Animal Welfare Governance in EU Agriculture: Hybrid Standards, Trade and Values in the Agri-Food Chain

This ground-breaking book sets out a comprehensive governance framework to raise the welfare of animals across EU agriculture and the agri-food chain. Diane Ryland argues that a global response is needed to promote animal wellbeing in agriculture, focusing on the importance of the relations between standard-setting bodies.

Through a comparative analysis of major animal welfare standards, this book develops a transnational soft law hybrid governance model for animal welfare in agriculture. It examines, critically, animal welfare standards in the public and private spheres, investigating the links between the two and how they can be advanced. Drawing on extensive case studies, chapters explore animal welfare comprehensively for specific species and at various stages, in EU agriculture and the food supply chain. Ultimately, Ryland shows that concerned and informed consumers will be the drivers of change for effective global animal law.

Animal Welfare Governance in EU Agriculture will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars in animal law, environmental law, regulation and governance, standardisation, and agricultural economics. It will also be an essential guide for activists and policymakers interested in improving the welfare of animals raised and traded in agriculture.