Animal Welfare in China: Culture, Politics and Crisis

(Paperback)

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The plight of animals in China has attracted intense interest in recent times. Speculation about the origins of COVID-19 has sparked curiosity about how animals are treated, traded and consumed in China today.

In Animal Welfare in China, Peter Li explores the key animal welfare challenges facing China now, including animal agriculture, bear farming, and the trade and consumption of exotic wildlife, dog meat, and other controversial products. He considers how Chinese policymakers have approached these issues and speaks with activists from China's growing animal rights movement

Li also offers an overview of the history of animal welfare in China, from ancient times through the enormous changes of the 20th and 21st centuries. Some practices that are today described as 'traditional', he argues, are in fact quite recent developments, reflecting the contemporary pursuit of economic growth rather than long-standing cultural traditions.

Based on years of fieldwork and analysis, Animal Welfare in China makes a compelling case for a more nuanced and evidence-based approach to these complex issues.

Reviews

'Peter is the go-to man for explaining what has happened and is currently happening in the arena of animal welfare in this highly diverse country ... Animal Welfare in China is a comprehensive review of the history of the ways in which nonhuman animals have been treated through the ages and what is currently happening in this highly diverse country. It also debunks misleading simplistic myths about what is happening in China. There are very few people who could write such a unique, timely, authoritative, well-referenced the bibliography is an encyclopedic goldmine of information and on-the-ground perspective of a wide range of topics including animal agriculture, bear farming, zoos, and the trade and consumption of exotic wildlife, dog meat, and other products.'

Peter J. Li is the
worlds leading expert on animal welfare in China, regarded internationally as
the go-to person by international animal welfare and media organizations. ... The books appeal is
enhanced by its engaging writing, which is fun to read I highly recommend Animal
Welfare in China to everyone. Anthrozos

Author Bio

Peter J Li is associate professor of political science at the University of Houston-Downtown.