Dr. Pascal Savary has joined the Animal Welfare Program for two months as a visiting scientist. Visiting scientists contribute to the exchange of ideas throughout the program, conducting their own research work while also engaging in activities with students, post-doctoral researchers, and faculty during their time in residence. Learn about Dr. Savary’s research interests and how they intersect with the AWP!
“I grew up on a dairy farm in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. After my farming apprenticeship, I worked as a farm worker for two years, before studying agronomic sciences at different universities in Switzerland and Germany. With my Master’s degree in hand, I had the opportunity to write a PhD thesis at the Centre for Proper Housing of Ruminants and Pigs in Tänikon in Switzerland (ZTHT). My thesis involved developing and testing rubber mats to improve the quality of the lying surface in pigs. Wishing to remain in the field of research and development after my PhD, I joined the Swiss agricultural research institute, Agroscope, where I was responsible for research in milking technologies for 10 years. In this position, I did research to improve the welfare of cows during milking, for example, by reducing noise emissions in milking parlors. In addition to my research activities, I trained milking machine technicians.
I’ve been hired since 2018 at the Centre for Proper Housing of Ruminants and Pigs. Returning to the research group where I did my PhD has enabled me to get even more involved in improving animal welfare. One of the ways I’m doing this is by developing a method for assessing lying behavior of dairy cows, with the aim to optimize cubicle design for more lying comfort. In this new activity, milking cows also remains one of my favorite topics. I’m currently supervising a PhD thesis aimed to detect milking pain in cows, caused by sub-clinical mastitis. I also participated in an experiment to analyze different systems of cow-calf contact and their effects on cows’ milkability. My job requires me to be up to date in scientific research methods, as well as looking to look for opportunities to collaborate with scientific partners to improve animal welfare. For these reasons, I’m looking forward to spending the next two months in the AWP, and having the chance to make fruitful exchanges.”