework used to guide ethical treatment of animals not covered by federal protections. Unfortunately, unpacking the meaning and details of this approach only leads to ambiguity and minimal actionable guidance. For instance, an experimenter could reduce the number of animals used in research but subsequently increase the number of experiments conducted on the remaining animals. Replace could be used in the context of replacing one species with another. Refining is creating “any decrease in the severity of inhumane procedures applied to those animals, which still have to be used.” [7] The vague “ any ” implies that even a negligible minimization would be ethically acceptable. [8] An experimenter could technically follow each of the “3Rs” with minimal to no reduction in harm to the animals. One must also consider whether it is coherent to refer to guidelines as ethical when they inevitably produce pain, suffering, and death as consequences of research participation.

Other ethical guides like Humane Endpoints for Laboratory Animals Used in Regulatory Testing [9] encourage researchers to euthanize animals that undergo intractable pain or distress. This is a fate that an estimated one million animals face yearly in the US. [10] However, to use the word “humane” in this context contradicts the traditional meaning and undermines the integrity of the word. Taking living creatures, forcing them to experience intractable pain and suffering for human benefit, and killing them is the antithesis of what it means to be humane. During one of my Animal Ethics classes as a graduate student, our cohort visited an animal research facility to help inform our opinions on animal research. We observed one of the euthanasia chambers for lab mice – an enclosed metal lab bench with a sign above describing methods for euthanasia if CO 2 asphyxiation were to fail. The methods included decapitation, removal of vital organs, opening of the chest cavity, incision of major blood vessels, and cervical dislocation. [11] Behind us were rows and rows of see-through shoebox-sized containers housing five mice in each little box. Thousands of mice were packed together in this room for the sole purpose of breeding. If the mice were not the correct “type” for research, then they were “humanely” euthanized. “Humane,” in this context, has been deprived of its true meaning.

One can acknowledge that animal research was historically necessary for scientific progress, but those that currently claim these practices are still required must show empirically and undoubtedly this is true. As of now, this is not a settled issue. In the scientific community, there is contention about whether current animal research is actually applicable to humans. [12] Many drug researchers even view animal testing as a tedious barrier to development as it may be wholly irrelevant to the drug or medical device being tested. Since 1962, the FDA has required preclinical testing in animals; it is time to question whether this is necessary or helpful for drug development.

The scientific community should stop viewing animal testing as an unavoidable evil in the search for medical and technological innovation. PACT should be amended and extended to all animals and the FDA should modify the requirement for preclinical animal testing of all drugs and medical devices. It is time to encourage the scientific community to find alternative research methods that do not sacrifice our fellow animals. We use animals as test subjects because, in some sense, they resemble humans. But, if they are indeed like humans, they should receive similar protections. Science builds a better world for humans, but perhaps it is time for science to be more inclusive and build a better world for all creatures.

[1] Theodore E. Deutch, “Text - H.R.724 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act,” legislation, November 25, 2019, 2019/2020, https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/724/text.

[2] Anita Guerrini, “Experiments, Causation, and the Uses of Vivisection in the First Half of the Seventeenth Century,” Journal of the History of Biology 46, no. 2 (2013): 227–54.

[3] Bernard E. Rollin, “The Regulation of Animal Research and the Emergence of Animal Ethics: A Conceptual History,” Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 27, no. 4 (September 28, 2006): 285–304, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11017-006-9007-8; Darian M Ibrahim, “A Return to Descartes: Property, Profit, and the Corporate Ownership of Animals,” LAW AND CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS 70 (n.d.): 28.

[4] Benjamin Adams and Jean Larson, “Legislative History of the Animal Welfare Act: Introduction | Animal Welfare Information Center| NAL | USDA,” accessed November 3, 2021, https://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/legislative-history-animal-welfare-act-introduction.

[5] National Research Council (US) and Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research, Patterns of Animal Use , Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research (National Academies Press (US), 1988), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK218261/.

[6] Robert C. Hubrecht and Elizabeth Carter, “The 3Rs and Humane Experimental Technique: Implementing Change,” Animals: An Open Access Journal from MDPI 9, no. 10 (September 30, 2019): 754, https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9100754.

[7] Hubrecht and Carter.

[8] Hubrecht and Carter.                           

[9] William S. Stokes, “Humane Endpoints for Laboratory Animals Used in Regulatory Testing,” ILAR Journal 43, no. Suppl_1 (January 1, 2002): S31–38, https://doi.org/10.1093/ilar.43.Suppl_1.S31.

[10] Stokes.

[11] “Euthanasia of Research Animals,” accessed April 21, 2022, https://services-web.research.uci.edu/compliance/animalcare-use/research-policies-and-guidance/euthanasia.html.

[12] Neal D. Barnard and Stephen R. Kaufman, “Animal Research Is Wasteful and Misleading,” Scientific American 276, no. 2 (1997): 80–82.

Chad Childers

MS Bioethics Candidate Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics

Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .

Animal Law Research

Primary sources: cases, statutes, regulations and treaties, secondary sources: books, articles, news, current awareness, research and advocacy, getting help, credit and cc license.

Animal Law is concerned with the rights and welfare of nonhuman animals, as well as the requirements, responsibilities and liabilities associated with keeping or interacting with them.  Under this umbrella are wild animals as well as animals used for food and research, in entertainment, and as companions, pets or service animals.  This guide contains some research recommendations, highlighting key primary sources, secondary sources and current awareness sources. 

Know that you may not find "animal law" as a discrete topic area in research databases.  Instead, you might look to elements of property law, contract law, tort law, criminal law, environmental law, and agriculture and food law.

"farm animals"  by  lboren2687

Federal legislation

These are among the most researched and cited of animal laws at the federal level:

• Animal Welfare Act (USDA)
• Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (USDA)
• Horse Protection Act (USDA)
• Twenty-Eight Hour Law (USDA)

Congressional Research Service (CRS) and U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports provide additional context on the federal legislation.

• CRS Reports relating to Animal Agriculture Congressional Research Service reports organized by the National Agricultural Law Center
• GAO Reports on the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act GAO 10-203: Actions are Needed to Strengthen Enforcement
• GAO Report on the Animal Welfare Act GAO 10-945: Oversight of Dealers of Random Source Dogs and Cats Would Benefit from Additional Management Information and Analysis (2010)

State legislation

• Massachusetts Law About Animals A compilation of MA laws, regulations, cases and web sources on animal law from the Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries.
• NCSL Environmental and Natural Resources State Bill Tracking Database National Conference of State Legislatures tracks environment and natural resource bills introduced in the 50 states, territories and Washington, DC. Search here for wildlife bills, including invasive wildlife species and pollinators.
• National AgLaw Center - State Animal Cruelty Statutes A compilation from the National Agricultural Law Center of the animal cruelty statutes across the 50 states.

Applicable U.S. Government Agencies

• USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
• FSIS (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service) Part of the USDA.
• Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
• US Dept of Health and Human Services: National Institutes of Health, Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare

Some Relevant International Agreements

• Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
• Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas (ASCOBANS)

Using Secondary Sources

Secondary sources are a great place to begin if you're new to animal law research, or to consult later in your research for legal interpretation and analysis. To learn more about different types of secondary sources and how best to use them, visit the following guide:

• Secondary Sources: ALRs, Encyclopedias, Law Reviews, Restatements, & Treatises by Catherine Biondo Last Updated Sep 12, 2023 3609 views this year

Selected Treatises and Other Texts

Tips on Finding Materials on Animal Law in Hollis

Try the following Library of Congress subject searches in the HOLLIS online catalog  to find additional materials. You can also substitute another country's name or region of the world (such as "Latin America")  where "United States" appears.

Animal welfare --  Law   and   legislation  --  United   States  -- Legal research. ; Animal rights --  United   States  -- Legal research. ; Animal industry --  Law   and   legislation  --  United   States  -- Legal research. ; Animal experimentation --  Law   and   legislation  --  United   States  -- Legal research. ; Laboratory  animals  --  Law   and   legislation  --  United   States  -- Legal research. ; Working  animals  --  Law   and   legislation  --  United   States  -- Legal research. ; Domestic  animals  --  Law   and   legislation  --  United   States  -- Legal research. ; Animals  in the performing arts --  Law   and   legislation  --  United   States  -- Legal research.

Legal blogs (or "blawgs") are a good way to tap into current conversation.  Here are links to two blog listings:

• Justia Blawg Search - Animal and Dog Law Blawgs
• ABA Journal Animal Law Blog Index

Research and Advocacy

• Harvard Law School - Animal Law & Policy Program Started in 2014, the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law & Policy Program at HLS is "Committed to analyzing and improving the treatment of animals through the legal system"
• Animal Law Resource Center A site for current information on animal law and advocacy maintained by the National Anti-Vivisection Society, with assistance from Chicago-area law students.

Contact Us!

  Ask Us!  Submit a question or search our knowledge base.

Chat with us!  Chat   with a librarian (HLS only)

Email: [email protected]

 Contact Historical & Special Collections at [email protected]

  Meet with Us   Schedule an online consult with a Librarian

Hours  Library Hours

Classes  View  Training Calendar  or  Request an Insta-Class

 Text  Ask a Librarian, 617-702-2728

 Call  Reference & Research Services, 617-495-4516

Thank you to Stephen Wiles and Terri Saint-Amour for their work on the initial version of this guide.

This guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License .

You may reproduce any part of it for noncommercial purposes as long as credit is included and it is shared in the same manner. 

• Last Updated: Sep 12, 2023 10:46 AM
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Animal Cruelty, Its Causes and Impacts Research Paper

Literature review, socio-cultural and environmental causes of animal cruelty, effects of animal cruelty with special focus on the ethical effects, solutions and recommendations to animal cruelty problems.

Research has proved that animal cruelty has been on the rise for the last two decades due to the increase of human population globally. The competition between animals and human beings for survival has influenced animal cruelty. In most cases, animals are trained through intimidation as they are severely beaten up like they don’t have feelings. A good example is presented in animals performing in circuses like the elephants that spend close to 23 hours every day in chains.

American scientists subject animals into dangerous complications while they use them to test new inventions especially in the medical arena. Like 25 million vertebrates in America are used to perform medical tests per year (Lockwood, 1998). Various researches indicate an increased rate in animal cruelty thus necessitating the need for viable measures to be taken accordingly by the relevant authorities.

In this paper I will discuss the different cause’s animal cruelty and their impacts on social, culture as well as environment. Animal cruelty is an ethical question as well as being of potential economic concern. This will be deliberated upon in this paper to determine how cruelty affects the economic growth and undermines ethical standards. In the body also I will be tackling and providing evidences concerning general causes of animal cruelty.

In the second part of the body, I will be more specific on the effects of animal cruelty in respect to ethics. I will base my argument on the number of unnecessary deaths in animal parks and reserves. I will show the dangers of neglecting animals including the most prevalent one where extinction can be a possible result.

Other general effects of animal cruelty will also feature in my discussion. The third part of my research involves solutions and recommendations to address the issues of animal cruelty. I will split my recommendations into social, cultural, environmental and ethical solutions to solve the issue. I will also offer legal solutions that can be used to deal with this issue.

Animal cruelty includes every aspect of human behaviors that have a negative impact on animals or threaten the life and wellbeing of an animal. This encompasses intentional and unintentional behaviors that affect the animals. Human activities most of the time undermine the harmonious existence of animals in so many aspects.

Animal cruelty can be described as physically causing harm to an animal or deprive an animal of the basics needs such as food, water, shelter the freedom to interact with other animals that is animal socialization and subjecting an animal to torture ( Ingrid, 1999). Other ways through which animal cruelty can take effect are when animals are denied veterinary care. Animal cruelty has been categorized as a form of disorder and unstable behavior seen in people who have been subjected to violence.

Some of the abuses animals are subjected to include dog fighting and cock fighting. Animals are subjected to painful identification marks which are put using extremely hot metals on the surface of their bodies. This is done without a pain relievers or anesthesia. Animal cruelty is seen especially while an animal is being taken to the slaughter house. If the animal is injure on the way or it becomes tired, they ear bitten up and moved unassisted due to the fact that they are headed to death.

Other abuses included breading animals for food consumption. A good example is that of broiler chicken that are raised to grow fat through genetic modifications. This is done not considering the effects it has on the birds and animals generally but with the selfish human ambition to impress buyers. Electric cattle prods have been in use for a long time now. This is an electric gadget that used to induce an electric shock on cattle to make them move.

This gadget transmits electric currents on the animal’s body and even though the voltage is very low to kill, it is enough to cause pain on the animal. Social causes of cruelty are the most reported forms of animal cruelty. People with mental disorders are mostly prone to mishandling animals though most of time unknowingly. This may include causing harm to the animal without really intending to do so.

For example, due to mental inability to weigh and reason out, a mentally challenged person may chain his or her pet dog with a very short chain. What the person does not understand is the fact that the dog needs to move freely around the compound. This kind of behavior is quit cruel and unfair to the pet.

Immaturity is another cause of cruelty where by children goes around throwing stones at animals on the way. Small boys are especially notorious with this behavior. Whenever a child sees a strolling dog or cat for that matter, the first thing that goes into their minds is to pick a stone and chase the animal away.

However there are other individuals who will intentionally cause harm for various reasons with the cruelest one being to derive satisfaction. The most vulnerable animals are the small domesticated animals which most of the times cannot defend themselves. Most of these offenders just enjoy the feeling of dominance hence they keep on harming the animals. With the current increase in population, there has been mounting pressure on land.

Humans are pushing away animals from their habitats due to lack or limited space for human existence. The human race is encroaching into land set out to host wild animals. The population of wild animals is also growing with their land growing smaller due to human encroachment.

This is also mounting pressure on the animal’s existence since they too are growing in numbers. In the process of encroachment, humans are destroying animals shelter and to some extent sources of food (Matas, 2008). This is cruelty and if allowed to go on it will pose a very negative effect to the existence and survival of wild animals. Domesticated animals as well are living in difficult conditions that do not favor their wellbeing at all costs.

Most of the domesticated animals include dogs, cats, chicken, cattle, goats and many others. These animals really require space to play and exercise in an open air. But instead, they are confined in small structured holding where they not even play or move around. This limits and infringes their rights as animals. Some extreme conditions are that the structures used to hold the animals are not well taken care of in terms of decency and cleanliness.

Most of them are unventilated dark places in the back yards where no living thing can confidently survive. In the event that an animal gets sick or feels unwell, medical attention is not easily accorded and sometimes the animal might even die out of an illness that could have been otherwise dealt with. However, animal credulity is not always intentional and in some instances, it happens due to economic factors that are beyond the owner’s ability to solve.

In a situation where an individual owns a pet but he or she cannot afford to provide the medical attention and nutrition needs of the dog, then cruelty may occur though it would be beyond the owner’s ability to address the issue. This is most likely to be seen in the third world countries where the people are not financially capable of financing some the required rights of an animal.

Veterinary services are normally very expensive and may be out of reach to many people in the third world countries. Poverty levels in these countries cannot allow an owner of a pet to even think about thee pets health needs as he or she has enough already to think about with regards to his or her financial needs that are even hard for him.

Animal cruelty has many adverse effects on both the environment and human existence. Focusing mostly on ethical effects, I will base my focus on the use of animals in general. My fundamental objection to the use of animals is influenced by the rampant genetic modification of animals to achieve scientific discoveries.

I specially target this practice considering the fact that the use of animals for such practices contravenes the whole idea of ethics in general not to mention professional and social ethics. Animals just like humans have interests and reasons to live. Compromising the lives of animals to satisfy human interests is just unethical and cruel in all angle of justification. I do not believe that human interests should be put above the interests of animals.

Causing animal’s pain is unacceptable and very cruel to even think about. Genetic modification has been the worst activity that has seen the suffering of animals at the expense of human interest. Genetic modification is unnatural way of altering the DNA formula in an individual living thing. With the widely accepted reasoning that justifies the DNA modification of animals to achieve solutions to human problems, there is one major setback; the results and long-term effects of the modification to the modified animal.

The harm that the modified animal will be exposed to is the main concern of ethics. Changing the genetic makeup of an animal goes as far as to replicate the alterations to its progeny and so on and so forth. This may even give rise to totally different species’ characteristics changing the whole identity of the animal. This might cause other accrued effects that may have global effects. Genetic engineering undermines the integrity of animals with the practice causing welfare problems in animals.

Techniques used to genetically modified animals are to greater extents harmful to the animals. This includes gene deletion which alters the general characteristics of an animal. Animal cruelty has many negative effects on human the animals themselves. Causing injury to animals can adversely affect the animal by increasing aggression (Pierce, 2007).

A dog for example that has been mistreated becomes more aggressive and unfriendly to people due to fear. This makes the animal very hostile and hence affecting its normal welfare.

By physically assaulting animals, several harms can occur; the animal may lose reproductive fitness if its reproductive parts are tampered with during the assault, the animal might develop digestive malfunctioning and nutrition disorders due to loss desire for food, physically assaulting an animal can also result into increased stress hormones in the animal as well as increased heart rate and consequently blood pressure goes up.

Although more than 42 states have in recent times prepared some systems to define animal abuse crimes, anti-cruelty laws are varying extensively from state to state. In the meantime, most public prosecutors are reluctant to charge or impeach animal cruelty offenses equated to other crimes, with the exception of situations where the crimes are extreme.

The unwillingness emanates from a range of aspects comprising of real or apparent inadequate means to do so; inexperienced staff; partial or substandard investigations; pressure from the public to pay attention on other crimes; and prejudice against taking animal exploitation seriously as a violent crime.

Social education on how to treat and handle animals with care should be incorporated in schools and strict measures should be taken to ensure that students uphold them. The authorities should provide the public with toll free numbers for reporting cases of animal cruelty. Most of the time people can see offenders carry out a crime but people do not know what cause of action they can take in regards to reporting the felony.

Sometimes an offender is mistreating his or her own pet but no one can ask them to stop. This can be averted if the relevant authorities can offer help by providing the public with ways and means through which the public can reach them with ease. The public can be more alert and vigilant to watch around the neighborhood for such law offenders. Animal cruelty in most circumstances happens because nobody is watching around and stopping offender.

It is evident even on the streets you can see children throwing stone on a dog and no body passing by can stop them of caution them let alone calling the relevant authorities. Some of the abuses animals are subjected to include dog fighting and cock fighting. Animals are subjected to painful identification marks which are put using extremely hot metals on the surface of their bodies (Weisner & Sheard1993).

This is done without a pain relievers or anesthesia. Animal cruelty is seen especially while an animal is being taken to the slaughter house. If the animal is injure on the way or it becomes tired, they ear bitten up and moved unassisted due to the fact that they are headed to death. Other abuses included breading animals for food consumption. A good example is that of broiler chicken that are raised to grow fat through genetic modifications.

This is done not considering the effects it has on the birds and animals generally but with the selfish human ambition to impress buyers. Electric cattle prods have been in use for a long time now. This is an electric gadget that used to induce an electric shock on cattle to make them move (Weisner & Sheard1993). This gadget transmits electric currents on the animal’s body and even though the voltage is very low to kill, it is enough to cause pain on the animal.

Social causes of cruelty are the most reported forms of animal cruelty. People with mental disorders are mostly prone to mishandling animals though most of time unknowingly. This may include causing harm to the animal without really intending to do so. For example, due to mental inability to weigh and reason out, a mentally challenged person may chain his or her pet dog with a very short chain. What the person does not understand is the fact that the dog needs to move freely around the compound (Reimer, 2007).

This kind of behavior is quit cruel and unfair to the pet. Immaturity is another cause of cruelty where by children go around throwing stones at animals on the way. Small boys are especially notorious with this behavior. Whenever a child sees a strolling dog or cat for that matter, the first thing that goes into their minds is to pick a stone and chase the animal away. However there are other individuals who will intentionally cause harm for various reasons with the cruelest one being to derive satisfaction.

The most vulnerable animals are the small domesticated animals which most of the times cannot defend themselves. Most of these offenders just enjoy the feeling of dominance hence they keep on harming the animals. With the current increase in population, there has been mounting pressure on land. Humans are pushing away animals from their habitats due to lack or limited space for human existence. The human race is encroaching into land set out to host wild animals.

The population of wild animals is also growing with their land growing smaller due to human encroachment. This is also mounting pressure on the animal’s existence since they too are growing in numbers. In the process of encroachment, humans are destroying animals shelter and to some extent sources of food. This is cruelty and if allowed to go on it will pose a very negative effect to the existence and survival of wild animals.

Domesticated animals as well are living in difficult conditions that do not favor their wellbeing at all costs. Most of the domesticated animals include dogs, cats, chicken, cattle, goats and many others. These animals really require space to play and exercise in an open air. But instead, they are confined in small structured holding where they not even play or move around.

This limits and infringes their rights as animals. Some extreme conditions are that the structures used to hold the animals are not well taken care of in terms of decency and cleanliness (Gruen, 2011). Most of them are unventilated dark places in the back yards where no living thing can confidently survive. In the event that an animal gets sick or feels unwell, medical attention is not easily accorded and sometimes the animal might even die out of an illness that could have been otherwise dealt with.

However, animal credulity is not always intentional and in some instances, it happens due to economic factors that are beyond the owner’s ability to solve. In a situation where an individual owns a pet but he or she cannot afford to provide the medical attention and nutrition needs of the dog, then cruelty may occur though it would be beyond the owner’s ability to address the issue. This is most likely to be seen in the third world countries where the people are not financially capable of financing some the required rights of an animal.

Considering the numerous scientific studies, it is imperative to note that emotional harm actually hurts more than the physical harm does and this is true also to animals as well. Animal cruelty has many adverse effects on both the environment and human existence. Focusing mostly on ethical effects, I will base my focus on the use of animals in general.

My fundamental objection to the use of animals is influenced by the rampant genetic modification of animals to achieve scientific discoveries. I specially target this practice considering the fact that the use of animals for such practices contravenes the whole idea of ethics in general not to mention professional and social ethics. Animals just like humans have interests and reasons to live. Compromising the lives of animals to satisfy human interests is just unethical and cruel in all angle of justification.

I do not believe that human interests should be put above the interests of animals. Causing animal’s pain is unacceptable and very cruel to even think about. Genetic modification has been the worst activity that has seen the suffering of animals at the expense of human interest. Genetic modification is unnatural way of altering the DNA formula in an individual living thing.

With the widely accepted reasoning that justifies the DNA modification of animals to achieve solutions to human problems, there is one major setback; the results and long-term effects of the modification to the modified animal. The harm that the modified animal will be exposed to is the main concern of ethics.

Changing the genetic makeup of an animal goes as far as to replicate the alterations to its progeny and so on and so forth. This may even give rise to totally different species’ characteristics changing the whole identity of the animal.

Social education on how to treat and handle animals with care should be incorporated in schools and strict measures should be taken to ensure that students uphold them.

Gruen, L. (2011). Ethics and animals: an introduction. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Ingrid, N. (1999). You can save the animals: 251 ways to stop thoughtless cruelty /Ingrid newkirk. Rocklin, CA: Prima publishing.

Lockwood, R. (1998). Cruelty to animals and interpersonal violence: readings in Research and application / edited by Randall Lockwood and frank R. ascione. West Lafayette, Ind: Purdue University Press.

Matas, R. (2008). Man found guilty of microwaving a cat . New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Pierce, J. (2012). Emotional Pain in Animals: An Invisible World of Hurt . Recognizing the psychological effects of animal abuse. Psychology today. Web.

Reimer, K. (2007). Cruelty. Cruelty to animals. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Weisner, B.P., & Sheard, N.M. (1993) maternal behavior in the rat . Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd.

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Title: realm: reference resolution as language modeling.

Abstract: Reference resolution is an important problem, one that is essential to understand and successfully handle context of different kinds. This context includes both previous turns and context that pertains to non-conversational entities, such as entities on the user's screen or those running in the background. While LLMs have been shown to be extremely powerful for a variety of tasks, their use in reference resolution, particularly for non-conversational entities, remains underutilized. This paper demonstrates how LLMs can be used to create an extremely effective system to resolve references of various types, by showing how reference resolution can be converted into a language modeling problem, despite involving forms of entities like those on screen that are not traditionally conducive to being reduced to a text-only modality. We demonstrate large improvements over an existing system with similar functionality across different types of references, with our smallest model obtaining absolute gains of over 5% for on-screen references. We also benchmark against GPT-3.5 and GPT-4, with our smallest model achieving performance comparable to that of GPT-4, and our larger models substantially outperforming it.

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• Acad Forensic Pathol
• v.7(3); 2017 Sep

Eternally Vulnerable: The Pathology of Abuse in Domestic Animals

Beverly mcewen.

University of Guelph -Animal Health Laboratory

Animals are amongst the most vulnerable of all sentient beings. Animal neglect and abuse may involve a single animal and one person, or hundreds of animals and many people. Animals and people are victims of the same types of fatal injury and severe neglect; however, the anatomy and physiology of different animal species and even breeds of animals are a unique challenge for veterinary pathologists. Identifying and describing external lesions of blunt force trauma and projectile wounds requires that the entire skin be reflected from the animal because fur and feathers partially or totally mask the injuries. Because quadrupeds or birds may react differently to the same traumatic force applied to bipedal humans, extrapolating from medical forensic pathology must be done with caution. Animal abuse, however, does not occur in a vacuum. An established link exists between animal abuse, interpersonal violence, and other serious crimes. Using examples, this paper describes specific injuries in abused and neglected animals in the context of domestic violence, interpersonal violence, mental illness, and drug addiction. Medical examiners should be aware that animal abuse affects not only the animal, but individuals, families, and society as a whole.

Introduction

No species of animal is immune to cruelty; however, it is domesticated animals and those in captivity that are wholly dependent upon humans for survival. Companion animals living in our homes and livestock providing people with their livelihood must live their entire lives in the social structure and conditions imposed upon them by humans. Like children, they require someone to feed, house, and care for them. Unlike children, they will never have a voice or gain independence.

A common definition of animal abuse in the literature is “socially unacceptable behavior that intentionally causes unnecessary pain, suffering, or distress to and/or the death of an animal” ( 1 ). Each jurisdiction, though, may have different laws on what constitutes animal abuse and what species or classes of animals are included in that definition ( 2 – 4 ). Regardless of the definition, animals are subjected to the same types of physical abuse, sexual abuse, cruelty, and neglect as people ( 5 – 15 ). Unlike people, they are also bred and trained to fight to the death in blood sports, and racing animals may be doped with illicit substances or other compounds that are perceived to give them a competitive edge ( 16 , 17 ). Hundreds of animals may be kept in crowded, unsanitary, and hazardous conditions by hoarders, in puppy mills, or purported animal rescue facilities ( 18 – 20 ). Animals are victims of ritualistic killings and are tortured in sadomasochistic videos ( 2 , 11 , 21 ). They may be abandoned without food, water, or shelter or suffer from repetitive abuse. Even if rescued, they may be euthanized due to the severity of their injuries, advanced disease, or behavior acquired due to abuse.

Animal abuse does not occur in a vacuum: “When animals are abused, people are at risk and when people are abused, animals are at risk” ( 6 ). The link between animal abuse and concurrent or predicted interpersonal violence is established and animal abusers come from all socioeconomic, gender, race, and age groups ( 22 , 23 ).

Threatened or actual cruelty to a pet is used to psychologically control a partner in domestic violence situations. Battered women describing the occurrence of violence to their pets reported that 87% of these incidents occurred in their presence and 75% occurred in the presence of their children ( 24 ). As children, 63% of aggressive criminals deliberately inflicted harm on animals ( 24 ) and 43% of school shooters have abused animals ( 23 ). Narcotics or guns were seized in 35% of search warrants executed for investigations of animal abuse or dog fighting in Chicago ( 25 ).

Indicators of animal abuse are remarkably similar to those of child abuse ( 21 , 26 – , 31 ). Aside from injuries, multiple factors raise the suspicion of nonaccidental injury (NAI) in animals. These include the behavior of the client, other family member, or animal; a history that is vague or discordant with the clinical signs; comments from family members; history of usually young pets (<2 years) that disappeared or died; and an apparent lack of concern of the animal's injuries or a delay in seeking treatment ( 29 , 30 , 32 – , 35 ).

In a forensic context, animals may be victims, evidence, or perpetrators of a crime ( 18 , 36 , 37 ). The object of this paper is to inform medical examiners of some of the lesions of animal abuse and neglect and the conditions in which they arise. Beyond the individual animal, medical examiners should be aware that an abused or neglected animal at a death or crime scene may be just the tip of the iceberg. As stated by Allie Phillips of the National District Attorneys Association: When someone harms an animal, the important question to ask is, “Who will be next?” ( 22 ).

Blunt Force Injury

Blunt force trauma is the most frequent form of physical abuse identified by veterinarians and veterinary pathologists ( 12 , 30 , 38 ). Kicking, punching, throwing, or stomping an animal results in abrasions, fractures, external and internal contusions, and lacerations. Blunt force trauma can be mild, moderate, or severe, a single occurrence or repetitive incidents. Depending upon the tissue affected and the energy imparted by the force, injuries may resolve, repair, or may kill the animal ( 7 ). Because contusions and abrasions in animals are frequently hidden by hair, fur, or feathers, the animals should be shaved ( Images 1 and ​ and2 2 ) and the entire skin reflected and removed from the body in order to identify these lesions in the subcutis and underlying muscles ( 7 , 18 ).

The fur or hair coat of an animal often prevents identification of traumatic lesions.

The same dog as in Image 1. Multiple contusions and abrasions are visible after the hair was shaved. The perpetrator confessed to beating the dog during grooming.

A 5.2 kg, small breed dog was admitted to a veterinary clinic with a history of lethargy and a vague, uncertain history of injury after a large potted plant fell on her. The veterinarian identified abrasions and contusions on the medial skin of all limbs and ventral mandible, contusions and puncture wounds in the oral cavity, and unilateral hyphema. The dog was treated with intravenous fluids, antibiotics, and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. Other significant lesions were not evident upon physical examination, radiographs, or an abdominal ultrasound. The following week, she was admitted to an emergency clinic with ulcers on her paw, vulva, and anus. Histology from a biopsy of the paw suggested chemical, electrical, or thermal burns and no evidence of a vasculitis, which the veterinarian had suspected. About three weeks after the initial clinical signs, the owner received a phone call from her boyfriend saying that the dog had suddenly become very ill; it died within an hour of the call. The dog was submitted for a postmortem examination because a second dog in the house had similar lesions and the veterinarian wanted to rule out infectious diseases or poisoning.

Postmortem examination and histologic findings included linear pattern contusions on the right lateral abdomen, lacerations, contusions, and puncture wounds in the oral cavity ( Image 3 ) . A deep excavating ulcer was on the right metatarsal paw pad ( Image 4 ) . There was bilateral hyphema with retinal detachment, serous uveitis, and a diffuse bilateral subdural hematoma ( Image 5 ) . Fourteen ribs were fractured: ten were acute fractures and there were five 5-8 mm calluses. The parietal pleura was lacerated by acutely fractured ribs and there was mild hemothorax and multifocal random pulmonary contusions. Perirenal hemorrhages and hepatic capsular hemorrhages and lacerations were also present. Acute fibrinous-hemorrhagic myodegeneration and fibrosis were in skeletal muscles. Full thickness coagulative necrosis of the dermis with adjacent keratinocyte nuclear elongation and hyperchromasia in histological sections from the paw were suggestive of thermal or electrical injury. All other lesions were consistent with repetitive blunt force trauma.

Edema, contusions, lacerations, and a cruciform puncture wound in the oral cavity of a dog. The puncture wound is due to a tooth penetrating the upper lip.

The same dog as in Image 3. A deep excavating ulcer on the large metatarsal pad of the hind limb.

The same dog as in Images 3 and 4. Brain with dura partially reflected. Cerebral cortices were covered by a thick, diffuse, subdural hematoma due to blunt force trauma.

Following an investigation by animal control officers and the domestic violence unit of local police, the boyfriend was charged with animal cruelty. He had moved in with the owner shortly before the onset of the dog's clinical signs. According to the owner, he began to play roughly with the dogs, often pinning them down or pitting them against each other. Yet, neither the veterinarians nor the owner had considered the possibility of animal abuse, demonstrating that in some situations animal abuse is not suspected as a cause of death ( 30 , 39 ). Although he never admitted to abusing the dogs, the accused was found guilty of killing one dog and abusing another. The judge also determined that the owner was also a victim in this case: the victim impact statement described a change in the way she viewed the world, depression, guilt, and fear.

Sharp Force Injuries and Projectile Wounds

The appearance of sharp force and projectile injuries in animals may be modified due to fur, hair, or feathers, but are mostly similar to those described in people ( 9 , 13 ). Sharp force injuries are not as common as blunt force injuries, but may occur concurrently with other types of physical trauma. Distinguishing entrance and exit projectile wounds and documenting the characteristics of sharp force injuries requires that the animal be shaved. Wounds may be single or multiple, concentrated in an anatomic region, or present throughout the body.

A 5 kg small breed dog, found alive at a death scene two days after the initial investigation, was weak and taken to a veterinarian for examination. It was euthanized due to severe trauma to the neck and was submitted for postmortem as potential evidence in the crime. The dog had extensive, severe incised and stab wounds of the neck, and the coat was matted with dried blood ( Images 6 and ​ and7 7 ) . Suppurative exudate was at the edges of the injuries. The intersecting, incised, gaping wounds were up to 11 cm long, 4-6 cm wide, and up to 7.3 cm deep, resulting in circumferential transection of the neck muscles. The trachea was exposed and a 5 mm horizontal stab wound was between the cartilaginous tracheal rings. The transected right jugular and left maxillary veins were retracted and histologically were occluded by nascent fibrino-cellular thrombi. The lungs were congested, edematous, and with multifocal, generalized, random petechiae and ecchymoses.

Multiple incision and stab wounds in the neck of a dog. The coat is matted with dried blood.

The same dog as in Image 6. A gaping sharp force injury in the ventral neck of this dog exposed the trachea. The ventral neck muscles, right jugular vein, and left maxillary vein were transected.

The accused had a history of mental illness and was found guilty of second-degree murder of the dog's owner. The victim was stabbed multiple times. Although evidence from the dog's postmortem was not requested for the trial, this case illustrates that animals may be injured or killed during crimes against people and are potential sources of evidence.

Strangulation

Species differences in the anatomic blood supply to the brain affect the physiological and behavioral responses to strangulation. The numerous intracranial and extracranial vascular anastomoses in dogs and cats makes them far less susceptible to cerebral ischemia than people [reviewed by Boghossian ( 40 ) and McEwen ( 14 )]. The internal carotid artery is vestigial in cats and small in dogs: the maxillary and vertebral arteries contribute significantly to the cerebral arterial supply and consciousness is maintained for longer periods than in people during strangulation ( 14 ).

A dead, 7.8 kg dog with a thick, plush coat ( Image 8 ) found at crime scene had mild blood stains and irregular, stiff tufts of hair on the head, neck, and back. The teeth were blood stained. A distinct band of compressed fur, 1.5 cm wide, was revealed around the neck after the hair was shaved ( Image 9 ) . When the skin was reflected, the congested and edematous subcutaneous tissue of the head and neck cranial to the band was distinct from the tissues immediately caudal to the band ( Image 10 ) . A focal contusion was in the right masseter muscle. There was extensive hemorrhage in the oral cavity, the tongue was absent, and the larynx was transected cranial to the epiglottis. The trachea was occluded by a fenestrated sheet of pharyngeal tissue. The caudal pharynx and medial mandibular tissues were excised with irregular, jagged margins. The lungs were congested, edematous, and emphysematous, with multifocal acute hemorrhage and the left bronchus was partially occluded with unclotted blood. Histologically, the lungs contained small fragments of skeletal muscle that were also in the stomach contents. Hemorrhage, edema, and rare aggregates of fibrin were in histological sections from the larynx and oral cavity.

Slight blood staining of the coat and clumping of the hair in tufts over the head, neck, and thorax compared to the hind limbs and pelvic region. The small dark specimen in the photograph beneath the dog's chin is a section of desiccated tongue that was submitted with the animal.

The same dog as in Image 8. After shaving the hair, a ligature mark of compressed hair became evident on the ventrolateral neck. The fenestrated submandibular muscle is due to sharp force injury.

The same dog as in Images 8 and 9. The skin must be reflected to see traumatic injuries in animals. This dog was strangled and the congested, edematous tissues cranial to the ligature are sharply contrasted with the tissues caudal to the ligature.

The accused had impaired intellect, psychological problems since birth, and a lengthy criminal record related to severe drug addiction. He admitted to consuming over $1000 of crystal methamphetamine and to strangling the dog while he cut out its tongue because he thought the dog was the Devil with a serpent's tongue. He was convicted of animal abuse.

Sexual Abuse

Terminology of animal-related sexual abuse is confusing as it often refers to the perpetrators motive rather than the effect on the animal: zoophilia, paraphilia, sexual sadism, and bestiality are some of the terms used ( 11 , 41 , 42 ). From a veterinary perspective, it is referred to as animal sexual abuse, emphasizing anogenital injury to the animal, rather than the motivation of the perpetrator ( 11 , 33 ). In one study, 6% of 448 cases of NAI were due to sexual abuse ( 33 ). Sexual abuse is reported in companion animals (e.g., dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits), livestock (e.g., horses, cattle, sheep, goats, llamas), and poultry (chickens) ( 11 , 43 ) but it is unlikely this is a complete list. Penetration of the anogenital region often results in perforation of the reproductive tract or rectum with subsequent fatal hemorrhage or severe peritonitis ( 11 , 33 , 44 ). Frequently, restraint of the animal causes additional blunt force injury. A perpetrator may also be seriously injured while sexually abusing animals ( 41 ).

A semiconscious, juvenile, 1.6 kg cat with an avulsion of the upper lip, fractured incisor, oral contusions, and cutaneous abrasions was euthanized due to a poor prognosis and the proposed cost of the required treatment. There was also a history of young cats disappearing from the household. At postmortem examination, acute, multifocal, subcutaneous, intramuscular, meningeal, bilateral orbital, and peripharyngeal hemorrhages were present. One coxofemoral joint was subluxated, both femoral ligaments were lacerated, and blood clots were in both joints. Histologically, the distal colon was perforated. Perirectal plant fragments and bacterial colonies were surrounded by fibrin and numerous neutrophils. Small fragments of black perirectal debris were in the perirectal tissue ( Image 11 ) . The left pectineus muscle was focally fibrotic.

Histological section of anorectal junction from a cat. The black pigment adjacent to the perirectal skeletal muscle is from a permanent marker that was inserted into and perforated the rectum (H&E, x20).

Blunt force injuries in this animal were due to attempted restraint of the cat while a black permanent marker was inserted into the rectum. The marker perforated the rectum, resulting in peritonitis and deposition of the black pigment in the perirectal tissue. The myofibrosis indicated previous trauma.

The police were alerted to this case by the mother of the perpetrator, a juvenile male. The child subsequently received psychological counseling.

Neglect of animals is failure to provide animals with the necessary food, water, shelter, and veterinary care ( 15 , 18 , 32 ). Cases of neglect can affect one, several, or even hundreds of animals. The large scale occurrences are usually associated with hoarders, puppy mills ( 2 ), and animal sanctuaries or rescue facilities ( 45 ). Puppies are produced for profit in puppy mills in over-crowded, poor environments. Hoarding is a distinct, recognized mental health disorder ( 46 ) included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition ( 47 ). Cats, dogs, reptiles, birds, exotic animals, and farm animals are hoarded, although this is not likely an exclusive list. Hoarders, overwhelmed by the number of animals, fail to provide them with basic veterinary care, food, and a clean, safe environment; they fail to recognize physical signs of disease and starvation in the animals; and fail to recognize their unsanitary living environment ( 45 ).

Animals submitted for postmortem in cases of suspected neglect either died or were euthanized due to their extremely poor body condition. Emaciation is not a difficult diagnosis; however, determining the reason for the emaciated state of the animal requires a thorough postmortem examination and complete investigation by law enforcement. Poor body condition (thin or emaciated), matted or dirty hair coat, overgrown nails/claws/hooves, dental disease, parasitism, and embedded collars/halters may occur alone or in any combination in animals neglected due to poor physical care ( 18 , 21 , 48 , 49 ). A matted hair coat and traumatic injuries were the distinguishing features identified in dogs emaciated due to starvation compared to those with intercurrent endogenous diseases ( 50 ). The general physical condition of the animal is documented, noting the condition of the hair and nails, muscle mass, adipose tissue, and teeth and oral cavity and if intercurrent disease is present that could account for emaciation. Matted hair must be shaved to examine the animal externally and may be weighed to determine the relative proportion to the animals weight ( 21 ). Constricting rings of matted hair may result in ischemic necrosis and infection of distal limbs. Tight collars or halters may be embedded to the extent they are partially overgrown with skin ( 18 , 51 ).

Internally, loss of muscle mass; serous atrophy of pericardial, perirenal, subcutaneous, and bone marrow fat ( Image 12 ) ; and atrophy of the liver, thyroid gland, testes, and follicules are characteristic in emaciated animals ( 21 , 50 , 52 , 53 ). Frequently, the stomach contains foreign objects, indicating that the animal was capable and willing to eat.

Sagittal section of porcine femur with serous atrophy of fat in a case of neglect.

An aged, 301 kg gelding (neutered male horse), estimated to be 20-25 years old, was euthanized due to poor body condition. Ribs, vertebrae, and the pelvis were prominent. The hooves were severely overgrown ( Image 13 ) , there were multiple decubitus ulcers on pressure points, and the coat was thin with multifocal areas of alopecia. Laminitis (separation and rotation of the third phalanx within the hoof wall) was present in both forefeet. Uneven molar and premolar teeth with sharp points on the medial and lateral surfaces were associated with multiple ulcers of the adjacent buccal mucosa and tongue. The stomach contained a small amount of grass and hay and intestinal contents were scant. The liver was atrophic. Muscle mass was markedly decreased, subcutaneous and internal adipose tissue was absent, and there was serous atrophy of the femoral bone marrow fat.

Horse, lateral recumbency. The hooves are severely overgrown and distorted in this animal. Multiple cutaneous ulcers are on the skin of the right fetlock joint.

This horse has many features of neglect including emaciation with serous atrophy of fat, decubitus ulcers, dental attrition, hepatic atrophy, gastric, and oral ulcers. In many herbivores, teeth continue to grow during life and may overgrow, or wear unevenly, resulting in sharp edges (points) that lacerate the adjacent buccal mucosa and tongue. This causes difficulty with prehension and mastication of food. Hooves require regular trimming to avoid overgrowth or splitting. The pathologist was informed that the owner was found guilty of animal cruelty but was not provided with details of the investigation or sentencing.

A 17.8 kg, mature, medium sized dog was seized and euthanized due to emaciation, severe dehydration, and severe dental disease. Ribs, lumbar vertebrae, pelvic bones, scapulae, and femurs were prominent due to severe muscle atrophy ( Image 14 ) . Long nails, moderate dental calculi, and unevenly worn teeth were identified. Muscle mass and adipose tissue were depleted and there was serous atrophy of femoral bone marrow fat. Bilateral periarticular fibrosis of the coxofemoral joint and eburnation of the articular cartilage was present. An adult Dirofilaria immitis (heartworm) was in the right atrium. The stomach contained 2.5 kg of recently ingested kibble and feces were positive for Toxocara canis ova. There was no additional evidence of severe intercurrent disease. The dog's owner was found guilty of animal cruelty.

Emaciated dog with prominent ribs, pelvis, vertebrae, and femur. There was no evidence of intercurrent disease that would cause emaciation in this animal.

Blood Sports

Fighting dogs and gamecocks are pitted against their conspecifics in violent fights, sometimes lasting hours until one of the animals is dead or refuses to fight. Drug trafficking, racketeering, money laundering, illegal gambling, and firearms are associated with animal fighting ( 18 , 54 ). Blood sports are viewed as social events, and children may be bystanders, raising issues of child welfare ( 55 ).

There are three types of fighting dog owners: the professional, the hobbyist, and the street fighter. Each has its own culture, level of organization, preferred locations, and differs in the amount of time, money, and effort put into breeding and training fighting animals ( 18 , 54 ).

The prototypic fighting dog is the American pit bull terrier, which is a type of dog rather than a specific breed ( 18 ). They are bred to be highly aggressive to other dogs and submissive to people because human-related aggression is not tolerated by professional dog fighters ( 56 ). Phenotypically, pit bull fighting dogs are highly muscled, moderately sized dogs that weigh between 20 and 40 kg ( 18 ). Rigorous training and conditioning begins at an early age. Dogs are tethered with thick collars attached to heavy chains to develop muscular strength. Treadmill running and training dogs to jump, grab, and hold an object with its teeth while suspended are common training methods. Stolen or stray dogs, cats, or other animals restrained or placed in a confined area with a fighting dog are used as live bait for practice ( 54 ). Fighting dogs are often given illegal performance enhancing drugs such as methamphetamines, cocaine, and anabolic steroids ( 54 ). Many dogs also have signs of neglect, parasitism, and vector-borne diseases ( 18 , 57 ). Street fighters have “status” or “weapon” pit bull type dogs crossed with other breeds ( 55 , 58 ) and use these dogs for fighting and personal protection, promoting human-directed aggression. Some have referred to these animals as “loaded guns” ( 54 ).

Fighting dogs have characteristic bite wounds and scars concentrated on the front legs, head, and muzzle ( 59 ). The number, severity, and presence of wounds of different ages distinguishes wounds in fighting dogs from the bite wound patterns and injuries in spontaneous fights between dogs of similar size ( 18 ). Small dogs attacked by large dogs usually have bite wounds on the head and often over the thorax, abdomen, back, and legs. Because the fighting dogs are bred and trained to grab, hold, and shake their opponent, numerous deep puncture wounds, lacerations, abrasions, and fractures occur. During a single fight, dogs repeatedly attack and a winning dog will be entered in multiple fights. Injuries of different ages from recent lacerations, contusions, and abrasions, to scars, acute fractures, and bone calluses can be present. The dogs may have distorted limbs due to lack of internal or external fixation of fractures. Ears may be lacerated or scarred from fighting. Dog fighters may also remove ears and tails, often without anesthesia or sedation, to prevent injury during a fight, or to eliminate ear postures that communicate submission ( 18 ). Teeth are often worn due to chronic chewing on abrasive objects including tethering chains.

The fight ends when a dog refuses to fight, is removed by the handler, or dies. Dogs that refuse to fight or lose a fight are often culled by shooting, or some are left to die of their injuries. Because a losing dog reflects poorly on the status, masculinity, and perceived power of its owner ( 60 ), they are often killed by beating, hanging, drowning and/or shooting as part of the “sport” ( Image 15 ) ( 61 , 62 ).

Dorsal aspect of medium breed dog with ligature and shotgun wound. The wadding was recovered from the wound and the rectangular tan material in the wound was a piece of plywood.

There are many similarities between cockfighting and dogfighting, but in cockfighting usually only the males (roosters) are fought. Birds are usually kept tethered and the highly vascular comb, wattles, and ear lobes are removed by scissors (dubbing) without anesthesia to prevent injury during a fight ( Image 16 ) . A long razor sharp knife or gaff is tied to one of the legs and birds sustain severe sharp force injuries during the fight. Wounds are usually on the head, eyes may be pierced by the knives, and gashes to the thorax and legs occur. Fatal injuries are reported in people stabbed by gaffs or knives tied to the rooster ( 63 ). Transport of gamecocks increases the transmission of poultry diseases, many of which are economically devastating to commercial poultry producers.

A gamecock with wattles, earlobes, and comb removed to prevent injury during fighting.

Like children, animals are completely dependent upon those that are supposed to care for them. But unlike children, animals remain vulnerable for their entire life.

Animal neglect and abuse may involve a single animal and one person, or hundreds of animals and many people. Most of the examples of animal abuse given were not isolated occurrences, but were associated with incidents of interpersonal violence, drug abuse, or mental illness. Abused and neglected animals submitted for postmortem likely represent a small fraction of those animals that die due to abuse or neglect. At present, there is no registry of postmortem findings or statistics of abused animals ( 56 ). The number of animals submitted by law enforcement for postmortem is increasing ( 38 ), although this may be due to increased recognition by veterinarians and law enforcement, legislative changes, and increased awareness of the link between animal abuse and interpersonal violence.

Legal definitions of animal abuse often include suffering. Attorneys, judges, and juries want to know if the animal suffered and the duration of suffering. Resources on animal suffering are in the realm of animal welfare and shelter medicine, not in veterinary pathology journals or texts. Peer-reviewed literature on animal welfare is beginning to address specific aspects of cruelty and the quality of life for abused animals ( 51 , 64 – 67 ). Much more information is needed on animal suffering, particularly in the context of the type of injuries inflicted on animals; veterinary pathologists who do forensic postmortems must become familiar with the animal welfare literature.

Prior to 2008, there was scant peer-reviewed literature on veterinary forensic pathology in domestic animals, and historically most veterinary pathologists had to rely on medical forensic journals and textbooks for their information. Since then, the peer-reviewed literature on forensic veterinary medicine and pathology has increased exponentially. The American Academy of Forensic Sciences is encouraging membership for veterinarians and the International Veterinary Forensic Sciences Association is a portal for the relatively small community of individuals and organizations involved in veterinary forensic sciences.

Lesions in cases of animal abuse are similar to those reported in people; however, detecting, documenting, and aging these lesions presents a unique challenge to veterinary pathologists because of the many anatomic and physiologic differences between humans and animals, between animal species, and even sometimes even within breeds ( 7 , 14 , 18 , 32 ). The greatest challenge to veterinary forensic pathology, though, is the absence of an infrastructure similar to the medical examiner system. It is extremely rare for a veterinary pathologist to attend a death scene. Law enforcement agencies may not have a budget for a postmortem and ancillary testing. Often, detailed and complete documentation from the scene is either not available or not provided to the veterinary pathologist. Animals submitted for postmortem may not have died from their injuries, but were euthanized because of them. They are often frozen prior to submission, creating artifacts in addition to postmortem changes. Forensic cases must be fit in to an already busy practice of diagnostic pathology, with few resources for the additional time required. Veterinary pathologists may never be informed of the details or legal outcome of their cases. Additionally, formal training and certification programs for veterinary forensic pathologists do not currently exist ( 68 , 69 ) and many postmortems are done by veterinary clinicians with no graduate training in pathology ( 68 ). Surveys of veterinary pathologists report a need for training in forensic pathology, the judicial process, how to be an expert witness, report writing, and documentation ( 68 , 69 ). This is not so different from recommendations of the Goudge inquiry into pediatric forensic pathology that followed wrongful conviction and incarceration of individuals based on the flawed testimony of a medical pathologist and a system with inadequate oversight ( 70 ). Veterinary pathologists are in the fortunate position to learn from the failings and the recent progress in forensic pathology ( 71 ). It is also encouraging that our medical colleagues recognize veterinary forensic pathology ( 71 – 73 ). Their interest, assistance, and expertise when requested is more than appreciated by those of us in this emerging subdiscipline.

Animals are amongst the most vulnerable of sentient beings. Animal and human health are inextricably linked on many levels as evinced by “One Health” ( 74 – 77 ), a concept initially espoused by Rudolph Virchow and his pupil William Osler ( 78 ). The concept that abused and neglected animals are sentinels for deeper problems of interpersonal violence and serious crimes affecting individuals, families, and society ( 1 , 19 , 24 , 26 , 35 , 79 , 80 ), however, is not new. As the quote often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi eloquenty states: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

ETHICAL APPROVAL

As per Journal Policies, ethical approval was not required for this manuscript

STATEMENT OF HUMAN AND ANIMAL RIGHTS

This article does not contain any studies conducted with animals or on living human subjects

STATEMENT OF INFORMED CONSENT

No identifiable personal data were presented in this manuscsript

DISCLOSURES & DECLARATION OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The authors, reviewers, editors, and publication staff do not report any relevant conflicts of interest

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE The authors have indicated that they do not have financial relationships to disclose that are relevant to this manuscript

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• Published: 08 April 2024

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• Rina Sor   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2042-5746 11 ,
• William P. Vostrejs   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1659-0186 5 ,
• Priya S. Hibshman 4 ,
• Amber M. Amparo   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3805-746X 7 ,
• Connor Hennessey 9 , 10 ,
• Matthew G. Rees   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2987-7581 12 ,
• Melissa M. Ronan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4269-1404 12 ,
• Jennifer A. Roth   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5117-5586 12 ,
• Jens Brodbeck 3 ,
• Lorenzo Tomassoni 2 , 13 ,
• Basil Bakir 1 , 2 ,
• Nicholas D. Socci 14 ,
• Laura E. Herring   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4496-7312 15 ,
• Natalie K. Barker 15 ,
• Junning Wang 9 , 10 ,
• James M. Cleary 9 , 10 ,
• Brian M. Wolpin   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0455-1032 9 , 10 ,
• John A. Chabot 16 ,
• Michael D. Kluger 16 ,
• Gulam A. Manji 1 , 2 ,
• Kenneth Y. Tsai   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5325-212X 17 ,
• Miroslav Sekulic 18 ,
• Stephen M. Lagana 18 ,
• Andrea Califano 1 , 2 , 13 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ,
• Elsa Quintana 3 ,
• Zhengping Wang 3 ,
• Jacqueline A. M. Smith   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5028-8725 3 ,
• Matthew Holderfield 3 ,
• David Wildes   ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0009-3855-7270 3 ,
• Scott W. Lowe   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5284-9650 6 , 24 ,
• Michael A. Badgley 1 , 2 ,
• Andrew J. Aguirre   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0701-6203 9 , 10 , 12 , 25 ,
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• Timour Baslan 27 ,
• Channing J. Der   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7751-2747 7 , 8 ,
• Mallika Singh 3 &
• Kenneth P. Olive   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3392-8994 1 , 2  

Nature ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

• Pancreatic cancer
• Pharmacodynamics

Broad-spectrum RAS inhibition holds the potential to benefit roughly a quarter of human cancer patients whose tumors are driven by RAS mutations 1,2 . RMC-7977 is a highly selective inhibitor of the active GTP-bound forms of KRAS, HRAS, and NRAS, with affinity for both mutant and wild type (WT) variants (RAS(ON) multi-selective) 3 . As >90% of human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cases are driven by activating mutations in KRAS 4 , we assessed the therapeutic potential of the RAS(ON) multi-selective inhibitor RMC-7977 in a comprehensive range of PDAC models. We observed broad and pronounced anti-tumor activity across models following direct RAS inhibition at exposures that were well-tolerated in vivo . Pharmacological analyses revealed divergent responses to RMC-7977 in tumor versus normal tissues. Treated tumors exhibited waves of apoptosis along with sustained proliferative arrest whereas normal tissues underwent only transient decreases in proliferation, with no evidence of apoptosis. In the autochthonous KPC model, RMC-7977 treatment resulted in a profound extension of survival followed by on-treatment relapse. Analysis of relapsed tumors identified Myc copy number gain as a prevalent candidate resistance mechanism, which could be overcome by combinatorial TEAD inhibition in vitro . Together, these data establish a strong preclinical rationale for the use of broad-spectrum RAS-GTP inhibition in the setting of PDAC and identify a promising candidate combination therapeutic regimen to overcome monotherapy resistance.

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Author information

These authors contributed equally: Urszula N. Wasko, Jingjing Jiang

Authors and Affiliations

Department of Medicine, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

Urszula N. Wasko, Tanner C. Dalton, Alvaro Curiel-Garcia, Stephen A. Sastra, Carmine F. Palermo, Marie C. Hasselluhn, Amanda R. Decker-Farrell, Basil Bakir, Gulam A. Manji, Andrea Califano, Michael A. Badgley & Kenneth P. Olive

Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

Urszula N. Wasko, Tanner C. Dalton, Alvaro Curiel-Garcia, Stephen A. Sastra, Carmine F. Palermo, Marie C. Hasselluhn, Amanda R. Decker-Farrell, Lorenzo Tomassoni, Basil Bakir, Gulam A. Manji, Andrea Califano, Michael A. Badgley & Kenneth P. Olive

Revolution Medicines, Inc., Redwood City, CA, USA

Jingjing Jiang, Yingyun Wang, Bianca Lee, Marie Menard, Stephanie Chang, Lingyan Jiang, Xing Wei, Yu C. Yang, Ciara Helland, Haley Courtney, Yevgeniy Gindin, Karl Muonio, Ruiping Zhao, Jens Brodbeck, Elsa Quintana, Zhengping Wang, Jacqueline A. M. Smith, Matthew Holderfield, David Wildes & Mallika Singh

Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

A. Cole Edwards & Priya S. Hibshman

University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Margo Orlen, Samantha B. Kemp, William P. Vostrejs, Robert H. Vonderheide & Ben Z. Stanger

Cancer Biology & Genetics Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

Sha Tian & Scott W. Lowe

Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

Clint A. Stalnecker, Kristina Drizyte-Miller, Amber M. Amparo & Channing J. Der

Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

Clint A. Stalnecker & Channing J. Der

Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA

Julien Dilly, Connor Hennessey, Junning Wang, James M. Cleary, Brian M. Wolpin & Andrew J. Aguirre

Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Abramson Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Cynthia Clendenin, Rina Sor, Robert H. Vonderheide & Ben Z. Stanger

The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA

Matthew G. Rees, Melissa M. Ronan, Jennifer A. Roth & Andrew J. Aguirre

Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

Lorenzo Tomassoni & Andrea Califano

Bioinformatics Core, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

Nicholas D. Socci

UNC Michael Hooker Proteomics Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

Laura E. Herring & Natalie K. Barker

Department of Surgery, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

John A. Chabot & Michael D. Kluger

Departments of Pathology, Tumor Microenvironment and Metastasis; H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA

Kenneth Y. Tsai

Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

Miroslav Sekulic & Stephen M. Lagana

Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

Andrea Califano

J.P. Sulzberger Columbia Genome Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

Chan Zuckerberg Biohub New York, New York, NY, USA

Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA

Scott W. Lowe

Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

Andrew J. Aguirre

Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, San Francisco, CA, USA

Robert H. Vonderheide

Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Timour Baslan

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Mallika Singh or Kenneth P. Olive .

Supplementary information

Supplementary figure 1.

uncropped Western Blot images with marked areas of interest, and target molecular weight.

Reporting Summary

Supplementary tables.

This file contains Supplementary Tables 1-10.

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Wasko, U.N., Jiang, J., Dalton, T.C. et al. Tumor-selective activity of RAS-GTP inhibition in pancreatic cancer. Nature (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07379-z

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Accepted : 02 April 2024

Published : 08 April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07379-z

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3. problems students are facing at public k-12 schools.

We asked teachers about how students are doing at their school. Overall, many teachers hold negative views about students’ academic performance and behavior.

• 48% say the academic performance of most students at their school is fair or poor; a third say it’s good and only 17% say it’s excellent or very good.
• 49% say students’ behavior at their school is fair or poor; 35% say it’s good and 13% rate it as excellent or very good.

Teachers in elementary, middle and high schools give similar answers when asked about students’ academic performance. But when it comes to students’ behavior, elementary and middle school teachers are more likely than high school teachers to say it’s fair or poor (51% and 54%, respectively, vs. 43%).

Teachers from high-poverty schools are more likely than those in medium- and low-poverty schools to say the academic performance and behavior of most students at their school are fair or poor.

The differences between high- and low-poverty schools are particularly striking. Most teachers from high-poverty schools say the academic performance (73%) and behavior (64%) of most students at their school are fair or poor. Much smaller shares of teachers from low-poverty schools say the same (27% for academic performance and 37% for behavior).

In turn, teachers from low-poverty schools are far more likely than those from high-poverty schools to say the academic performance and behavior of most students at their school are excellent or very good.

Lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Among those who have been teaching for at least a year, about eight-in-ten teachers say the lasting impact of the pandemic on students’ behavior, academic performance and emotional well-being has been very or somewhat negative. This includes about a third or more saying that the lasting impact has been very negative in each area.

Shares ranging from 11% to 15% of teachers say the pandemic has had no lasting impact on these aspects of students’ lives, or that the impact has been neither positive nor negative. Only about 5% say that the pandemic has had a positive lasting impact on these things.

A smaller majority of teachers (55%) say the pandemic has had a negative impact on the way parents interact with teachers, with 18% saying its lasting impact has been very negative.

These results are mostly consistent across teachers of different grade levels and school poverty levels.

Major problems at school

When we asked teachers about a range of problems that may affect students who attend their school, the following issues top the list:

• Poverty (53% say this is a major problem at their school)
• Chronic absenteeism – that is, students missing a substantial number of school days (49%)
• Anxiety and depression (48%)

One-in-five say bullying is a major problem among students at their school. Smaller shares of teachers point to drug use (14%), school fights (12%), alcohol use (4%) and gangs (3%).

Differences by school level

Similar shares of teachers across grade levels say poverty is a major problem at their school, but other problems are more common in middle or high schools:

• 61% of high school teachers say chronic absenteeism is a major problem at their school, compared with 43% of elementary school teachers and 46% of middle school teachers.
• 69% of high school teachers and 57% of middle school teachers say anxiety and depression are a major problem, compared with 29% of elementary school teachers.
• 34% of middle school teachers say bullying is a major problem, compared with 13% of elementary school teachers and 21% of high school teachers.

Not surprisingly, drug use, school fights, alcohol use and gangs are more likely to be viewed as major problems by secondary school teachers than by those teaching in elementary schools.

Differences by poverty level

Teachers’ views on problems students face at their school also vary by school poverty level.

Majorities of teachers in high- and medium-poverty schools say chronic absenteeism is a major problem where they teach (66% and 58%, respectively). A much smaller share of teachers in low-poverty schools say this (34%).

Bullying, school fights and gangs are viewed as major problems by larger shares of teachers in high-poverty schools than in medium- and low-poverty schools.

When it comes to anxiety and depression, a slightly larger share of teachers in low-poverty schools (51%) than in high-poverty schools (44%) say these are a major problem among students where they teach.  

Discipline practices

About two-thirds of teachers (66%) say that the current discipline practices at their school are very or somewhat mild – including 27% who say they’re very mild. Only 2% say the discipline practices at their school are very or somewhat harsh, while 31% say they are neither harsh nor mild.

We also asked teachers about the amount of influence different groups have when it comes to determining discipline practices at their school.

• 67% say teachers themselves don’t have enough influence. Very few (2%) say teachers have too much influence, and 29% say their influence is about right.

• 31% of teachers say school administrators don’t have enough influence, 22% say they have too much, and 45% say their influence is about right.
• On balance, teachers are more likely to say parents, their state government and the local school board have too much influence rather than not enough influence in determining discipline practices at their school. Still, substantial shares say these groups have about the right amount of influence.

Teachers from low- and medium-poverty schools (46% each) are more likely than those in high-poverty schools (36%) to say parents have too much influence over discipline practices.

In turn, teachers from high-poverty schools (34%) are more likely than those from low- and medium-poverty schools (17% and 18%, respectively) to say that parents don’t have enough influence.

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Table of contents, ‘back to school’ means anytime from late july to after labor day, depending on where in the u.s. you live, among many u.s. children, reading for fun has become less common, federal data shows, most european students learn english in school, for u.s. teens today, summer means more schooling and less leisure time than in the past, about one-in-six u.s. teachers work second jobs – and not just in the summer, most popular.

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Why Taiwan Was So Prepared for a Powerful Earthquake

Decades of learning from disasters, tightening building codes and increasing public awareness may have helped its people better weather strong quakes.

Search-and-rescue teams recover a body from a leaning building in Hualien, Taiwan. Thanks to improvements in building codes after past earthquakes, many structures withstood Wednesday’s quake. Credit...

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By Chris Buckley ,  Meaghan Tobin and Siyi Zhao

Photographs by Lam Yik Fei

Chris Buckley reported from the city of Hualien, Meaghan Tobin from Taipei, in Taiwan.

• April 4, 2024

When the largest earthquake in Taiwan in half a century struck off its east coast, the buildings in the closest city, Hualien, swayed and rocked. As more than 300 aftershocks rocked the island over the next 24 hours to Thursday morning, the buildings shook again and again.

But for the most part, they stood.

Even the two buildings that suffered the most damage remained largely intact, allowing residents to climb to safety out the windows of upper stories. One of them, the rounded, red brick Uranus Building, which leaned precariously after its first floors collapsed, was mostly drawing curious onlookers.

The building is a reminder of how much Taiwan has prepared for disasters like the magnitude-7.4 earthquake that jolted the island on Wednesday. Perhaps because of improvements in building codes, greater public awareness and highly trained search-and-rescue operations — and, likely, a dose of good luck — the casualty figures were relatively low. By Thursday, 10 people had died and more than 1,000 others were injured. Several dozen were missing.

“Similar level earthquakes in other societies have killed far more people,” said Daniel Aldrich , a director of the Global Resilience Institute at Northeastern University. Of Taiwan, he added: “And most of these deaths, it seems, have come from rock slides and boulders, rather than building collapses.”

Across the island, rail traffic had resumed by Thursday, including trains to Hualien. Workers who had been stuck in a rock quarry were lifted out by helicopter. Roads were slowly being repaired. Hundreds of people were stranded at a hotel near a national park because of a blocked road, but they were visited by rescuers and medics.

On Thursday in Hualien city, the area around the Uranus Building was sealed off, while construction workers tried to prevent the leaning structure from toppling completely. First they placed three-legged concrete blocks that resembled giant Lego pieces in front of the building, and then they piled dirt and rocks on top of those blocks with excavators.

“We came to see for ourselves how serious it was, why it has tilted,” said Chang Mei-chu, 66, a retiree who rode a scooter with her husband Lai Yung-chi, 72, to the building on Thursday. Mr. Lai said he was a retired builder who used to install power and water pipes in buildings, and so he knew about building standards. The couple’s apartment, near Hualien’s train station, had not been badly damaged, he said.

“I wasn’t worried about our building, because I know they paid attention to earthquake resistance when building it. I watched them pour the cement to make sure,” Mr. Lai said. “There have been improvements. After each earthquake, they raise the standards some more.”

It was possible to walk for city blocks without seeing clear signs of the powerful earthquake. Many buildings remained intact, some of them old and weather-worn; others modern, multistory concrete-and-glass structures. Shops were open, selling coffee, ice cream and betel nuts. Next to the Uranus Building, a popular night market with food stalls offering fried seafood, dumplings and sweets was up and running by Thursday evening.

Earthquakes are unavoidable in Taiwan, which sits on multiple active faults. Decades of work learning from other disasters, implementing strict building codes and increasing public awareness have gone into helping its people weather frequent strong quakes.

Not far from the Uranus Building, for example, officials had inspected a building with cracked pillars and concluded that it was dangerous to stay in. Residents were given 15 minutes to dash inside and retrieve as many belongings as they could. Some ran out with computers, while others threw bags of clothes out of windows onto the street, which was also still littered with broken glass and cement fragments from the quake.

One of its residents, Chen Ching-ming, a preacher at a church next door, said he thought the building might be torn down. He was able to salvage a TV and some bedding, which now sat on the sidewalk, and was preparing to go back in for more. “I’ll lose a lot of valuable things — a fridge, a microwave, a washing machine,” he said. “All gone.”

Requirements for earthquake resistance have been built into Taiwan’s building codes since 1974. In the decades since, the writers of Taiwan’s building code also applied lessons learned from other major earthquakes around the world, including in Mexico and Los Angeles, to strengthen Taiwan’s code.

After more than 2,400 people were killed and at least 10,000 others injured during the Chi-Chi quake of 1999, thousands of buildings built before the quake were reviewed and reinforced. After another strong quake in 2018 in Hualien, the government ordered a new round of building inspections. Since then, multiple updates to the building code have been released.

“We have retrofitted more than 10,000 school buildings in the last 20 years,” said Chung-Che Chou, the director general of the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering in Taipei.

The government had also helped reinforce private apartment buildings over the past six years by adding new steel braces and increasing column and beam sizes, Dr. Chou said. Not far from the buildings that partially collapsed in Hualien, some of the older buildings that had been retrofitted in this way survived Wednesday’s quake, he said.

The result of all this is that even Taiwan’s tallest skyscrapers can withstand regular seismic jolts. The capital city’s most iconic building, Taipei 101, once the tallest building in the world, was engineered to stand through typhoon winds and frequent quakes. Still, some experts say that more needs to be done to either strengthen or demolish structures that don’t meet standards, and such calls have grown louder in the wake of the latest earthquake.

Taiwan has another major reason to protect its infrastructure: It is home to the majority of production for the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s largest maker of advanced computer chips. The supply chain for electronics from smartphones to cars to fighter jets rests on the output of TSMC’s factories, which make these chips in facilities that cost billions of dollars to build.

The 1999 quake also prompted TSMC to take extra steps to insulate its factories from earthquake damage. The company made major structural adjustments and adopted new technologies like early warning systems. When another large quake struck the southern city of Kaohsiung in February 2016, TSMC’s two nearby factories survived without structural damage.

Taiwan has made strides in its response to disasters, experts say. In the first 24 hours after the quake, rescuers freed hundreds of people who were trapped in cars in between rockfalls on the highway and stranded on mountain ledges in rock quarries.

“After years of hard work on capacity building, the overall performance of the island has improved significantly,” said Bruce Wong, an emergency management consultant in Hong Kong. Taiwan’s rescue teams have come to specialize in complex efforts, he said, and it has also been able to tap the skills of trained volunteers.

Taiwan’s resilience also stems from a strong civil society that is involved in public preparedness for disasters.

Ou Chi-hu, a member of a group of Taiwanese military veterans, was helping distribute water and other supplies at a school that was serving as a shelter for displaced residents in Hualien. He said that people had learned from the 1999 earthquake how to be more prepared.

“They know to shelter in a corner of the room or somewhere else safer,” he said. Many residents also keep a bag of essentials next to their beds, and own fire extinguishers, he added.

Around him, a dozen or so other charities and groups were offering residents food, money, counseling and childcare. The Tzu Chi Foundation, a large Taiwanese Buddhist charity, provided tents for families to use inside the school hall so they could have more privacy. Huang Yu-chi, a disaster relief manager with the foundation, said nonprofits had learned from earlier disasters.

“Now we’re more systematic and have a better idea of disaster prevention,” Mr. Huang said.

Mike Ives contributed reporting from Seoul.

Chris Buckley , the chief China correspondent for The Times, reports on China and Taiwan from Taipei, focused on politics, social change and security and military issues. More about Chris Buckley

Meaghan Tobin is a technology correspondent for The Times based in Taipei, covering business and tech stories in Asia with a focus on China. More about Meaghan Tobin

Siyi Zhao is a reporter and researcher who covers news in mainland China for The Times in Seoul. More about Siyi Zhao

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