James Serpell is the Marie A. Moore Professor of Humane Ethics and Animal Welfare at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, where he also directs the Center for the Interaction of Animals & Society (CIAS). He received his bachelor’s degree in zoology from University College London (UK) in 1974, and his PhD on animal behavior from the University of Liverpool (UK) in 1980. In 1985 he established the Companion Animal Research Group at the University of Cambridge before moving in 1993 to his current position at the University of Pennsylvania where he lectures on veterinary ethics, applied animal behavior and welfare, and human-animal interactions. He serves on the editorial boards of most of the major journals on animal welfare, applied animal behavior, and human-animal interactions, and his research focuses on the behavior and welfare of dogs, the development of human attitudes to animals, and the history of human-animal relationships. In addition to publishing more than 80 articles and book chapters on these and related topics, he is the author, editor or co-editor of several books.