Understanding Animal Welfare: The Science in Its Cultural Context

Understanding Animal Welfare

Understanding Animal Welfare: The Science in its Cultural Context provides a scientific and interdisciplinary examination of animal welfare, explaining how historical, cultural, ethical, and scientific perspectives have shaped modern welfare concepts. It discusses methods for assessing animal welfare, including disease, injury, stress, abnormal behavior, affective states, preferences, and natural living, while examining how welfare science is applied to policy and practice. The book draws examples from farm, companion, laboratory, zoo, and wild animals and is widely relevant to students, veterinarians, researchers, and animal-care professionals.

Key Features

• Foundations of modern animal welfare science
• Historical and cultural development of welfare concepts
• Scientific methods for assessing animal welfare
• Evaluation of disease, injury, productivity, and stress
• Animal behavior and abnormal behavioral patterns
• Affective states, emotions, and positive welfare
• Natural living, preferences, and motivation
• Relationship between science, ethics, and values
• Welfare policies, standards, and assessment programs
• One Welfare and the human dimension of animal welfare
• Welfare of free-living wild animals and effects of climate change
• Applications across farm, companion, laboratory, and zoo animals