David Fraser in New Zealand
David Fraser is on sabbatical leave during 2013. He is spending the first 4 months in New Zealand where he is associated with the Animal Welfare and Bioethics Centre of Massey University. His main goal for the year is to begin writing a book linking animal welfare and conservation, but the first task is to […]
Greatest Harms to Wildlife
Sara Dubois, PhD candidate’s recent article [link] surveying BC wildlife experts and the public, showed that both conservation-oriented and welfare-oriented participants agreed on the greatest harms to wildlife – urban development, pollution, resource development, and agriculture. Despite divisions in philosophy and professional practice, there was broad agreement on ranking activities that harm wildlife, indicating wildlife […]
Rachel Carson and Ruth Harrison Conference
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and Ruth Harrison’s Animal Machines changed the way people understand how our modern world can affect the lives of animals. Now, about 50 years after the publication of these two books, a conference will be held to ask what progress we have made in addressing the challenges laid out by these […]
Dairy calves benefit from access to forage early in life
Dairy calves are typically not provided forage in the first few months of life, in part because some farmers and scientists believe that this will slow intake of other solid feeds. New research from UBC’s Animal Welfare Program has now shown that access to forage early in life helps calves make the transition to the […]
Most highly cited paper within the Program for 2011
One way we can judge the impact of our research is when other scientists cite our papers in their own work. New research often takes several years to be noticed. This makes the high number of citations to Post-doctoral researcher Khan’s recent review on calf feeding practices especially impressive. This invited review, entitled “Effects of […]
Exploring “Humane” Dimensions of Wildlife
New article in Human Dimensions of Wildlife by AWP PhD Candidate Sara Dubois calls for a new “humane” dimension in wildlife management.
AWP to co-host symposium on euthanasia
How can we tell if an animal’s death is a good one? UBC’s Animal Welfare Program is co-hosting a symposium on this topic at the Behaviour 2013 meeting to be held in Newcastle this August. The aim will be to review recent findings and discuss more effective ways of assessing and improving euthanasia methods.
PhD student, Gosia Zobel, starts project on the welfare of dairy goats
Much of the Animal Welfare Program’s work on dairy cattle has focused on how housing and management can be improved – now new work will begin addressing these issues for dairy goats! Although the dairy goat industry is thriving, almost no research has been done on goat welfare. Our new project, in collaboration with the […]
Benchmarking cow comfort on US dairy farms
Can the good example set by your peers help to motivate improved welfare on dairy farms? New work in the UBC Animal Welfare Program has been examining the use of benchmarking as a service for farmers and a vehicle for engagement on issues of cow comfort and lameness. A new paper, entitled “Benchmarking cow comfort on […]
Lameness in US dairy herds
The latest lameness research from UBC’s Animal Welfare Program was published in the January 2013 issue of the Journal of Dairy Science. The paper, entitled “Herd-level risk factors for lameness in US freestall herds”, illustrates the association between management and lameness in high producing cows housed in two regions of the U.S. Use of deep […]