Anthrozoology

Aim

The course aims to provide students an understanding of the relationships between animals and humans in a broad perspective and in different contexts, as well as the importance of different kinds of relationships and their quality with respect to animal welfare. This comprises relationships with different companion animals, but also with laboratory animals, farm animals, wild animals, and zoo animals. After the course, the students will have insights in how human-animal relationships can be used for therapeutic purposes in different contexts and how this can affect the welfare of the animals. More specifically, after the course the students will be able to:

• Define and describe various types of interactions, relationships, and attachments in different anthrozoological contexts, as well as in relation to different types of animal husbandry and species.
• Reflect on anthrozoological concepts in practice related to the natural behavior of animals.
• Summerise, interpret, and orally present anthrozoological data with the support of scientific articles.

Content

The course contains anthrozoological concepts and their meaning, such as Human-Animal-Relations (HAR), Human-Animal-Interactions (HAI) and Human-Animal-Bonding (HAPB). This is studied in different contexts where humans and animals interact, and special consideration is given to how animal welfare is affected by the different sorts of interaction. Examples of different types of animal keeping and situations where interactions are studied are companion animals, laboratory animals, farm animals and zoos. Furthermore, the importance of human-animal interactions with wildlife in relation to tourism and with animals in urban environments is treated, as well as how animals are used in human service, for example in healthcare and schools.