The object of this book is to introduce ethology to agricultural and
veterinary students. Today ethology covers many approaches to the study
of animal behaviour which are connected by one unifying concept: all
behaviour must be considered in relation to the ecology and evolutionary
history of the species under investigation. This may seem to some to put
domesticated animals beyond the scope of classical ethology but, while
domestication has involved some behavioural changes, we shall see that
much of the behaviour of our species of farm livestock differs little
from that of their putative ancestors. It is assumed that students using
this book will already have studied some physiology. It is also assumed
that they are, essentially, practically minded and with this factor in
mind I have discussed behaviour in terms of its function, introducing
the principles of ethology within functional categories of behaviour. In
order to best illustrate these principles I have taken examples from a
variety of species and not confmed myself to farm livestock and domestic
animals, for fundamental ethological research with these species has
been patchy. However at the end of each chapter I have given a list of
papers pertaining to farm livestock so that the principles of ethology
can be seen in a more practical context and to develop this approach
further I have also added some practical problems for discussion at the
end of each chapter.
