[Review] Lacey Levitt, David B. Rosengard, Jessica Rubin Northampton, editors. <em>Animals as Crime Victims. </em>MA: Edward Elgar, 2024. 324 pp, ISBN 978 1 80220 987 7.

My local newspaper recently reported that a 28-year-old woman was found guilty by a jury of felony aggravated cruelty to animals.Inside her home was found a dead dog in a crate who had starved to death, and two headless cats.She was also found guilty of a misdemeanour drug paraphernalia charge.The article noted that she had two children, aged 3 and 10, one of whom had evidently reported the situation.Her home was described as full of garbage, filth, dirt, bugs, and rodent droppings.At the time of writing, the woman has not been sentenced in the case, but because hers was judged to be a felony crime that resulted in the death of animals, the offence in Pennsylvania carries a maximum sentence of up to 7 years in jail and/or a $15,000 fine.It was noted that the woman escaped conviction of child endangerment (Scarcella 2024).Such stories appear regularly in our local newspaper and to my mind send the strong message to readers that cruelty and mistreatment to animals is not tolerated in Pennsylvania and that offenders will be punished.This reportage appears to suggest that there is also a probable connection between this individual's apparent drug use, living in squalor, and the potential abuse of both animals and human children.How to take action against animal cruelty as well as against what are considered lesser crimes of animal neglect, typically (but not only) aimed at dogs and cats, is the subject of much legal debate within animal studies and the edited collection Animals as Crime Victims represents a recent contribution.The book contains an introduction and four main sections, with a foreword 2/7 by Douglas E. Beloof, who is recognized as a foundational voice in arguing that animal crime victim law can be modelled on that of human victim law (1999), but who cautions that the interests of the state do not always align with those of the victim.In addition to the Introduction and individual essays, the editors also weigh in on a chapter presenting 'opposing views and responses' on the topic.The 16 chapters of the book are organized into four sections.The first,