The Sciences of Animal Welfare » (New Edition)

David J Mellor is Professor of Animal Welfare Science, Professor of Applied Physiology and Bioethics, and Co-Director of the Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre at Massey University, New Zealand.

Emily Patterson-Kane is an Animal Welfare Scientist at the American Veterinary Medical Association in Illinois, USA.

Kevin J Stafford is Professor of Veterinary Ethology and Co-Director of the Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre at Massey University, New Zealand.

UFAW, founded 1926, is an internationally recognised, independent, scientific and educational animal welfare charity. This book is an excellent new edition to the UFAW series.

The Sciences of Animal Welfare analyses the diverse, interconnecting subjects which constitute this fascinating multidisciplinary field, whilst also considering the limitations and benefits of those subjects to the development and future of Animal Welfare Science. This book examines past, present and future practices and thinking, including the wide-ranging interests within society that influence attitudes towards animals and conversely how animal welfare scientists may influence those attitudes.

Key themes of the book include:

• Multi-disciplinary working and its benefits: how we can obtain fresh insights, enliven our thinking and improve animal welfare by operating widely within diverse disciplines

• Questioning the fundamental assumptions we each make about animals and their functional capabilities.

The authors acknowledge the field’s debt to past successes in animal-based science disciplines, successes that markedly improved animal welfare long before the concept of animal welfare entered common parlance. They also recognise the problems which unexpectedly arose, and anticipate future successes.

Suggesting innovative approaches to Animal Welfare Science, and written by world renowned experts, The Sciences of Animal Welfare is essential reading for anyone interested, studying or currently working in Animal Welfare Science.

About the authors:

David J Mellor is Professor of Animal Welfare Science, Professor of Applied Physiology and Bioethics, and Co-Director of the Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre at Massey University, New Zealand.

Emily Patterson-Kane is an Animal Welfare Scientist at the American Veterinary Medical Association in Illinois, USA.

Kevin J Stafford is Professor of Veterinary Ethology and Co-Director of the Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre at Massey University, New Zealand.

UFAW, founded 1926, is an internationally recognised, independent, scientific and educational animal welfare charity. This book is an excellent new edition to the UFAW series.

Also available in the UFAW series:

Understanding Animal Welfare: The Science in its Cultural Context

David Fraser / ISBN: 9780632064687

Physiology and Behaviour of Animal Suffering

Neville Gregory / ISBN: 9781405136952

Animal Welfare: Limping Towards Eden

John Webster / ISBN: 9781405118774

Environmental Enrichment for Captive Animals

Robert J. Young / ISBN: 9780632064076

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Marcella D Ridgway, VMD, MS, DACVIM(University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine)
Description:Current concepts in the understanding and study of animal welfare and the interrelationships of the multiple disciplines which contribute to the broader field of animal welfare science are the subject of this book.
Purpose:It is intended to describe the many facets of animal welfare science and to address the history, advances, and future directions of this varied field. The purpose of the authors, though not clearly specified, appears to be to provide objective data and considerations of multiple assessments and perspectives which can then inform readers' perceptions and evolving understanding of the field and of animal welfare issues.
Audience:This book has a diverse audience, and includes those associated with agricultural, research, and sport/entertainment use of animals; with care and breeding of companion animals; and with determining animal-related legislation and addressing other societal issues related to animals and their management. The three authors bring tremendous expertise, diversity of experience, and openness to new perspectives to produce a balanced document that can serve as a foundation for new perspectives and direction.
Features:A general description of the animal welfare field and pertinent history of the development and evolution of the discipline begins the book, including how developments in agricultural and veterinary sciences, biotechnology, and animal breeding fueled the need for and contributed to the development of an animal welfare specialty. Scientific techniques and research designs that are applicable to the objective study of animal welfare issues are explained. The book goes on to describe the changing role of animals in society and human relationships with animals as well as the global diversity of human-animal interactions and animal welfare issues. The book is formatted in a particularly useful manner, with a summary phrase introducing each section that enhances readability and retention of the material and also increases the book's utility as a reference.
Assessment:This book brings together in one resource information that has previously been available only in small fragments widely distributed throughout the literature of different disciplines and, additionally, highlights the unifying concepts in a very diverse discipline. It provides a solid foundation for understanding and developing perspective on issues of animal welfare which have previously been addressed by varied facets of society in a more abstract manner. The authors present their well-informed opinions but advocate strongly as well for the application of objective measurement techniques and evidence-based approaches to inform the evolution of the field. The use of summary phrases to introduce each new thought or section is an outstanding approach to presenting the information, which other books would do well to adopt.

Foreword vi

Preface vii

Acknowledgements x

Part 1 Introduction 1

1 Focus of Animal Welfare 3

Part 2 Paths from the Past 13

2 Agricultural Sciences and Animal Welfare: Crop Production and Animal Production 15

3 Veterinary Science and Animal Welfare 34

4 Genetics, Biotechnology and Animal Breeding: Mixed Blessings 53

Part 3 Assessment of Animal Welfare 69

5 Animal Welfare, Grading Compromise and Mitigating Suffering 71

6 Standardized Behavioural Testing in Non-Verbal Humans and Other Animals 95

Part 4 Human Inputs and Animal Welfare 111

7 Human-Animal Interactions and Animal Welfare 113

8 Environmental Enrichment: Studying the Nature of Nurture 131

9 Social Contexts of Animal Welfare 146

Part 5 Thinking Outside the Box 159

10 Integrated Perspectives: Sleep, Developmental Stage and Animal Welfare 161

11 The Wider Context of Animal Welfare Science 186

References 189

Index 209