Seasons Greetings from the JMICAWE team

A very happy festive period from all at JMICAWE

The team at JMICAWE would like to wish everyone a very happy and relaxing holiday period, and to thank you all for your support over the last 12 months.

It has been a year of highs and lows for us this year. Tragically we lost our colleague, Fiona Rioja-Lang earlier this year, very sadly missed but will not be forgotten for her passion and commitment to animal welfare. Our administrator, Lucy Ewing, decided to move on to another post in the University this year, but we welcomed kiwi, Katherine Curnow, in her place. We were also lucky enough to have RVN Roxy Woodrow spend 6 months working with us on veterinary nursing projects to support our existing nurses. In the wider JMICAWE team we have also said goodbye to Louise Buckley and hello to Kirstin McIlvaney and Verity Bowell in the MSc teaching team.

We have had a busy year delivering workshops, teaching and training in many countries including Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, India, South Africa, and China, and presented at conferences in UK, USA, Norway, Canada, Czech Republic, Malta and Kenya. In particular Heather and Hayley hosted the first Animal Behaviour, Welfare and Ethics day at British Small Animal Veterinary Association conference, and Cathy presented at the British Veterinary Association Animal Welfare Foundation discussion forum. Previous JMICAWE director, Natalie Waran, was also still flying the flag for JMICAWE, speaking at the OIE meeting in Bali, and at the Chinese Veterinary Medical Association conference in Nanjing. 

We have continued to give independent advice on animal welfare issues to industry and government, with Cathy Dwyer attending meetings of the EU Animal Welfare Platform in Brussels and being appointed as the first Chair of the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission. Alongside our colleagues at SRUC, we hosted a visit from the Minister for Rural Affairs and Natural Environment, MSP Mhairi Gougeon, who has a particular interest in animal welfare.

Finally we are delighted to be supporting our undergraduate and postgraduate students in their studies, with successful student-led conferences from the Dick Vet Animal Behaviour Society and the Animal Welfare and Ethics Society, and more than 250 MSc students enrolled on animal behaviour and welfare programmes.  

The Ghent Lambing and Husbandry Project

  Lambing training in Ghent vet school

For vet students in UK spending Easter holidays lambing is a normal routine before and after starting vet school. However for some students this is not the case, and there is less opportunity to experience the highs and lows of lambing and lamb survival. A student-led initiative at the Ghent Veterinary School - the Ghent Lambing and Husbandry Project - has set out to offer students the opportunity to spend time on sheep farms across the UK and elsewhere, and to practice their lambing and husbandry skills.

As part of this project JMICAWE director, Cathy Dwyer, spent two days at the vet school to help with lambing training and to discuss with students opportunities to improve sheep welfare and lamb survival in their work. It is obviously a very popular option for students as the auditorium was packed with would-be lambers, and there was lively discussion around the various practical scenarios Cathy had prepared to help students prepare for lambing. 

Cathy explained the biological basis for maternal behaviour in the ewe, and how taking this into account in lambing management can help ewes look after their lambs, improve lamb survival and improve the welfare and well-being of sheep and lambers alike.

‘I was really impressed to see so many students keen to stay behind in the evening for extra lectures, and how excited the students were to be able to spend time in UK lambing’

- Prof Cathy Dwyer

Cathy shared the platform with farmer, Peter Myles, who has been hosting lambing students at his Scottish sheep farm for many years and both Cathy and Peter were delighted with the enthusiasm of the students to learn and be involved in lambing.

MSc Graduation 2019 - Congratulations to our students!

Congratulations to our MSc students on their Graduation!

Last week we were honoured to be present at the graduation of our MSc students, and those collecting diplomas or credits for Personal Professional Development in animal behaviour and welfare. Whether this had been a one year intensive course in Edinburgh for the MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare, or up to 6 years part time intermittent study for MSc International Animal Welfare Ethics and Law or MSc Clinical Animal Behaviour we are so proud of all our fantastic students whatever their journey may have been. It was lovely to be able to catch up with students who have been away carrying out their dissertation research, or in some cases to meet students for the first time in person who have been studying on the online programmes. It was fantastic that so many family, friends and students travelled back to Edinburgh for the graduation; and it is always a very special time for the staff who have taught these students to see them collect their degrees.

It is a wonderful personal achievement for all our students, but special praise goes to the winners of the dissertation prizes, whose work was judged the best for that year. 

This year we are delighted to be able to congratulate:

• Brianne Lyall (MSc Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare) for her dissertation: ‘Qualitative Behavioural Assessment of dairy cows to a systemic inflammatory challenge’
• Lesley Townsend (MSc Clinical Animal Behaviour) for her dissertation: ‘Who’s walking who? The relationship between pulling on the lead and dog welfare in the UK and Ireland’
• Stephanie Karageorgis (MSc International Animal Welfare, Ethics and Law) for her dissertation: ‘Comparison of emotional expression in brachycephalic and non-brachycephalic dog breed types using Qualitative Behaviour Assessment’

If you would like to one day be one of these students then follow this link to learn more about applying for our MSc courses: https://www.ed.ac.uk/vet/studying/postgraduate