This handbook presents a much-needed and comprehensive exploration of the rapidly growing fields of animal welfare and law. In recent years there has been increasing attention paid to our complex, multifaceted relationships with other animals, and in particular, the depth and breadth of various societal uses of animals. This has led to a reconsideration of their moral and social status, which has sometimes challenged the interests of those who use animals. In such a contested domain, sound evidence and reasoning become particularly important. Through firm commitment to such principles, this book explores the biological foundations for the moral consideration of animals and for evolving conceptualisations of animal welfare. It reviews in detail the welfare concerns associated with numerous forms of animal use. The inclusion of key recent developments such as climate change, pandemics, and antimicrobial resistance, ensures this text is among the most current in its field. The ethical implications of the various uses of animals by society are considered, and chapters provide important recommendations for reforms of practice, law, or policy. The status of animal law internationally, and in major world regions, is reviewed. Finally, the book considers human behavioural change and strategies for improving stakeholder communication and education. The handbook is essential reading for students and scholars of animal welfare, animal law and animal ethics everywhere, and for policy-makers and other professionals working in the animal welfare sector. "A new book about numerous aspects of animal welfare merits worldwide attention. – Psychology Today , 2022. Globally, non-human animals – aka animals – need all the help they can get in an increasingly human-dominated world. The Routledge Handbook of Animal Welfare comprehensively reviews the welfare of animals in the wide array of settings in which they are used, including emerging issues such as the impacts of intensive farming and the wildlife trade on climate change, biodiversity loss, and antimicrobial resistance and pandemics. A most valuable source of up-to-date information for a global audience." Marc Bekoff PhD , University of Colorado, USA "Human activity is responsible for serious welfare problems for billions of non-human animals. Identifying the action required to address these issues and securing public support for it demands good evidence, wise reflection, and clear argumentation. This book provides all three and is an essential resource for anyone concerned about animal welfare." Prof. David L Clough MA (Cantab), MSt (Oxon), PhD (Yale), FHEA, University of Aberdeen, UK "A defining text in the field of animal welfare. Challenging, insightful, and current, this book covers a diversity of subject areas in the rapidly evolving arena of animal welfare. Both informative and balanced, the chapters explore and test our moral perceptions towards animals from a legal, cultural, and ethical perspective. In a time of changing attitudes with so many global issues at the forefront of society, this book provides a welcome and much needed contribution to conceptualisation of animal welfare in the modern day." Prof. Luke Gamble BVSc, DVM&S, FRCVS, Chief Executive – Worldwide Veterinary Service, UK "The Routledge Handbook of Animal Welfare is the most comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of animal welfare issues in all settings in which they are used – or misused. It provides compelling scientific evidence as to why the welfare of animals is important for the sake of millions of sentient beings, and also for our own health. Everyone concerned with the well-being of animals – students and professors, NGO staffers, and legislators – should read and own this book." Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE, Founder – The Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace "This textbook combines both classical and new topics in the rapidly growing discipline of animal welfare. It integrates important neighboring fields, such as animal ethics and animal law. It considers changes in human-animal interaction, and is an invaluable guide for navigating this rapidly changing terrain. The book demonstrates animal welfare science’s growing importance for social decision-making and pushes the field forward in a number of important fronts." Univ.-Prof. Dr Herwig Grimm, Ethics and Human-Animal Studies, Messerli Research Institute, Veterinary University Vienna, Medical University Vienna, University Vienna, Austria "Finally, there is a comprehensive, evidence-based animal welfare text that doesn’t shy away from examining the hard questions about how humans use animals, and how the Anthropocene impacts animals. Edited by luminaries, and with a range of expert contributing authors, this text is essential reading for anyone whose study or work relates to animal welfare." Dr Jennifer Hood BSc Hons, BVMS, PhD, Veterinary Director Animals Australia and Adjunct Senior Lecturer Murdoch Veterinary School,