"This book makes a valuable contribution to animal studies. It investigates the social and political processes concerned with the welfare of performing animals in Britain from the nineteenth century into the twentieth century. ... Drawing on highly detailed research, this book provides a comprehensive account of the individuals and organisations that campaigned against animal performance and its cruelties and, in turn, those who campaigned for its continuation." (Peta Tait, Animal Studies Journal, Vol. 5 (1), 2016) "A comprehensive history of human attitudes and actions in relation to the welfare of performing animals from Roman times to the present day. As such, it reveals a great deal about human behavior; attitudes that evolve, attitudes that never change and the motivations that lie behind what we say, write and do. ... It has been meticulously researched and it is very well written. It is also thought-provoking." (John Webster, Animal Welfare, Vol. 24 (3), August, 2015)
