Humans and nonhuman animals engage with each other in a multitude of fascinating ways. They have always done so, motivated by both necessity and choice. Yet, as human population numbers increase and our impact on the planet expands, this engagement takes on new meanings and requires new understanding.In Engaging with Animals: Interpretations of a Shared Existence experts in the field of human-animal studies investigate, from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, the ways in which humans and other animals interact. Grouped into three broad sections, the chapters focus on themes ranging from attitudes, ethics and interactions to history, art and literature, and finally animal welfare outcomes. While offering different interpretations of human-non-human interactions, they share a common goal in attempting to find pathways leading to a mutually beneficial and shared co-existence.

Winner of the Charles Horton Cooley Award, Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction, 1997 The first edition of Regarding Animals provided insight into the history and practice of how human beings construct animals, and how we construct ourselves and others in relation to them. Considerable progress in how society regards animals has occurred since that time. However, shelters continue to euthanize companion animals, extinction rates climb, and wildlife "management" pits human interests against those of animals. This revised and updated edition of Regarding Animals includes four new chapters, examining how relationships with pets help homeless people to construct positive personal identities; how adolescents who engage in or witness animal abuse understand their acts; how veterinary technicians experience both satisfaction and contamination in their jobs; and how animals are represented in mass media-both traditional editorial media and social media platforms. The authors illustrate how modern society makes it possible for people to shower animals with affection and yet also to abuse or kill them. Although no culture or subculture provides solutions for resolving all moral contradictions, Regarding Animals illuminates how people find ways to live with inconsistent behavior.

HOW NATURE MATTERS presents an original theory of nature's value based on part-whole relations. James argues that when natural things have cultural value, they do not always have it as means to valuable ends. In many cases, they have value as parts of valuable wholes - as parts of traditions, for instance, or cultural identities. James develops his theory by investigating twelve real-world cases, ranging from the veneration of sacred trees to the hunting of dugongs. He also analyses some key policy-related debates and explores various fundamental issues in environmental philosophy, including the question of whether anything on earth qualifies as natural. This accessible, engagingly written book will be essential reading for all those who wish to understand the moral and metaphysical dimensions of environmental issues.

In this landmark work of animal rights activism, Carol J. Adams - the bestselling author of The Sexual Politics of Meat - explores the intersections and common causes of feminism and the defense of animals. Neither Man Nor Beast explores the common link between cultural attitudes to women and animals in modern Western culture that have enabled the systematic exploitation of both. A vivid work that takes in environmental ethics, theological perspectives and feminist theory, the Bloomsbury Revelations edition includes a new foreword by the author and new images illustrating the continuing relevance of the book today.

One of the Financial Times' Best Summer Books of 2022 'A compelling account of the trials, tribulations and triumphs of life as a vet - and a lesson to us all on how we should treat the animals with which we share our lives.' - Stephen Moss, naturalist and author Dr Sean Wensley is an award-winning vet and lifelong naturalist who has contributed to animal welfare and conservation projects all over the world. His debut book is about how we can choose a better life for animals, from the chickens we eat to the pets we keep. As our societies become more urbanised, we are further removed from the reality of where and how our food is produced. Surveys suggest that nearly 1 in 4 UK adults don't know that bacon comes from pigs. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the humanisation of our pets is a risk to their welfare; with over 60% of UK dogs being overweight or obese, we are effectively killing them with kindness. Through A Vet's Eyes seeks to redress this imbalance so that we see all animals as thinking, feeling beings not dissimilar to ourselves. As he takes us through the years in which he trained to become a vet, and set against a backdrop of inspiring natural spectacles, Dr Wensley shares his first-hand experience of how animals are treated and used for our benefit. He interrogates the different levels of welfare afforded to them and reveals how we the general consumer can reduce our animal welfare footprint through the choices we make every day.