Dr. Tina Widowski, Professor in the Ontario Agricultural College’s (OAC) Department of Animal Biosciences, served as Director for the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare (CCSAW) for 12 years, starting in 2007.
As CCSAW’s second ever Director, she successfully expanded the Department of Animal Biosciences graduate program to include Animal Behaviour and Welfare as a specialization, pushing for an extended graduate program including the creation of four new courses that are still taught today.
During her directorship, CCSAW established its very popular seminar series and annual research symposium. Tina also secured funding to establish the Saputo Dairy Care program and the Burnbrae Farms Professorship in Poultry Welfare (currently held by Dr. Alexandra Harlander), as well as developing a training program for the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (OSPCA) to train inspectors on how to assess animal welfare.
Tina has been announced as a 2024 inductee into the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame with the support of CCSAW faculty and staff.
With her help, CCSAW has become the largest Animal Welfare research centre in North America and one of the world’s largest.
About Tina Widowski
For the last 40 years, Tina’s research has focused on how modern farming practices impact the behaviour, physiology and welfare of animals, with an interest in chickens and pigs who often live in confined housing systems. Her work balances the need for good farm animal welfare with practices that support economically sustainable farms. She aims to bridge the gap and help farmers use new technologies in ways that maintain farm efficiency while improving animal well-being.
Tina’s most notable research addresses crucial industry issues including housing design, effects of early life experiences on behavioural development and lifelong welfare and identifying best methods that farmers can use to euthanize sick and injured animals on their farms. The result of this work is over 200 peer-reviewed scientific publications and book chapters, and 7,000 citations which have been used by policymakers all over the world.
After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Ecology, Ethology and Evolution in 1983, she pursued a Masters Degree and Doctorate in Animal Science. In 1990, Tina arrived at the University of Guelph from the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an Assistant Researcher and was appointed faculty in 1998. By 2007, she had become a full Professor in the Department of Animal Biosciences.
Since being appointed faculty at Guelph, Tina has mentoredover 70 graduate students, seven post-doctoral researchers, and served on over 70 advisory committees that supported additional graduate students. Today, these students represent faculty, government and leaders in farm organizations and welfare groups around the world.
Turning research into standard best management practices
Tina has worked tirelessly with farmers, agri-food industries and policy makers to turn welfare research into practical, beneficial changes for farm animals. For example, in Canada, the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) spearheads Codes of Practice that are developed in partnership with scientific committees that make science-informed decisions on the best ways to care and handle farm animals.
Tina served as a scientists committee member or chair for three NFACC codes of practice developed for pigs, poultry meat birds and laying hens.
Tina currently serves on two NFACC committees for meat birds and laying hens, helping to facilitate updates to the codes of practice that occur every five years. In addition she serves on the Animal Welfare Scientists Committee of United Egg Producers which covers 90 percent of hens in the United States.
Research Chair in Poultry Welfare
In 2011, she was appointed the Research Chair in Poultry Welfare by the Egg Farmers of Canada. The appointment has provided Tina with incredible opportunities to work directly with egg farmers, conduct field research that allows her students access to commercial farms and transfer research knowledge.
