Increase pasture use: Steps to success
Use of pasture can provide many benefits for dairy farmers across the globe. See this article featuring research conducted by UBC’s Animal Welfare Program Alumna Dr. Anne-Marieke Smid: https://www.dairyglobal.net/Nutrition/Articles/2020/8/Increase-pasture-use-Steps-to-success-628733E/
Individual variability in response to social stress in dairy heifers
Congratulations to Emeline Nogues for publishing her first paper with the Animal Welfare Program, together with PhD candidate Benjamin Lecorps, in Animals! The paper, ‘Individual variability in response to social stress in dairy heifers’, examined whether it is better to engage or avoid social interactions when mixed with older cows. Mixing unfamiliar animals (or regrouping) […]
Public and producer attitudes: working together to maintain social licence
Professor Dan Weary’s Presentation at the 2020 Dairy Research Foundation’s Online Symposium: Public and producer attitudes: working together to maintain social licence Dan Weary is a Professor at The University of British Columbia. In 1997 Dan co-founded UBC’s Animal Welfare Program and co-directs this active research group. Dan’s research focuses on developing behavioral measures for […]
Aug 12-13: The Future of Youngstock Management Symposium
All are welcome to attend the The Future of Youngstock Management Symposium, organized by the University of Sidney, the University of British Columbia and AgResearch, taking place August 12 & 13. The event is free to all and featuring speakers from around the world. Email futureyoungstocksymposium@gmail.com for more information.
Behavioral changes associated with fever in transition dairy cows
New research from the Animal Welfare program looks at behavioural changes associated with fever in transition dairy cows. Dairy cows are often diagnosed with fever without showing clinical symptoms of disease. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in feeding, social, and lying behaviors of cows with fever but without clinical disease, as […]
Hannah Spitzer awarded Canadian Society of Animal Science Award for Undergraduate Achievement
Congratulations to Hannah Spitzer, an undergraduate student in LFS who recently won the 2020 Canadian Society of Animal Science Award for Undergraduate Achievement. Hannah is currently an NSERC Undergraduate scholar, doing research out at UBC’s Dairy Centre in Agassiz under the supervision of Dr. Nina von Keyserlingk. Learn more about Hannah as one of our class of […]
Applications for the inaugural International Farm Animal Welfare Fellowship closing June 30
The IFAWF is aimed at those in the early stages of their career seeking a career in farmed animal welfare in mainland China. It will provide the unique opportunity to engage with field-leading experts, explore animal welfare issues and strategies in a Chinese context, and learn how academic concepts can be applied to improve animal […]
Personality traits of dairy calves predict social proximity and response to emotional challenge
The AWP recently published an open access article, published in Scientific Reports, which has been selected part of the Editor’s choice Collection on Animal cognition and personality. Read the article: https://www.nature.com/collections/gbggjfgbbh/
Dan Weary awarded Zinpro Award for Excellence in Dairy Science
The Animal Welfare Program’s Dan Weary has been awarded the Zinpro Award for Excellence in Dairy Science from the American Dairy Science Association. Dan was selected for his scientific contributions to dairy cattle science, including research on methods of assessing and relieving pain and distress in cattle, developing alternative methods of housing and cattle management, methods […]
The welfare of cull dairy cows in British Columbia
Two studies have recently been published on the welfare of cull dairy cows from the Animal Welfare Program. In one, cull dairy cows were monitored from 20 farms in British Columbia. We found that most cows took three days or more to reach the slaughter plants. The study investigates the impact on duration of transport […]