Description
Book SynopsisPeter J. Lis pathbreaking new book, Animal Welfare in China, is timely and valuable. ANTHROZOÖSThe issue of animal welfare has attracted attention in Australia in recent decades. Activists and welfare organisations have become increasingly vigorous in promoting a new ethical relationship between humans and animals, and in challenging practices they identify as inhumane. In 2011 this agitation culminated in the temporary suspension of cattle live exports, with significant economic and political implications for Australia. Similar campaigns have focused on domestic food production systems and the use of animals in entertainment.Despite this increased interest, the policy process remains poorly understood. Animal Welfare in Australia is the first Australian book to examine the topic in a systematic manner. Without taking a specific ethical position, Peter John Chen draws on a wide range of sources including activists, industry representatives and policy makers to explain how policy is made and implemented. He explores the history of animal welfare in Australia, examines public opinion and media coverage of key issues, and comprehensively maps the policy domain. He shows how diverse social, ethical and economic interests interact to produce a complex and unpredictable climate.Animal Welfare in Australia will be of interest to scholars and practitioners of public policy, those interested in issues of animal welfare, and anyone wishing to understand how competing interests interact in the contemporary Australian policy landscape.Some supplementary graphs and images can be found at https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/15349
Trade Review'This book will be an instant classic among animal studies scholars in Australia.' -- Dr Siobhan O'Sullivan -- Knowing Animals
'Hugely informative book is an excellent analysis of the factors that have influenced these changes, from the perspective of a political scientist who has, in the course of his research, developed a deep understanding of the animal protection movement ... Being able to view events from a range of perspectives inevitably leads to better decision-making, and this book provides an excellent means for those involved in animal welfare policy to do just that.' -- Bidda Jones -- Animal Welfare
'[The book's] approach provides a unique glimpse into both the ministerial decision-making process as well as opinions from within the animal industry - perspectives that are rarely canvased thoroughly in animal welfare texts.' -- Jordan Sosnowski -- Journal of Animal Ethics
'Peter Chen's book is the first of its kind, and a riveting read for anyone who is interested, intrigued, perplexed or passionate about animal welfare.' -- Anne Boxhall -- The Hobart Mercury
'This book contributes to the development of a theoretical context of the politics of truth about our relationship with non-human animals by encouraging a deeper level of reflection on the way in which our fragmented policy framework is established and administered. It is not written from an 'activist' perspective, as are most publications in this genre.' -- Jackson Walkden-Brown -- Alternative Law Journal
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of figures List of acronyms Nomenclature Introduction Part 1 1. History 2. Ethics Part 2 3. Attitudes to animals 4. In the media 5. Mapping the policy domain Part 3 6. Animal protectionism 7. Animal-using industry 8. Political and administrative policy elites Conclusion Appendix A: research methods Appendix B: major ethical positions regarding animals Appendix C: Australian animal protection organisations - a sample Appendix D: animal-using industry in Australia - representative bodies and their relationships with policy-makers Appendix E: timeline of animal welfare policy in Australia Appendix F: significant legal instruments Appendix G: top Google queries relating to the 10 most frequently searched-for animals Reference list Index Supplementary materials not in the book Policy network map Issue mentions in newspapers Event mentions in newspapers
