Animal Neglect 93 and define minimum standards of care and comfort for animals Welfare concerns are, however, generally separate from prohibitions on causing suffering that are the subjects of (pure) anti-cruelty statutes Thus, while anti-cruelty statutes may prohibit certain deliberate animal abuse or ‘harm’ actions such as the kicking, crushing or stabbing of animals, animal welfare statutes may proactively provide for minimum welfare standards—for example, room or movement specifications for animals in factory farming operations and transport, or for food and water requirements Such standards may, thus, acknowledge the necessity of a certain level of animal harm but seek to ensure its reduction rather than prohibition (for example, providing for a level of comfort prior to slaughter) (Nurse 2013) Animal abuse as contextualised by legislation may thus be physical, psychological or emotional and can involve active maltreatment, passive neglect (Beirne 2007, p 55) or simple ignorance of the needs of animals such that their welfare needs are unmet or are actively ignored (Nurse 2013) Enforcement of such legislation also varies depending on whether the act or omission concerned is one subject to the negative contextualisation of an anti-cruelty statute or the ‘positive’ one of an animal welfare statute Francione (2007) argues that non-human animals’ status as the property of humans dictates that laws which should require their humane treatment and prevent unnecessary suffering fail to provide any significant protection for animal interests In reality, animals only receive protection commensurate with their value as human property or commodities Historically, enforcement of animal protection legislation has largely been reactive rather than proactive falling outside of mainstream criminal justice activity (Nurse 2015; Wellsmith 2011) Instead, anti-cruelty laws are more commonly enforced by animal welfare agencies and NGOs such as the RSPCA and League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) in the UK and the ASPCA, Humane Society (HSUS) and state animal welfare enforcers in the USA Thus, while abuse contextualised by anti-cruelty legislation is frequently part of the criminal law, its enforcement is socially constructed, varying according to jurisdictional practice and which state agency is allocated responsibility For example, in the UK animal welfare is primarily the responsibility of the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and in the USA it is broadly within the remit of the US Department of Agriculture There is country-specific legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland; the Animal Health & Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 and the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 which have similar aims of preventing harm and promoting animal welfare