Jess in Bosnia with DogsTrust

Earlier this month, JMICAWE's RVN Jess was invited by charity Dogs Trust to work with their International Training Program based in the Sarajevo Veterinary Faculty, Bosnia.

Jess was paired up with Paul Eynon, a small animal surgeon and lecturer from Glasgow Veterinary School, and as the International Team they were responsible for the training of two Bosnian vets in surgical techniques (Paul) and effective anaesthesia monitoring (Jess) with the focus being on ensuring a high standard of welfare is maintained for the patient from induction all the way through to recovery.

JMICAWE’s RVN Hayley Walters originally spent time in Sarajevo with this project three years ago to assess and implement standard operating protocols to ensure a high standard of welfare for each patient is upheld during anaesthesia and recovery which are still being followed today, with great success!

Jess Davies at ICAWC, Cyprus

Our Vet Nurse Jess Davies  represented JMICAWE at the 19th ICAWC in Nicosia, Cyprus last month.

This year there were 232 delegates, from 105 organisations in 37 countries with speakers talking from many different perspectives in relation to animal welfare issues, from NGOs, charities from both the UK and overseas and also from the academic field.

It proved to be a really positive conference showcasing so many dedicated individuals and groups from all over the world in the pursuit of improving animal welfare in their area.

Poultry Award for JMICAWE colleague

Poultry Award for welfare expert

Welfare expert and JMICAWE colleague Jessica Martin has been named Young Poultry Person of the Year at the Egg and Poultry Industry Conference.

Welfare expert Jessica Martin has been named Young Poultry Person of the Year at the Egg and Poultry Industry Conference.

Jessica received the award for her work at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, which is focused on improving bird welfare during poultry production.

Her current research evaluates the welfare impacts of both slaughter and on-farm killing techniques for poultry. She has also carried out studies on bird behaviour and the merits of multi-sensor platforms for remote monitoring of poultry flocks, such as thermal imaging and technologies to monitor vocalisations.

The EPIC Young Poultry Person of the Year Award was set up in memory of renowned egg processor Clive Frampton, former owner of Frampton’s egg processing business, who passed away in 2012. The award is made annually to recognise the efforts of up and coming stars in the poultry industry.  Many congratulations from the team, Jess!

I am truly honoured to receive this award from the UK poultry Industry and so grateful for their on-going support over the years. It demonstrates the strengthening relationship between industry and the scientific community to produce high quality data and results, with high impact.

World Conference on Farm Animal Welfare, HangZhao, China

World Conference on Farm Animal Welfare, Hangzhou, China

JMICAWE Director Cathy Dwyer and SRUC colleagues Emma Baxter and Irene Camerlink were guests at a Conference on farm animal welfare organised as the 5^th China Animal Welfare Forum on Quality and Safety of Meat and Poultry Products by the International Cooperation Committee on Animal Welfare (ICCAW) in Hangzhou. The meeting was attended by about 40 overseas guests, and 350 Chinese delegates from industry, academia and NGOs, and was a good signal that China is now starting to consider animal welfare as very important in food animals. 

Cathy gave an interview to the Chinese TV media before the conference began, particularly addressing concerns that animal welfare is synonymous with an increase in costs of production, and also took part in a panel discussion with both Chinese and overseas experts.

On the second day of the conference there were species-focused sessions and Emma gave a talk on neonatal mortality in a session organised by the RSPCA.

It was interesting to see how animal welfare is viewed in China with a lot of interest in standards and legislation and fewer talks on animal behaviour or animal based measures as might be the case in European meetings. This is planned to be an annual event, so we look forward to seeing how the status of animal welfare in China develops over the next few years.

JMICAWE at Chinese Agricultural University, Beijing

JMICAWE teaching at CAU

Cathy Dwyer and Jess Davies were recently at the Chinese Agricultural University in Beijing to visit the veterinary school teaching hospital for small animals and agriculture school. Jess gave her first overseas lecture to the students and faculty, which prompted a great discussion around euthanasia in different contexts and cultural differences between China and UK. The Chinese faculty were very interested to hear about the ways some veterinary practices are able to have a dedicated room for clients for euthanasia and are thinking about providing something similar themselves.

We also met with faculty members currently doing research in farm animal welfare, and Cathy gave a lecture on animal welfare issues, which also resulted in an interesting discussion around different issues in China and UK. It was fascinating to tour the vet school at CAU and see the differences and similarities in how care is provided to patients in comparison to the UK. In particular the use of Chinese Traditional Medicine in veterinary practice, alongside conventional medicine was really interesting. We were impressed with the interest and enthusiasm for animal welfare and ethical decision-making shown especially by the students and younger faculty members.

 Traditional Chinese medicine 

 Jess with Sun (their translator) at CAU

Jess's first overseas lecture for JMICAWE!