ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to consider whether our developing understanding of the factors which determine the quality of life experienced by other species has any implication for the way in which the law relating to wildlife may, or should, evolve. The emergence of animal welfare science as a distinct area of study and inquiry is relatively recent, dating from the 1960s, but it now has a very significant impact on public policy. In particular, it has informed and profoundly influenced the volume and nature of the legal protection afforded to domestic animals, in both British and European Community law.
