Animals in 2100
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2026 | Viewed by 59
Special Issue Editor
Interests: animal welfare; animal ethics; captive animal management; heavy metals in animals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The world is changing rapidly, and human developments have already forced a dramatic decline in wildlife in the last 50 years, replaced by huge numbers of domestic animals to meet human needs. At the same time, the role of animals through this century is becoming less clear. Are they simply going to be suppliers of services to humans, or will we expand our protection of the 2 billion-year evolution of complex animal life on planet earth to safeguard wildlife? At the same time as anthropocentrism vies with zoocentrism for planetary resources, humans are modifying the planet to make it challenging for animals to exist in their conventional ecosystems. Global warming, extreme weather events, and habitat loss are all manmade problems for animals to overcome if they are to survive to 2100. The demand for domestic animal products is increasing globally in response to increased affordability and availability, but a few highly developed countries have reached peak meat consumption. Will others follow in their path and reduce their meat consumption, with all the benefits that that might bring? Will animal production systems continue to intensify to meet the growing demand, or will domestic animal health and welfare be secured in less intensive systems?
Animal farming is criticized for polluting the environment, contributing to human health problems, and destroying valuable habitat. Modern intensive animal production systems are criticized for not providing for good animal welfare and excessive use of antibiotics that fosters antimicrobial resistance.
This Special Issue invites high-quality manuscripts that consider the future of animals on the planet, with a focus on their position in 2100. Preference will be given to manuscripts based on reliable modeling, although opinion papers will also be considered.
Prof. Dr. Clive J. C. Phillips
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- animals’ future
- 21st century
- wildlife
- domestic animals
- meat consumption
- antimicrobial resistance
- climate change
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