Search all library resources

The animal trade

Trade is an inevitable part of human activity and evolution, but when it involves animals there are important ethical issues that have to be considered. Animal trade is often for economic reasons only, and may be hard to justify ethically. There are significant welfare and environmental costs to animals and human society that must be carefully evaluated before such a trade is sanctioned. Controversial and thought-provoking, this text focuses on the trade in live and dead animals and animal parts. It examines the facts and figures to quantify the scope of the animal trade, concentrating mainly on farm animals, but also covering captive wildlife and companion animals. The book describes welfare, environmental, economic and cultural issues around this trade, debating important ethical considerations for everyone that uses or is otherwise involved with animals, especially people in animal welfare.

The welfare of animals : the silent majority

"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."--JacketThe 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 actions. Clive Phillips moved from the United Kingdom to take up a Foundation Chair in Animal Welfare at the University of Queensland, becoming Australia's first Professor of Animal Welfare in 2003. This cultural leap, combined with his travels in countries like Malaysia and Borneo, permits him the unique and broad perspective that forms the backbone of this book. Eschewing the normal territory patrolled by the animal scientist (explaining the physiological basis of the stress response or causation of abnormal behaviour), Clive ventures into jungles and deserts, city centres and tribal homelands, and presents a book that remarkably and successfully combines travel-diary, nature notes, social and cultural history.

Online SpringerLink

Nutrition and the welfare of farm animals

This book explores the importance of good nutrition in ensuring an adequate standard of welfare for farm animals. It is often not realized that farm animals can suffer when they are fed unsuitable diets, which may be because these diets are more economic or the farmer does not know how to rectify poor nutrition. This book reveals how to recognize and deal with feeding problems in farm animals, when the animal's behaviour is indicating a deficiency, through oral stereotypies for example. Feeding livestock in emergency situations can present special challenges, and the availability of clean and potable water, one of the essential components of life, can also be an unrecognized problem for many farm animals. Feeding farm animals effectively is rarely recognized for the major welfare issue that it is. We may assume that animals in intensive husbandry conditions have adequate feed, yet it is often too concentrated and designed primarily to immediately maximize production from the animals, in the form of growth, milk yield or reproduction. In extensive rangeland conditions adequate feed supply also cannot be assured, potentially leading to undernutrition with serious consequences for the health and even survival of livestock. This book will provide a much-needed review of the relationships between nutrition and the welfare of farm animals.

Online SpringerLink