Psychology Today

An animal is abused every 10 seconds in the United States. Tennessee's animal abuse registry and a new journal are critical for psychology and anthrozoology and give much hope.

A new study shows dogs prefer to share food with dog friends rather than with strangers. This is an example of prosocial behavior but it is not necessarily altruistic.

An essay in The Economist provides a good review of research in cognitive ethology (the study of animal minds).

Here, I briefly consider the claim, "There is no such thing as an animal who is so traumatized that he wants to die." Nonhumans, like humans, want the pain to end right now.

Biologists find love in a fish who is "awfully ugly," croons beautifully, and invites a ménage à trois.

A new book presents some interesting but untested ideas and beliefs about play behavior in dogs as facts. Beliefs don’t substitute for data that have been reviewed by peers.

Detailed ethological data show that human exceptionalism reigns uncontested in the arena of within-species violence.

Next year SeaWorld San Diego says it will replace killer whale shows with a new more natural conservation oriented experience and will partner with a San Diego hotel owner and realtor "to build a resort on underdeveloped areas of the SeaWorld San Diego park."

A new book edited by Emory University professor Dr. Jonathan Crane called "Beastly Morality: Animals as Ethical Agents" offers the latest information about animal cognition, emotions, and morality and shows that many different nonhuman animals are moral beings who can process ideas of good and bad and think seriously about virtue.

Howler monkeys have low sexy calls or big balls, but not both. While this research "has no practical application to human mate choice … some research has suggested that men with deep voices have more sex partners, and therefore more opportunities to reproduce. But another study showed lower sperm quality in deeper-voiced men." Oh wouldn't it be nice if … or would it?

Florida's ill-planned slaughter of black bears fails to consider public opinion, solid science, and compassionate conservation. Indeed, Florida's Black Bear Management Plan, released at the time of delisting, explicitly eschewed hunting and called for the enhancement of bear habitats. The bear hunt will serve as an exemplary case study of why it shouldn't have been done.

A new study shows fish display coordinated reciprocity providing safety for foraging partners; they watch one another's back. The results add to the database showing fish are much smarter than most people assume, and can rightfully be included as members of the sentience club. One researcher notes, "This may also require a shift in how we study and ethically treat fishes."