Animal Breeding, Welfare and Society

`This new book by Jacky Turner shakes the foundations of animal breeding on the grounds that too often it brings consequences that are unforeseen, unjustified or just plain unfair. Her case is built on a persuasive mixture of compassion, good writing and hard evidence. It needed to be said, it is said well and it concerns us all.' Professor John Webster, University of Bristol, UK

`This book should appeal to a broad audience of informed members of the public, welfare scientists, animal industrialists and others associated with animal management.' Professor Clive Phillips, Foundation Chair of Animal Welfare, University of Queensland, Australia

`This important book looks at some of the most urgent animal welfare issues facing global animal production over the coming decades.' Philip Lymbery, Chief Executive, Compassion in World Farming

The determination of when, how, how often and with whom an animal breeds is moving rapidly away from evolutionary pressures and towards human purposes. These purposes include the breeding of around 50 billion mammals and birds for food production annually, pedigree dogs and cats, racing dogs and horses, and specialized laboratory animal strains, as well as the use of reproductive science to conserve endangered species or breeds and to limit unwanted populations of pests and non-native species. But the ethics and sustainability of this takeover of animals' reproductive lives have been insufficiently examined by either professionals or the public.

This book discusses the methods, the motivations and the consequences of human intervention in animal breeding in terms of animal health, behaviour and well-being. It explores where we are now and the choices ahead, and looks to a future where we have more respect for animals as sentient beings and where we could loosen the reins of reproductive control.

Jacky Turner is co-editor of Animals, Ethics and Trade (Earthscan, 2006) and Long Distance Transport and Welfare of Farm Animals (CABI, 2008), and has contributed to the Encyclopedia of Human-Animal Relationships (Greenwood Press, 2007) and the Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare (Greenwood Press, 2010).