Networking to improve lamb survival and sheep welfare

As part of an EU project, SheepNet, JMICAWE Director, Cathy Dwyer, spent four days in France at the start of September visiting farms, engaging with farmers and contributing to a seminar on improving lamb survival. This project has been running since 2016, and involves farmers, vets, researchers and other stakeholders from six EU countries (UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Romania) and Turkey. The project aims to share science and practice across the countries to improve sheep health and reduce lamb losses, and the French visit was the final workshop for the project to share the story that lies behind the project. A key part of the work has been to facilitate and translate information between countries and allow farmers to develop ideas together, as well as to engage with farmers, veterinarians and researchers from across Europe. Although this project is coming to an end in December 2019, a second project, EuroSheep, will take its place to continue the work already begun. The materials already collated as part of SheepNet are freely available through the ‘knowledge reservoir’ on the project website: www.sheepnet.network.

Overall this project has been a great example of taking animal welfare, and other research, out of the laboratory and into the field, quite literally, and engaging farmers from many different countries in improvements to animal welfare. 

ICABGEH Congress: Prof Cathy Dwyer Keynote Address

Should animal welfare be part of sustainability?

JMICAWE Director, Cathy Dwyer, argues that animal welfare is an integral part of sustainability, and cannot be ignored in a drive to reduce the cost of food production and increase productivity, in a keynote speech given at the ICABGEH congress held in Prague, Czech Republic, organised by Turkish researchers. The audience was largely vets and animal scientists from Turkey, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, plus some participants from as far afield as Thailand and Indonesia. For many, issues and concepts of animal welfare were very new and Turkish researchers in particular were keen to develop more welfare work in their country. A Czech journalist who was present will be writing a popular science article on animal welfare and
sustainability, based on Cathy’s talk, to help share these ideas.
The programme was very varied but two fascinating talks by Turkish researchers involved a discussion of the impact of transhumance on environmental and welfare issues, and how geopolitical changes are affecting the lives of these nomadic herdspeople. In addition, a very topical paper on the impact of drought in the pregnant ewe on lamb development was presented, with implications for future global changes in climate. Turkish research has also been surveying and cataloguing the living conditions and husbandry practices for cattle living in Central Anatolia. Although the work was focused on improving productivity, it revealed a significant number of welfare issues that need to be addressed.
Other keynotes at the Congress included an excellent presentation on bees by Prof Kaspar Bienefeld, the Director of the Bee Institute at the Humboldt University in Germany. The behaviour of bees may hold the key to preventing colony collapse by encouraging the natural behaviour of the bees to remove mites from infested cells in the hive. An important finding to ensure that these pollinators continue to thrive.
Cathy is keen to maintain contacts and links with Turkish and other researchers to help promote better animal welfare practices in these countries.     

Minister of Rural Affairs Visit

Scientific Evidence to support Policy Changes

Scientists from SRUC and JMICAWE were delighted to host a visit from the Scottish Government’s Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment, MSP Mairi Gougeon on 10th September. 

The Minister has responsibility for animal welfare in Scotland, and was keen to learn more about the research in animal welfare being conducted in Edinburgh. We visited the SRUC pig research centre, where more than 30 years of research into pig behaviour and welfare has been carried out. SRUC’s Prof Alistair Lawrence explained the history of pig research from the Edinburgh pig park in the 1980s, which allowed pigs to show natural behaviour in a wood on the Pentland hills, and demonstrated that pigs were still motivated to perform the same behaviours as their wild ancestors. The story continued through a programme of work to unravel the behavioural needs of sows and piglets, culminating in the designed pen for sows and piglets, PigSAFE, which allows sows the freedom to nest-build, move around the environment and interact freely with their piglets (see www.freefarrowing.org). We also discussed other ongoing pig research, such as work on preventing tail-biting, and a project to recognise emotional expression through facial recognition technology that may be able to detect happiness from the expressions in pigs faces.

Finally, we discussed work in other species, such as the development of Qualitative Behavioural Assessment in many species by Prof Francoise Wemelsfelder, and the impact of early life experience in pigs, cattle, sheep and goats. Before leaving the Minister spent time discussing the work of JMICAWE at home and abroad with Prof Cathy Dwyer.  Overall, it was great to be able to showcase the important evidence-gathering work that we do as part of our research, and look forward to many more interactions and opportunities to contribute to improving policy for high animal welfare in farmed animals.

SSPCA Conference explores the links between domestic violence, animal abuse and childhood adverse experience

The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) hosted a 1-day conference in Edinburgh with the University to explore the Links Partnership, which draws on research and evidence to demonstrate a link between animal abuse and poor welfare, and cycles of abuse and violence towards humans. The day involved a number of inspirational speakers, and charted the history of understanding about non-accidental injuries in animals can also be suggestive of human abuse and violence. 

Overall, the need for different agencies to work together to bring about improvements was emphasised. Alongside speakers Phil Arkow (The Links Coalition: http://nationallinkcoalition.org/), Prof Jo Williams (University of Edinburgh Department of Psychology), Paula Boyden (Dog’s Trust), Mike Flynn and Gilly Mendes Ferreira (SSPCA); JMICAWE Director Cathy Dwyer also presented some of the work of JMICAWE in tackling animal cruelty and improving animal welfare around the world. In particular, Cathy focused on cultural differences in some of the places where we work, and how education and understanding barriers to making positive changes are important to bring about animal welfare improvements. 

One of the highlights of the day was to hear more about the Animal Guardians programme that SSPCA has been developing to work with children at an early stage who are showing signs of inappropriate behaviours towards animals (https://www.scottishspca.org/education/animal-guardians/). 

Working one-to-one using a set of bespoke activities the SSPCA has been able to educate children about animal sentience, animal needs and the reasons why animal lives should be treated with respect, and has had great success in changing children’s attitudes and behaviour, and improving the lives of pet animals.  (https://www.onewelfareworld.org/).

Overall it was often a challenging day to hear of some of the cruelty that takes place towards both animals and children, but also inspiring to see so many people working to make the world a better place. This is an important example of the working of One Welfare thinking in taking an holistic approach to understanding why animal cruelty might take place, and how this can be stopped.

53rd Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology in Bergen, Norway

The International Society for Applied Ethology held its 53^rd annual Congress in Bergen, Norway at the beginning of August. The Society has been promoting the use of animal behaviour in animal management for more than 50 years, since its beginnings in Edinburgh (as the Society of Veterinary Ethology), and has grown to become the most important annual congress for those interested in animal behaviour and welfare. The society has also been keen to expand its activities into new regions to support animal welfare activities in Asia, South America and Africa and, through the generous support of the Open Philanthropy Project, was able to bring 14 fellows to the Conference from a diverse range of countries including Sudan, Nigeria, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, Tai-Wan and Colombia. As part of the activities for these participants, JMICAWE Director, Cathy Dwyer, along with fellow ISAE members: Dr Jeremy Marchant-Forde (USDA, USA), Prof Dan Weary (UBC, Canada) and Dr Laura Boyle (Teagasc, Ireland), together with ISAE Development Officer, Rebecca Sommerville (Dog’s Trust, UK), hosted a workshop before the conference began to provide the new members with essential skills in behaviour and welfare.

‘The participants were extremely enthusiastic and dedicated to learning about animal behaviour and animal welfare’ said Cathy, ‘and it was wonderful to help them work on animal welfare skills to take back to their own countries after the Congress’.

The Congress itself began with a wonderful Wood-Gush memorial lecture (held each Congress in memory of Prof David Wood-Gush, University of Edinburgh), given by Prof Emeritus Felicity Huntingford. This covered the application of fundamental biology of fish behaviour to practical and applied problems to improve fish welfare, an important and emerging area of interest. The conference covered a range of important and inspiring areas: social behaviour, behaviour and genetics, environmental enrichment, human-animal interactions and future trends in animal production, among other topics. Overall it was good to see more than 400 people contributing to different areas and problems, but all with the aim of using science to improve animal lives.    

The Congress ended with poster and travel awards, and honouring those Society members who had achieved particular awards. And the all-important handing on of the batten (or in this case the wooden ISAE logo carved by JMICAWE associate, Mike Appleby) to the next Congress organisers.  Excitingly, this will be in India for the first time, and JMICAWE will be involved in the helping with the organisation of the Scientific Programme, with an Asian flavour. Watch this space for further updates on the Congress development!

Welcome - Katherine Curnow joins our team

Hi, I’m Katherine Curnow and I am the new administrator for the JMICAWE team.

I am from New Zealand and moved to Scotland in March after previously living in Italy and Sweden. I graduated from the University of Auckland with a BA/BSc Conjoint majoring in Biology and Ancient History, so as you can tell, I enjoy different perspectives and approaches to things. Back in New Zealand I was a high school teacher and dean but after five years I wanted a change, so moved back overseas!

I have worked within the Education sector for over ten years – both for private institutions and universities – and am looking forward to being involved with such a passionate and hard-working team. I am a strong supporter of animal welfare and am looking forward to gaining further knowledge from my work.

In New Zealand, our family are whippet and greyhound rescue enthusiasts – at the moment, we have in our family a whippet who came from the Christchurch earthquakes in 2011; and an ex-racing greyhound. 

Summer School is here

It's that time of year again - the annual R(D)SVS 3 weeks international summer school which focuses on the veterinary medical experience, specifically to our international partner institutions.

This year the group visiting comprised of 12 Undergraduate veterinary medical students ranging from 1^st-4^th year all coming from China Agricultural College (CAU) which Jess (Veterinary Nurse) had the pleasure of visiting with Cathy Dwyer (Director) in 2017.

Jess gave a talk about behaviours recognitions of dogs and cats and what we can do to improve their experience in the clinic through appropriate handling. Then we went in to the clinical skills lab to practice low stress handling on the models (shown in the photo on the left), we have available for student teaching, before moving on to discuss the behaviour of resident Labrador Seil and how we would remove her form her kennel safely. There was much hilarity when Seil decided to show off her agility skills and jump on the table to wait for her treat!

The student group will be moving on to spend time in the hospital for small animals (HfSA) next week and Jess will be responsible for showing them around the anaesthesia area and discussing inpatient management for two days.

Sheep, ostrich and giraffes in South Africa

Just some of the animals encountered when JMICAWE Director, Cathy Dwyer, attended the South African Society for Animal Science 51^st Congress in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Cathy was a guest of the animal science department at University of the Free State, and gave a plenary presentation entitled ‘Can animal welfare contribute to improved livestock productivity?’ to an audience of approximately 300 South African researchers, lecturers and students. The overall theme of the congress was ‘Managing the ecological footprint of livestock through efficient production’ and Cathy explained how poor animal welfare can contribute to poor production efficiency through impacts on neonatal mortality, disease and failing to meet animal behavioural needs.

"It is important that animal welfare is seen as an integral part of sustainable animal production, and that this is an essential component of good productivity, rather than an expensive luxury or an optional extra’ Cathy emphasised."

Cathy also gave a presentation on the welfare of sheep in the Welfare and Ethics Workshop, which gave an overview of the positive and negative welfare issues faced by sheep production, and discussed recent research in this area.  Extensive sheep production is a significant industry in South Africa but faces a number of challenges, not least high levels of predation by jackals and caracals in some areas. This was explored in more detail in a predator management workshop, with emphasis being placed on understanding predator behavioural ecology to determine when the greatest risks of livestock predation will occur. Otherwise this is ‘just killing predators’ said Prof HO de Waal, often in ways that lead to very poor welfare and suffering.

South Africa is the largest producer of ostrich products (meat, feathers and skins) in the world, and the group at Stellenbosch University are actively investigating the welfare of these very newly domesticated animals. This led to a fascinating discussion about the impact of early handling, temperament and working with potentially very dangerous animals.

Cathy was impressed by the enthusiasm and interest in animal welfare shown by participants, and plans to hold another workshop to develop research and teaching in animal welfare in South Africa are in discussion.

Lively debate at the Animal Welfare Foundation annual Discussion Forum

Centre Director, Cathy Dwyer, has recently participated in the British Veterinary Association’s Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF) Discussion Forum, held in the beautiful surroundings of One Great George Street, London. Cathy presented the research the Centre has done for AWF to derive a prioritisation of welfare issues for farm and companion animals in the research section. One of the main purposes of AWF, as well as to fund research, is to stimulate discussion and debate around veterinary involvement in animal welfare, and this was very evident in the lively discussions that took place in the packed hall. The discussions opened with consideration of where the distinction might lie between clinical excellence and over treatment. As animals cannot give consent there is a risk that treatment may not be in animals’ best interest but to satisfy client expectations or clinicians desire to do some ‘cool surgery’ suggested Dr Polly Taylor, in urging the profession to consider implementing an ethical review process for new surgical techniques. We also heard from human medicine how these processes are managed with human consent.

The day then moved onto the debate section with a motion that farm animals in the UK have the highest standards of animal welfare (assumed compared to the rest of the world). The floor marginally rejected this (51% against) but following arguments for the motion made by Prof David Main of Royal Agricultural University this changed to a small majority in favour. Prof Jim Reynolds of Western University, USA also provided some counter arguments and there was considerable agreement that standards and systems are not sufficient to improve animal welfare – the people in charge of animal care are the most important factor in improving animal welfare. Jim concluded that ‘animal welfare is the best medicine’ which received general assent.

The second debate of the day considered the contentious issue of whether we can provide good welfare for exotic animals in captivity – covering both exotic animals as pets and in captivity in zoos. Here the floor more readily rejected the motion before the debate with a healthy 3:1 against the motion. Dr Romain Pizzi provided thought-provoking and thoughtful arguments why good animal welfare could be achieved in captivity, even though it often is not, whereas Dr Chris Draper of Born Free Foundation provided startling statistics for the numbers of exotic animals currently in captivity. Speakers for the motion managed to persuade some of the audience that good welfare could be provided in captivity, as the motion was still defeated after the debate but by a smaller margin.

The day concluded with a reception at the House of Commons.    

A Day with Dr Temple Grandin

On 16^th May, members of the University of Edinburgh Animal Welfare and Ethics Society (AWES) and the Dick Vet Behaviour Society (DVBS) welcomed Professor Temple Grandin of Colorado State University to R(D)SVS. Professor Grandin participated in informal discussions with students, and gave a seminar to the staff and students of the R(D)SVS, SRUC and Roslin Institute on animal welfare, behaviour, links with the autistic brain, and the impact of genetics and breeding.

‘We learned that animals, much like people with autism, think in pictures. A horse previously abused by a man in a black cowboy hat will show signs of fear for this specific image. A man in a white cowboy hat or a man with a black cowboy hat in his hand will not trigger a fear response. Important topics concerning genetic responsibility were also raised. If you select excessively for a behaviour or physical trait you will be inadvertently selecting for other, less desirable traits. Dr Grandin gave a wonderful example of how a bull, bred for docility would let her scratch its back but when asked to go in to the crush it violently kicked both back legs’ said Ela Russell, 4^th Year BVM&S and AWES President.

After the talk Prof Grandin answered audience questions and had lunch with AWES, DVBS and PhD students from JMICAWE and SRUC. PhD students took the opportunity to discuss their research with Prof Grandin on a range of topics from the effects of tickling rats to attitudes towards horse welfare in the traveller/gypsy community. In the afternoon Ela interviewed Prof Grandin using questions submitted by R(D)SVS students and covering topics such as current welfare issues, the squeeze machine and the impact of technology on animal welfare.

‘It was particularly interesting talking about the potential benefits of technology, for example, robotic milking systems can improve welfare. Dr Grandin mentioned about how if you calculate how much milk the dam is producing, take away how much the calf needs and only allow the robot to take that much milk there is huge potential to keep calves at foot’, said Ela.

To close the day R(D)SVS students and clinicians accompanied Prof Grandin to Langhill Dairy Farm to discuss the practical application of the behavioural and welfare principles discussed earlier in the day. Prof Grandin strongly highlighted the importance of our (stockworkers, vets and farmers) interactions with livestock, and emphasised how each interaction has the potential to develop negative or undesirable behaviours. Another area of particular interest was the discussion on separation distress. A student asked why when the teaching cows are put in the crush they sometimes vocalise, and not in response to physical stimuli. Temple Grandin explained how it could be because the restrained cow cannot see her herd. The vocalisation could be her communicating with the other cows or an expression of her experiencing separation distress.

This event was the first major event AWES has organised and run, and was a great learning opportunity for the students. The trip was made possible by support from Medica CPD and JMICAWE in bringing Temple to Edinburgh.

Blog post by Ela Russell

Delivering workshops and visiting bears - China 2019

Heather and Jess have just returned from a successful trip to China where they collaborated with our long-term partners Animals Asia to deliver a 1 day animal behaviour and welfare seminar to around 60 participants and 2 days of veterinary skills training to veterinary surgeons from across Nanning. The workshop feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and the JMICAWE team look forward to building on this initial workshop with further activities and training events planned over the next three years.

We were also delighted to visit the Animals Asia rescue centres in Chengdu and Nanning – home to over 100 bears rescued from the trade in bear bile. As the previous veterinary director for Animals Asia, it was a great opportunity for heather to reconnect with some old furry friends and also to see the amazing work of Animals Asia continuing on. We were especially pleased to meet Jeanne, a bear rescued from a Nanning bear farm and named in memory of Jeanne Marchig, the benefactor of our own animal welfare centre here at the R(D)SVS.

MSc validated by ASAB

Exciting news!

We are delighted to announce that the University of Edinburgh online MSc Clinical Animal Behaviour has now been formally validated by the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) as delivering the academic elements necessary for an individual to achieve ASAB certification as a Clinical Animal Behaviourist within the UK.

Further information about the online MSc Clinical Animal Behaviour

Farewell and job opportunity

Farewell

This month, our lovely Administrator, Lucy Ewing moved to a new job with the University of Edinburgh, after working with the Marchig Centre for over three years. We wish Lucy all the best in her new role and we will miss working with her!

Job opportunity

Would you or someone you know like to work with us? We are now inviting applications for the part-time Administrator role (4 days per week). This is a challenging and varied position based in the Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh. We are looking for someone to provide effective administrative support for the Centre’s overseas activities as well as working with the Director and the rest of the animal welfare team to provide support for internal activities involving teaching and a variety of projects.

Further information and how to apply can be found:  https://www.ed.ac.uk/human-resources/jobs

Vacancy Ref :

047889

In memory of Dr Fiona Rioja-Lang

In memory of Dr Fiona Rioja-Lang

It is with great sadness that we have to announce the untimely death of our friend and colleague Fiona Rioja-Lang. Fiona had just completed a research project with the JMICAWE team on developing a prioritised list of animal welfare issues for different species of managed animals in the UK, and her sudden death has been a great shock to us all.

Fiona was a graduate of the MSc Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare at University of Edinburgh, and completed her PhD with SRUC and University of Edinburgh in dairy cow welfare. She is very well known in the animal welfare community: following her work in Scotland, she spent some time in Canada working on dairy cow and pig welfare, and was actively involved in the International Society for Applied Ethology. Fiona was a wonderful colleague, she will be remembered for her enthusiastic, open and friendly approach to her work and her positive attitude to life. She was committed to animal welfare, and has made a significant contribution to the lives of animals, from her personal work with street dogs in Mexico, to her academic work on farmed livestock.

She will be greatly missed by all her friends and colleagues in JMICAWE, SRUC, University of Edinburgh and beyond. Our hearts are with her husband, Rodolfo, her children and family at this sad time.