About
Amelia MacRae bought her first horse at age 12, using her savings from babysitting jobs. Since that time, she’s had horses most of her life.
“My parents say my first word was ‘horse.’ Horses are incredible animals, and I’ve always been fascinated and drawn to them.”
Originally, MacRae obtained a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Victoria, but after working for a short time, she decided to return to school to obtain the prerequisites for veterinary medicine. She enrolled in UBC’s Land and Food Systems, graduating from the Global Resource Systems program. It was during this period that she met Professor David Fraser, who introduced her to the field of animal welfare. She then pivoted away from veterinary medicine and instead pursued an M.Sc. (2009) in Applied Animal Biology under Dr. Fraser’s supervision at UBC.
MacRae’s graduate research focused on trying to improve the health outcomes of orphaned seal pups by adjusting their diet and feeding protocols. Her harbour seal welfare research more than doubled the survival rate of pups undergoing rehabilitation at the Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre (MMRC). Subsequently, MacRae was hired by the MMRC as a Rehabilitation Specialist, working over the next decade with a wide variety of marine mammals. To further her goals of better understanding animals and improving their welfare, MacRae then completed her Ph.D. (2018), focusing on the identification of non-invasive indicators of pain in seals and social buffering in horses.
MacRae has worked with the BC SPCA, the MMRC, and is now a professor at UBC. As a new Animal Welfare Program Lecturer, MacRae is able to share her passion and deep respect for animals with students. She is no stranger to LFS, however, having been a Sessional Lecturer since 2019. She teaches third- and fourth-year Applied Biology courses on such topics as animals in society (APBI 314), animals and global issues (APBI 414) and equine biology, health and welfare (APBI 316). She also teaches a first-year scholarly writing course (LFS 150).
Education
B.A. (UVic)
B.Sc. (UBC)
M.Sc. and Ph.D. (UBC)