
“Peter J. Li’s pathbreaking new book, Animal Welfare in China, is timely and valuable.” ANTHROZOÖS
The 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
Dr Peter John Chen is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government and International Relations where he teaches Australian and regional politics, media politics, and public policy. He is the author of Animal Welfare in Australia: Politics and Policy (2016) and Australian Politics in a Digital Age (2013) and the co-editor of Double Disillusion: The 2016 Australian Federal Election (2018).
Acknowledgements Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Conclusion Reference list Supplementary materials not in the book
List of figures
List of acronyms
Nomenclature
Introduction
1. History
2. Ethics
3. Attitudes to animals
4. In the media
5. Mapping the policy domain
6. Animal protectionism
7. Animal-using industry
8. Political and administrative policy elites
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
Index
CRICOS number: 00026A