Farm Animal Behaviour: Characteristics for Assessment of Health and Welfare I. Ekesbo 248 pages, paperback, £37.50. CABI. 2011. ISBN 978 1 84593 770 6 FARM animals have been part of human society for several thousand years. Domestication has modified the thresholds, intensities and timings of the behaviours of their wild ancestors, rather than the repertoire. Consequently, the use of behaviour to infer the internal state of an animal – such as aspects of its health or cognitive status – requires an understanding of nuances of behaviour. Details, often subtle, of the timing and structure of behaviour are important, and so is an appreciation that many behaviours seen in husbandry are best understood as mechanisms for …