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.

Setting standards for farm animal welfare

Setting standards for farm animal welfare

JMICAWE Director, Cathy Dwyer, has just returned from the annual meeting of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Global Animal Partnership in Austin, Texas. Global Animal Partnership (GAP) is a non-profit organisation that provides an animal welfare certification programme for producers by setting stepped standards for improving animal welfare. At the lowest levels producers must commit to cage and crate free living, with no crowding for their farm animals, rising to animal-centred management at the highest levels. The Scientific Advisory Committee ensures that the standards are based on the best available science of animal welfare.

During the meeting the Committee discussed where there were options to improve animal welfare by reviewing and amending the current standards. In addition, how the system could be extended to new species, such as fish, was also addressed. GAP are currently certifying the welfare of over 400 million animals, in 7 countries around the world, so this has the potential to make a real difference to the lives of many animals.

‘This has been a fascinating insight into how animal welfare can be marketed to consumers, and what aspects of welfare most resonate with buyers of animal products’ Cathy said afterwards.

For more information on GAP see here:  https://globalanimalpartnership.org/

JMICAWE Director Cathy Dwyer - invited speaker at British Society of Animal Science 2019 Annual Conference

Cathy Dwyer invited speaker at BSAS 2019 Annual Conference

On Wednesday 10th April, Professor Cathy Dwyer, JMICAWE Director, will be delivering her presentation on "Managing Young Animals for Health & Welfare" in Edinburgh.  This year, scientists will gather from across the world to celebrate 75 years of the Society and to acknowledge the progress made in animal science over that period of time.  Cathy also features in the programme on Thursday 11th, speaking on the "Prioritisation of Farm Animal Issues in the UK using the Delphi Method" reporting on the AWF-funded project co-authored by Dr Fiona Lang. 

https://bsas.org.uk/BSAS2019/bsas-2019-invited-speakers

First ever Animal Behaviour, Welfare & Ethics session at BSAVA Congress

The first ever Animal Behaviour, Welfare & Ethics session at BSAVA Congress

Heather Bacon & Hayley Walters have been working hard over the past year to organise the first ever BSAVA session on behaviour welfare and ethics at Congress.  Both were speaking last Friday with three presentations each, focused at Vet nurses, but Vets could also attend, and did - every presentation was a sell-out!

The whole week of BSAVA Congress was a resounding success, and particular mention should be made of Heather being awarded The J.A. Wight Memorial Award, sponsored by Blue Cross.  This award is presented annually to a veterinary surgeon who has made an outstanding contribution to the welfare of companion animals.  Our sincere congratulations go to Heather, so wonderful that she has been recognised in this way.

In addition, we are proud to report that MSc Clinical Animal Behaviour student Catriona Gillen was the recipient of the BVBA Veterinary Studies Award (the third consecutive year that a R(D)SVS undergraduate student has either won or been runner-up of this Award).

Heather's presentations to Congress included:-

Street dog health and behaviour:

International adoptions of dogs are increasingly popular – learn all that you need to know about how to manage the behaviour and health of imported street dogs, both in the clinic and at home

Geriatric welfare

Is old age a disease? Is slowing down inevitable? Is confusion normal? Find out what you can do to safeguard the health and welfare of older cats and dogs in your practice

Welfare conundrums

Veterinary ethical dilemmas are common in practice but it’s not just the complex referral surgeries that have welfare impacts! Find out how your routine practices may impact on dog and cat behaviour and welfare.

And Hayley's three presentations were:-

Acute pain and its welfare implications:

Most of us want our patients to be pain free when they are in the clinic with us because we care very much about how our patients feel. But are there even more pressing reasons for making sure our analgesia is adequate?

Good intentions and good welfare outcomes:

We all practice preventative medicine. But do we practice preventing behavioural problems? Can the vet nurse do more to stop the most common behaviour problems from ever occurring? Behaviour problems that result in dogs being euthanised or rehomed. Find out how we might just be able to change the course of a puppy's life.

Improving patient welfare - what the vet nurse can do:

Are your cats stress-free when they are in the waiting room? Does the consult room door cause dogs to put on the brakes? Are your inpatients calm or cowering? Find out what simple, cheap and easy techniques can be applied to help improve patient welfare.

Well done, Team JMICAWE!

Funding secured for further training in farm animal welfare in China

Funding secured for further training in farm animal welfare in China

We are delighted to announce that we have secured renewal funding from The Open Philanthropy Project to continue our training programmes in farm animal welfare in China. We have been working with partners in China, including the International Cooperation Committee of Animal Welfare (ICCAW), Chinese Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) and Animals Asia, for the past 2 years to develop a series of training workshops in animal welfare for pig producers as part of a previously funded project. So far, we have been working on improving piglet survival and housing for farrowing sows, the impact of heat stress on pig welfare and opportunities to reduce the incidence of tail biting and tail docking on Chinese farms. These issues are also of concern to farmers in Europe, and it has been very useful to share experiences and insights across different countries. The first grant has also allows us to recruit a PhD student, Steph Easton, who has been evaluating the effectiveness of different delivery methods to improve animal welfare education in China.

The new award will allow us to continue this programme of work for a further two years, and we are particularly pleased that the Open Philanthropy project will fund another PhD student with us to promote farm animal welfare in China and to build capacity and skills in this area in China. We are looking forward to building on our current work to improve the lives of pigs in China.    

Mothers are important for good animal welfare

Mothers are important for good animal welfare

It is Mother’s Day this year on 31^st March so we will take this opportunity to consider how mothers play a key role in animal welfare. Only 3% of mammalian species involve fathers in rearing offspring, so for mammals mothers are really important for offspring development and welfare. Maternal care is also shown in birds, and some species of fish, reptiles, amphibians and even insects. Mothers play a vital role in the survival of their offspring through determining where the offspring will be born or the environment in which they will spend their early life. They also provide food, warmth, comfort and opportunities for learning to their offspring. However, mammalian and avian mothers (and maybe other species as well) do even more – through subtle changes in the uterine environment for mammals, or the composition of the egg in birds, mothers are able to ‘signal’ to their offspring before birth to prepare them for the sort of environment they will be living in. This can change how stress reactive an animal will be after birth. If the environment is very risky then this can improve the survival of young animals in the wild. However, for domesticated animals a stressed mother can lead to offspring that are more stress reactive and this may be bad for their welfare, leading to excessive fearfulness or anxiety after birth. Looking after pregnant and lactating mothers carefully does not only help to improve the welfare of the mother, but also that of their unborn offspring throughout their lives.

JMICAWE Director, Prof Cathy Dwyer, will be discussing these aspects of animal husbandry as an invited speaker at the British Society for Animal Science meeting in Edinburgh on 10^th April (https://bsas2019.expom.io/).

Countdown to BSAVA Congress 2019!

The JMICAWE team will be out in force next week for BSAVA Congress 2019!

Heather, Hayley & Jess are all making the trip to Birmingham to attend, with Heather & Hayley both making multiple presentations during the Animal Behaviour, Welfare & Ethics session on Friday 5th April in Hall 11 of the ICC.  Please go and say hello to them and enjoy the week's programme.

https://www.bsavacongress.com/BSAVACongress2019/en/page/our-programme

Critically endangered pangolins benefit from ultrasound exams

Critically endangered pangolins benefit from ultrasound exams

Earlier this month, Heather and Jess travelled to meet the team at Save Vietnam’s Wildlife in Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam where they spent 4 days working with the veterinarian Huong and the rest of the ‘Save Vietnam’s Wildlife’ team to exchange knowledge of endangered carnivore veterinary care and management.

Heather carried with her a Sonosite Titan ultrasound machine and two probes, courtesy of Ian and Jacky Macqueen, Nic Hayward, and Gavin Mitchell at IMV Imaging; and also an intravenous fluid pump and refractometer courtesy of Crown Vets, Inverness. This equipment provides essential support in safeguarding the health and welfare of the pangolin – the world’s most trafficked mammal - as well as other critically endangered carnivores such as Owston’s civet, and commoner carnivores including Asian short-clawed otters, binturong and leopard cats.

Over the course of the visit Heather and Jess delivered training in anaesthesia, diagnostic imaging and surgical techniques, and in return were keen to learn from the experienced team at SVW about the health and husbandry of captive pangolins and other small carnivores.

“This is an exciting opportunity for all of us” said Heather “The SVW team are incredibly experienced at pangolin care and it’s a real privilege to participate in their work on this critically endangered species, in return we’re delighted to deliver the donated ultrasound machine, and this week were able to support their work by delivering some training and detecting pregnancy in a female pangolin, which will enable the team to better manage these vulnerable animals. It’s been a great collaborative exchange of knowledge and experiences”