"Animal Internet is a most important book. This excellent work could be a strong catalyst for people to rewild, to reconnect and become re-enchanted with all sorts of mysterious and fascinating animals, both local and distant. By shrinking the world it will bring humans and other animals together in a multitude of ways that only a few years ago were unimaginable." —Marc Bekoff, University of Colorado, author of Rewilding Our Hearts: Building Pathways of Compassion and Coexistence "An original book that goes against the trend to stubbornly keep nature and technology divided from one another."—Der Spiegel "Animal Internet is one of the most interesting books that I've read in recent years."—Bavarian Radio "What Pschera describes sounds futuristic but it's already widespread reality . . . Pschera's book is not just popular science: he describes not only the status quo, but also thinks about an ongoing transformation."—Wired.de Some fifty thousand creatures around the globe—including whales, leopards, flamingoes, bats, and snails—are being equipped with digital tracking devices. The data gathered and studied by major scientific institutes about their behavior will warn us about tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, but also radically transform our relationship to the natural world. With a broad cultural and historical perspective, this book examines human ties with animals, from domestic pets to the soaring popularity of bird watching and kitten images on the web. Will millennia of exploration soon be reduced to experiencing wilderness via smartphone? Contrary to pessimistic fears, author Alexander Pschera sees the Internet as creating a historic opportunity for a new dialogue between man and nature. Foreword by Martin Wikelski, Director, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Alexander Pschera, born in 1964, has published several books on the internet and media. He studied German, music, and philosophy at Heidelberg University. He lives near Munich where he writes for the German magazine Cicero as well as for German radio.

LOL cats. Grumpy Cat. Dog-rating Twitter. Pet Instagram accounts. It’s generally understood the internet is for pictures of cute cats (and dogs, and otters, and pandas). But what motivates people to make and share these images, and how do they relate to other online social practices? The Internet is for Cats examines how animal images are employed to create a lighter, more playful mood, uniting users within online spaces that can otherwise easily become fractious and toxic. Placing today’s pet videos, photos, and memes within a longer history of mediated animal images, communication scholar Jessica Maddox also considers the factors that make them unique. She explores the roles that animals play within online economies of cuteness and attention, as well as the ways that animal memes and videos respond to common experiences of life under neoliberalism. Conducting a rich digital ethnography, Maddox combines observations and textual analysis with extensive interviews of the people who create, post and share animal media, including TikTok influencers seeking to make their pets famous, activists tweeting about wildlife conservation, and Redditors upvoting every cute cat photo. The Internet is for Cats will leave you with a new appreciation for the human social practices behind the animal images you encounter online.

'The internet is made of cats' is a half-jokingly made claim. Today, animals of all shapes and sizes inhabit our digital spaces, including companion animals, wildlife, feral animals and livestock. In this book, Deborah Lupton explores how digital technologies and datafication are changing our relationships with other animals. Playfully building on the concept of 'The Internet of Things', she discusses the complex feelings that have developed between people and animals through the use of digital devices, from social media to employing animal-like robots as companions and carers. The book brings together a range of perspectives, including those of sociology, cultural geography, environmental humanities, critical animal studies and internet studies, to consider how these new digital technologies are contributing to major changes in human–animal relationships at both the micropolitical and macropolitical levels. As Lupton shows, while digital devices and media have strengthened people's relationships to other creatures, these technologies can also objectify animals as things for human entertainment, therapy or economic exploitation. This original and engaging book will be of interest to scholars and students across the social sciences and humanities.

An illuminating account of animal migration and the stunning new science that reveals their infinite, untapped knowledge. “A loving ode to science itself, told with wit and wonder.—Thor Hanson, author of Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid What do animals know that we don’t? How do elephants detect tsunamis before they happen? How do birds predict hurricanes? In The Internet of Animals, renowned scientist Martin Wikelski convincingly argues that animals possess a unique “sixth sense” that humans are only beginning to grasp … All we need to do is give animals a voice and our perception of the world could change forever. That’s what author Martin Wikelski and his team of scientists believe, and this book shares their story for the first time. As they tag animals around the world with minuscule tracking devices, they link their movements to The International Space Station, which taps into the ‘internet of animals’: an astonishing network of information made up of thousands of animals communicating with each other and their environments. Called the International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space, or ICARUS, this phenomenal project is poised to change our world. Down on the ground, Wikelski describes animals’ sixth sense first-hand. Farm animals become restless when earthquakes are imminent. Animals on the African plains sense when poachers are on the move. Frigatebirds in South America depart before hurricanes arrive … As Wikelski shows, animal migratory rhythms are not triggered by genes encoded in their DNA, as previously thought, but by elaborate cultures that are long established. What does this mean for humans? It means that, by paying attention to animal cultures, we can learn more about our environments. We can better prepare for natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes. Most of all, we can learn to live alongside animals in harmony for the betterment of our future, their future, and the future of the planet.

This benchmark publication assembles information on the current and anticipated effects of climate change on animal health. It empowers educators, managers, practitioners, and researchers by providing evidence, experience, and opinions on what we need to do to prepare for, and cope with, the largest threat ever to have faced animals on this planet. With expert contributors from across the globe, the text equips the reader with information and means to develop sustainable adaptation or mitigation actions. After introducing animal health in a climate change context, chapters look at specific animal health impacts arising from climate change. The book concludes with suggestions on teachable and actionable ideas that could be used to mobilize concepts provided into education or advocacy. This book was written amid the COVID-19 pandemic and in the face of ever-increasing reports of on-the-ground, real-life climate impacts. Large scale wildfire and ocean heat waves killed unprecedented numbers of animals, while droughts in some areas and floods in others displaced thousands of livestock and made food scarce for even more. Climate change is real, and it is here. How we respond will have profound implications for people, biodiversity, welfare, conservation, societies, economies, and ecosystems. Today's veterinary educators are awakening to the need to adapt and train a new generation of animal health professionals who can understand and plan for climate change, and this book is an essential resource.

Exotic Animal Practice Around the World, An Issue of Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice, E-Book

This book, the fifth in the series 'Food Safety Assurance and Veterinary Public Health', has been conceived by a total of 33 internationally recognised experts from 11 different countries in Europe and from the USA, Canada and Australia, with backgrounds ranging from veterinary medicine, animal science, biology and microbiology to psychology, philosophy and ethics. It provides an up-to-date overview of the science of animal welfare and its assessment, of options for the assessment and management of risks for the welfare of production animals, and of the ramifications these may have for the safety of foods of animal origin. This volume is targeted at veterinary practitioners, official veterinarians in a control function, animal and food scientists, welfare scientists, students in animal welfare, auditing and inspection officials and risk managers at all levels of animal production. Other publications in the Food Safety Assurance and Veterinary Public Health series are: * Volume 1. Food safety assurance in the pre-harvest phase * Volume 2. Safety assurance during food processing * Volume 3. Risk management strategies: monitoring and surveillance * Volume 4. Towards a risk-based chain control