Abstract
When talking about therapies with animals, alongside the scientific
verification of the therapies, all the literature turns to the benefits of the human
animal that participates in them. This viewpoint also covers the possible risks
of animal contact for the human and the costs of such therapies. However, little
literature analyzes these therapies with a protectionist view of the animal,
although it is clear that the animal is often affected, since it is usually separated
from its habitat, subjected to cruel trainings, to unnatural conditions and abuse.
The fundamental objective is to make the animal visible as a living being that
feels, suffers and deserves a series of rights that must be respected within the
therapies in which it participates. On this occasion, although the research partly
recognizes some benefits of animal therapies, it delves into the characteristics
and conditions that these therapies must have in order to be friendly to the
animals that participate in them. This constitutes a reflective and sensitive
reading for therapists, animalists, patients and relatives alike. The review
includes a legal approach to the situation of animal abuse and its repercussions
in therapies with dogs, dolphins and horses.
Keywords: therapy; animal rights; animal resources; domestic animal;
aquatic animal.
Date Received: 03-02-2018
Date Acceptance: 09-04-2018
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Arbitrado
Animal-Assisted Therapies:
An Animal Protection Perspective