Latest
research from JMICAWE published, highlighting how knowledge is vital to improve
animal welfare
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Dr Rioja-Lang preparing for the workshop
that finalised the main issues for the study.
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JMICAWE researchers have published their
final paper in a series looking at prioritising animal welfare issues for
different groups of animals, in work funded by the British Veterinary
Association’s Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF). For this work, the JMICAWE team
(led by the late Dr Fiona Rioja-Lang) established contact with 144 animal
welfare experts and worked on all the main managed animal groups in the UK
(farmed, companion and horses). Overall more than 600 welfare issues were
identified by the work, and this indicates just how many areas we need to be
concerned about when thinking about improving animal lives.
The aim of this final paper was to
determine the most important welfare issues for each species, to think about
methods for tackling them and to look for key recurring themes between species.
Working with the experts the team identified that lack of knowledge, usually by
owners, about the best way to care for the species was a key problem, alongside
issues with managing the social and other behaviours of the species, owners not
seeking appropriate health care and managing animals in inappropriate
environments.
Other important issues involved decisions about breeding animals,
particularly selecting specific characteristics in animals that might be
associated with reduced health and fitness, feeding animals incorrectly, a poor
ability to recognise when an animal is in pain, and not seeking euthanasia
before significant animal suffering had occurred. Chronic or endemic health
issues were also likely to be having a significant impact on animal lives,
which may not be recognised by their owners.
Overall, the study suggests that further
research is required in some areas, but better education for owners, especially
before making a decision on acquiring an animal, is fundamental to improving
animal welfare. Veterinarians are an important source of information for
current and future animal owners and thus JMICAWE’s key mission, to improve
veterinary education in animal welfare, will help to play a role in addressing
the findings of this study.
More information about the study can be
found here: https://www.ed.ac.uk/vet/jeanne-marchig-centre/activities/delphi
which includes links to the published papers from the study.
More information about the Animal Welfare
Foundation is available here: https://www.animalwelfarefoundation.org.uk/
