Despite current restrictions on travel and movements, the
Conference season is in full swing, and the internet has been buzzing with
animal welfare discussions with two big international conferences taking place
in August.
The International Society for Applied Ethology (formerly the Society
for Veterinary Ethology) meets annually for its international Congress. In 2020
it was planned to hold the Congress in Bangalore, India, for the first time.
Sadly, this was not able to happen, and we met virtually in 2021 instead, for
the 54
th Congress. JMICAWE director, Cathy Dwyer, had a particular
role to play in this conference by working with the Indian team to help them
put together the scientific programme for the conference. Although some aspects
of virtual conferences, such as having the opportunity to discuss in person,
could not happen, the online format meant that participants from Low and Middle
Income Countries, who might have struggled to attend a conference in person,
were able to participate. The conference was enriched by the participation on
delegates from more than 40 countries, and papers were presented on animal
behaviour and welfare research conducted in India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, China
and Sudan amongst others. A highlight of the Congress was an inspirational
plenary lecture given by invited speaker, Dr Ullas Karanth, on steps India has
taken to encourage tiger conservation, which outlined approaches to recover
tiger numbers through macroecology, focusing on prey numbers and density.
Two weeks later Cathy also attended and contributed to the
8th
International Congress on Welfare Assessment at Farm and Group Level (the
wonderfully named WAFL conference!). Instead of travelling to Ireland, our
hosts for the conference, again we were all able to attend from the comfort of
our own homes. This conference is only held every three years and brings
together the latest research into animal welfare and welfare assessment.
Although originally this work has focused on farmed animals, this year we also
heard papers about companion animals, horses and zoo animal welfare, which
helped broaden our thinking and consideration of ways in which different
sectors can learn from one another in animal welfare. Cathy presented some of
her work considering the issues of pain and behavioural freedoms in extensively
managed animals, and other papers considered the advantages and potential
pitfalls in moves to increase the use of sensors and technology in animal
welfare management. Of particular note
in the congress was a philosophy paper, which emphasised the need to remember
that animal welfare should consider the care of the animal for their own sake,
as sentient beings, rather than just because animal welfare can contribute to
improving production efficiency or reducing the use of medicines.
The conference season is not yet over – watch this space for
JMICAWE participation in more conferences this summer, including the Animal
Welfare Foundation discussion forum in September (https://www.animalwelfarefoundation.org.uk/discussion-forum-2021/)
!
