Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education Organises animal welfare conference in India

Animal Welfare high on the Agenda in Bangalore last month

 

This Indian conference was a collaborative event between the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and the Commonwealth Veterinary Association; Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University, Bidar; and the National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology. It was held in Bangalore from 20-24 February 2014. The talks all addressed the importance of developing an evidence based approach for improving animal health and welfare, and different themes considered various areas of veterinary research, education and policy including; the use of new technologies to combat infectious diseases; finding new ways to tackle India’s growing problem of rabies and humane dog population management and the importance of animal welfare science in both veterinary education and research.

 

Around 150 delegates were welcomed to each of the 5 days of the conference, with talks provided by over 60 international speakers from countries including: India, UK, Italy, USA, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Switzerland, Japan, Netherlands, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Various International organisations were represented including the OIE, WHO, FVE, EC, WVA and the UK Home Office, in addition 10 of the conference speakers were from the University of Edinburgh.

 

The conference was delighted to welcome important guests such as the Indian commissioner for Animal Husbandry, Prof Suresh Honnappagol and Sir Timothy O’Shea- Principal and VC of the UoE who inaugurated the ‘Progress in Animal Welfare’ third day of the conference on 22 February where he signed a MoU with the Commonwealth Veterinary Association for future collaborative work in animal health and welfare.

 

Professor Natalie Waran, The Director of the Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies who co-organised the event, said:

 

‘Improvements in animal health and welfare and, by association, human welfare in India is of pressing concern, especially with the increasing numbers of domestic and livestock animals. My colleagues and I learned a great deal from attending the conference and we plan to continue to strengthen our collaborations with our Indian partners to help tackle the diverse range of animal diseases and important animal welfare issues, the country’s veterinary profession has responsibility for.’

 

Delegates experienced excellent opportunities for good discussion and the development of future collaborations. Dr Fritha Langford, Programme Director for the Edinburgh based online International Animal Welfare Masters programme said  ‘I for one am very pleased with how it all went, with three potential students applying for MSc IAWEL next year and a further two potential research areas for further discussion –all as a direct result of being at the conference’.

 

 

Delegates at the Conference

On 19th February, 2014 the CVA and Karnataka Veterinary Council organised a lecture by Prof. Bruce Whitelaw, Professor of Animal Biotechnology University of Edinburgh, on “A Future for Genetically Engineered Livestock”. His talk can be viewed at the following link: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/vet/jeanne-marchig-centre/presentations/bwhitelaw

 

The Conference Brochure with Abstracts can be downloaded here: http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/animalwelfare/Brochure1.PDF