Amy Jackson is an agricultural communications specialist who works with the UK and Irish farming industries on high profile challenges. Her interest in how we communicate contentious aspects of modern farming systems led Amy to a Nuffield scholarship in 2012 and then a PhD in 2022 from the University of Nottingham’s vet school, examining public preferences for dairy farming in the UK.
How did you first get interested in animal welfare?
While trying to solve communications challenges, I realized that we not only needed to change the way we engage with the public, but also the way we manage our farm animals to better meet societal values. Getting the farming industry to understand that engagement means change on both sides, and that change can actually give – not take away – control, is one of the hardest challenges…. but also delivers the most rewarding “lightbulb” moments among those I work with!
What do you hope to learn from your time with UBC AWP?
I wanted to share a study I am submitting for publication on public perceptions of naturalness in dairy farming, and a current project on training AI to conduct Qualitative Behaviour Assessments for automated monitoring of welfare. I was interested to hear where the Animal Welfare Program team saw opportunities and challenges in using both of these pieces of work to build the dairy industry’s social license to operate – and I came away with some excellent feedback! So many projects the AWP team are engaged in link to work that is ongoing in the UK, and we are always interested to see the next paper emerge from the program.