E-Book Overview
The quality of life that we provide for animals for food, companionship, sport and clothing will determine their welfare, and even the welfare of wild animals is affected by human activities. This book challenges us to reflect on that silent majority of animals with no voice. We are increasingly questioning whether our use of animals is necessary, desirable and humane, The book provides a framework to make those difficult decisions. Aspects of welfare that are important to animals are considered, as well as their rights to different welfare standards. Provision for animal welfare depends as much on culture, gender and other societal influences as any scientific advances in management systems. The influence of intensification of animal use, especially in food production, on welfare is considerable and the international scale of welfare issues with different types of animals is discussed. The author describes his experiences investigating animal welfare in a vast range of different situations, from the Bedouins slaughtering sheep in the desert to livestock being transported from Australia to the Middle East. This book will be of interest to anyone concerned with the welfare of animals, but especially veterinarians, animal owners and animal scientists.
E-Book Content
The Welfare of Animals
Animal Welfare VOLUME 8
Series Editor Clive Phillips, Professor of Animal Welfare, Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics, School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Australia
Titles published in this series: Volume 1:
The Welfare of Horses Natalie Waran ISBN 1-4020-0766-3
Volume 2:
The Welfare of Laboratory Animals Eila Kaliste ISBN 1-4020-2270-0
Volume 3:
The Welfare of Cats Irene Rochlitz ISBN 978-1-4020-3226-4
Volume 4:
The Welfare of Dogs Kevin Stafford ISBN 978-1-4020-4361-1
Volume 5:
The Welfare of Cattle Jeffrey Rushen, Anne Marie de Passille´, Marina A.G. von Keyserlingk and Daniel M. Weary ISBN 978-1-4020-6557-6
Volume 6:
The Welfare of Sheep Cathy M. Dwyer ISBN 978-1-4020-8552-9
Volume 7:
The Welfare of Pigs Jeremy N. Marchant-Forde ISBN 978-1-4020-8908-4
The Welfare of Animals The Silent Majority
Clive Phillips University of Queensland, Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics, Australia
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Prof. Clive Phillips University of Queensland School of Veterinary Science Centre for Animal Welfare & Ethics Australia
ISBN: 978-1-4020-9218-3
e-ISBN: 978-1-4020-9219-0
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9219-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2008935890 # Springer ScienceþBusiness Media B.V. 2009 No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Printed on acid-free paper 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 springer.com
To my late father, Michael Phillips
Foreword
The Welfare of Animals is an exciting book that will stimulate and provoke its readers. It describes many problems faced by animals – those we use for food, for pleasure or in research, and those simply but harshly affected by shrinking habitats in the face of the ever-growing human population. And yet it is not a depressing read. It focuses not only on the difficulties that animals face, but on their capacity for free-choice, for joy and excitement, and on the possible ways in which the planet can be shared between species if only we take the time and trouble to think more carefully about the impact of our act