This multi-faceted volume enriches the current debate on social human-animal relationships. The discussion revolves around issues of animal ethics, negotiation of the human-animal boundary, and is concerned with, if nothing else, concrete interactions. Interdisciplinary contributions take up these issues on the basis of the core themes 'animal economies' and 'animal images'. From different perspectives, they approach the relationship between animals and economics as well as the diverse forms and functions of social animal images, thereby offering an overview of current research issues in human-animal studies.