Description

Description

The Welfare of Wildlife offers a clear, compelling exploration of the ethical questions and welfare challenges facing wild animals today. Perfect for curious readers and students beginning their journey in conservation or animal protection, this book lays a strong foundation for understanding how our values shape the way we treat wildlife.

Opening with the ethical frameworks that guide human–wildlife relationships, it moves through richly detailed chapters on rehabilitation, so‑called ‘pest’ control, the pressures of urban development, and the complex realities of hunting. Later sections translate principles into practice, examining effective ways to reduce human–animal conflict and navigating the often‑fragile interface between conservation priorities and animal welfare needs. Bringing the threads together, the book concludes with a thoughtful synthesis of the debates and a forward‑looking exploration of possible futures for wildlife welfare.

Insightful and accessible, The Welfare of Wildlife is an essential guide for anyone committed to understanding and improving the lives of wild animals.

Contents

• 1 Introduction – Alick Simmons
• 2 Does the welfare of wildlife matter? – Heather Browning and Walter Veit
• 3 The effects of human activity on the welfare of wildlife – Angus Nurse
• 4 The efficacy and humaneness of lethal and nonlethal control methods – Trudy Sharp
• 5 The rehabilitation of wildlife – Elizabeth Mullineaux
• 6 Fair chase hunting and wild animal welfare – Nikolaj Bichel
• 7 The welfare implications of human activities on marine mammals – Vassili Papastavrou and Russell Leaper
• 8 The ethical challenges of predator management in bird conservation – Jeremy D. Wilson, Julianne Evans, Anne McCall, Joelene Hughes and Katie-Jo Luxton
• 9 Putting wildlife ethics into practice – Alick Simmons and Sara Dubois
• 10 The future – Alick Simmons

Editor

Alick Simmons is a former veterinarian with expertise in epidemic disease control, risk assessment, and animal welfare and ethics. He previously served as the UK Government’s Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer and as Veterinary Director at the Food Standards Agency. He chairs the Zoological Society of London’s Ethics Committee on Animal Research and sits on advisory groups for the RSPB and the National Trust. He is also a former chair of UFAW and the Humane Slaughter Association. He counts himself as an avid amateur naturalist.