Monthly Newsletter: can make 2 columns: one with newsletter and 1 with everything else?
also, can import outlook calendar to google calendar, then link google to here
- Prizes awarded to CCSAW Graduate students for their presentations and research posters
On Wednesday, May 8, members of the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare participated in the 15th Annual Research Symposium at the University of Guelph Arboretum Centre.
Following an interesting day of 15 presentations and several research poster displays, awards were given for the best of the best.
Afternoon presentations by Caleigh Copelin and Prathipa Anandarajan tied to take home the prize for best delivery of the day while Steely Ellis won best research poster. All prize winners took home $350 in prize winnings each. Thanks to Charles River Laboratories for their generous contribution of prizes for this year’s symposium.
Steeley Ellis takes home top prize for her research poster
A research poster by Steeley Ellis won best overall design and presentation at the symposium, sharing a summary of research on how issues like keel bone injuries (fractures and deviations) and footpad problems (like hyperkeratosis and bumblefoot) affect laying hen’s preferences for different perch types, whether that be wire platform, round perch or a flattened oval perch. The poster also touched on how chickens get to and from the perches, either by ramps provided or by aerial ascent/descent.
“These problems are extremely prevalent in commercial facilities and the results of my study will hopefully be able to inform producers on how housing systems can be adjusted to promote these birds comfort,” Steeley says.
Caleigh Copelin presents her findings on identifying risk factors for conflict behaviours in Canadian riding lesson horses
Caleigh’s presentation focused on her research on the risk factors for conflict behaviours in Canadian riding lesson horses, which involved an incredibly robust surveying process to collect data from across the country with 157 riding lesson facilities participating representing just over 1,500 horses.
“Riding lesson horses are suggested to have poorer welfare, illustrated by higher levels of abnormal behaviour, ‘depressed-like’ posture, injuries and health issues compared to pleasure horses,” reads Caleigh’s research abstract. “To understand current management practices, an online survey was distributed to the operators of Canadian riding lesson facilities to collect demographic information about the respondents, facilities, lesson horse populations, management strategies and observed behaviours in their horses.”
Some of the key findings include:
- Smaller lesson herds showed lower levels of horses who were reactive when tacking up, bit their handlers, bucked, and pinned their ears under saddle compared to larger lesson herds.
- Facilities with larger herds were also more likely to have longer maximum daily working hours which were associated with higher levels of kicking out under saddle.
- Use of restrictive tack such as flash nosebands, standing martingales and side reins was associated with increased levels of conflict behaviours, including horses kicking out at handlers and under saddle, evading rider aids and bolting under saddle
- Standing martingale use was associated with higher levels of horses evading rider aids and kicking out under saddle.
- Lesson barns reported significant levels of crop use in their programs, which was associated with increased levels of biting handlers, pinning ears on the ground, kicking out and bucking under saddle.
“These results identify herd size, daily workload and equipment use as risk factors for conflict behaviours in lesson horses. In particular, lesson facilities with smaller herds may be able to better attend to the individual needs of their horses.”
Caleigh’s presentation skills recently earned her the top prize at ISES Conference in New Zealand.
Prathipa Anandarajan presents her findings on how cage quality affects male mouse attractiveness to females
Prathipa’s presentation, titled “Swipe left, swipe right and she found her Mr. Right” shared her research from the Mason Lab on how cage quality affects male mouse attractiveness to females.
Opening her slides with an engaging question to her audience, Prathipa showed black and white photos of two men, asking the audience which one they would date if given the opportunity. All but one selected the more visually-attractive image before Prathipa revealed the two images were actually of the same person, just presented completely differently.
The exercise led perfectly into the background of her presentation noting that animals have evolved to choose their mates, and that females are generally choosier about the partners they select due to their greater investment in gametes and offspring care. Science tells us that females will choose males with traits that enhance their offspring genetically which includes health, fitness, courtship displays and ability to provide physical resources.
“In captivity, stress is common in animals housed sub-optimally (e.g. in small, barren cages), which could explain why in rats, mink, and even Drosophila, raising males in higher-quality conditions enhances their success with females,” Prathipa shares in her research summary.
Her study tested whether housing quality can affect male attractiveness in mice, predicting that “females will treat males from conventional small cages as lower-quality, preferentially courting with males from well-resourced ‘enriched’ conditions, known to enhance welfare.” In fact, many might not know that mice will sing as a part of their courtship display, similar to birds.
Prathipa tested her hypothesis using 12 female sister pairs who were each presented with a brother pair in a T-maze mate choice test that lasted 30 minutes. The results showed that females spent on average 1.5 times longer near well-resourced males than their conventionally-caged brothers and sniffed them for twice as long.
The next step in the research process for the Mason Lab is to investigate which housing-sensitive traits, like body size, song quality or other, are influential.
- CCSAW Students Tour Toronto Zoo
On Friday, April 26, 20 students from the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare (CCSAW) had the opportunity to do a behind-the-scenes tour of the Toronto Zoo.
This tour started off with Olivia Franzin, Behaviour and Welfare Animal Welfare Research Assistant from the zoo, who talked to the group both about the philosophy of animal welfare held by the zoo, as well as what her job entails. Olivia herself is a graduate of CCSAW. The zoo’s mission is to “provide an integrated, comprehensive and continually evolving science-based welfare program to ensure the well-being of all animals in our care”. The science part is critical to their work and includes continual measuring of an animal’s physical, mental and emotional states over a period of time. With 4,306 animals made up of 408 different species, Olivia’s role comprises constant monitoring and data collection. For example, the tiger exhibit is being overhauled so the Sumatran and the Amur (or Siberian) tigers are being housed together for the first time. They now are being closely watched for welfare indicators such as change in appetite, behaviour and emotions.
The zoo’s welfare team uses various assessment tools – animal welfare assessments, quality of life forms, life event/change quizzes and individual monitoring questionnaires which are used to monitor each animal’s quality of life. Data is always being collected and analyzed. On top of these tools, the zoo is subject to spot audits from the American and Canadian Associations of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA and CAZA). They are also a member of the Species Survival Plan which coordinates movement of breeding animals amongst qualified zoos. This helps reduce inbreeding and provides suitable genetic matches within an endangered species. After learning about the Animal Welfare Program, students met with members of the animal nutrition and veterinary medicine teams where they were lucky enough to observe a surgery to remove a mass on the foot of an echidna.
Finally, the students were divided into two groups. One of which went to learn more about the tigers, and one of which met, and got to feed the zoo’s herd of Bactrian (two-humped) camels. The herd included a family group and a breeding pair (Tilly and Zip). The male, Zip, was in rut so students got to observe unique behaviours including foaming at the mouth, exuding a black tar-like pheromone-heavy substance on his neck, pacing and grumbling. Tilly, unfortunately was unimpressed with all of his displays.
This tour, organized by the CCSAW Student Chapter runs annually at the end of the winter semester so students wanting to partake should watch their emails next April.
- Caleigh Copelin wins Best Presentation award at ISES Conference
Congratulations to Caleigh Copelin for receiving the Best Student Research Presentation award at the 2024 International Society of Equitation Science (ISES) conference in New Zealand on March 16. The award includes free- registration for a future ISES conference and will be giving a presentation at the 2024 ISES annual meeting.
Caleigh is working on her PhD with Dr. Katrina Merkies, with research focusing on equine behaviour and welfare. Her research projects are primarily related to equitation science – the study of the relationship between horses and humans, and how our management and training decisions can impact them. “One unique aspect of her work is the sheer size of the number of horses and facilities involved in Caleigh’s studies. 153 facilities representing over 1500 horses responded to the on-line survey, adding strength to the research”, says Merkies.
She presented her research on Understanding the Welfare Challenges of Lesson Riding Horses at the conference. Following a practice session back at U of G during regular lunch-hour meetings with her peers at the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare (CCSAW) which helped shape and improve her presentation, and after a long flight, Caleigh went on to deliver the top student talk of the conference.
Prof. Dr. Uta König von Borstel, Chair Animal Husbandry, Behaviour and Welfare at the Justus-Liebig University of Giessen in Germany, and herself a CCSAW graduate, headed up the judging committee. “We judge the presentations on novelty, content (including relevance to ISES aims and potential to enhance equine welfare), delivery (talks only) and layout/design. Caleigh’s talk was delivered in a very free and lively manner, that was easy to follow; and in terms of content it certainly has great potential to improve equine welfare by minimizing or removing the identified risk factors.”
With the theme of ‘ A Good Life for Horses’,the conference provided opportunities for a gathering of equine researchers, veterinarians and practitioners involved in different disciplines including racing, show jumping, eventing, dressage, pony club, equine therapy and many others to examine the latest science on equine welfare. The conference welcomed around 175 ‘In person’ and 150 ‘Virtual’ delegates.
Caleigh is a life-long horse-fan and as part of her graduate research she says she “really wanted to be able to give back to these animals that have given me so much. I am a recipient of a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Canada Graduate Scholarship for this work, which has given me the ability to create a thesis project on a subject that is very near to my heart – the welfare of riding lesson horses.”
Caleigh believes that lesson horses are the foundation of the Canadian equine industry, serving as the entry point for many beginner riders. However, most equine behaviour and welfare research does not focus on the unique stressors that lesson horses face. Research indicates lesson horses can have poorer welfare compared to other types of horses in the industry and tend to have more pessimistic outlooks towards life. These horses do not have an easy job, as they are constantly adapting to new riders and handlers, many of whom may be beginners who give conflicting cues that can be uncomfortable for the horses.
She hopes her project will create a better understanding of the state of lesson horse welfare in Canada.
“There has been very little research done previously in this area,” Caleigh says. “My project will serve to create a baseline understanding of the specific challenges that lesson horses are facing. In turn, this data can be used to target areas for further research and improved education. I will be using a combination of survey data and in-barn assessments of working lesson horses to identify husbandry practices (such as housing style, feeding regime, equipment used, workload) that may reduce the level of stress that these horses experience during riding lessons.”
- Anna Naim attends the Advancing Women in Agriculture Conference
Graduate student Anna Naim recently attended the Advancing Women in Agriculture Conference (AWC) in Calgary. Described as being “created for all those passionate about agriculture and food”, the AWC helps women develop skills in communications, mentoring, financial management, health and life balance, career planning, goal setting and more. It’s very much a women-helping-women event.
Each year students are given the opportunity to apply to have their hotel and registration fees covered by sponsors. Anna, along with 37 other students from across Canada, was selected this year.
Anna, an M.Sc. by thesis student with Dr. Alexandra Harlander is studying feather pecking in laying hens, with a focus on the microbiota-gut-brain axis and synbiotic supplementation. The Harlander Lab explores the behaviour, welfare and physiology of domestic birds, with outstanding and innovative ongoing studies constantly evolving. It was due in part to a video Anna produced outlining her research and its relevance to Canada’s agricultural sector which led to her selection.
While walking into a conference alone can be intimidating, Anna said she was “welcomed with open arms, instantly introduced to some industry professionals, and shown around the venue.” It was obvious that people were looking out for, and wanting to get to know the students. We were encouraged to sit at different tables with new people every day, so that we would meet as many people as we could. My network grew immensely.”
Throughout the three days, Anna had the opportunity to listen to stories of women in the industry, to learn about job opportunities and to begin to understand entrepreneurship opportunities that can be created with the right set of skills and passion. “Presenters talked about some of the difficulties and challenges they have faced being a woman in agriculture. Everyone had a unique and inspiring story and made me realized that no matter your skillset or background, you can accomplish anything!”
In addition to the large conference, Anna attended several smaller workshops based around developing leadership skills as a woman in the workplace, personal and company branding, and the latest innovation and technology being used or developing in the Canadian foods sector, all of which she found very informative and beneficial. “I loved how it did not feel like a forced networking event, but instead, felt like a group of strong, empowering women with similar career and agricultural objectives coming together for an annual meetup! It was such a fun and organic event! As a graduate student, I feel like this conference is the perfect stepping stone for young women who are stepping into the agricultural or entrepreneurship work landscape.”
A side experience she had was being interviewed by Katelyn Duban for The Rural Woman Podcast.
One of her main takeaways was that it is very important to stick together as women in the workplace in agriculture, to empower and to lift up one another, no matter where you are education or career-wise. “I feel like I learned something from each of the presenters who showed that you can accomplish truly anything you put your mind to, as long as you have a goal in mind and put in hard-work, determination and consistency.” The AWC is held twice annually – in the spring in Alberta, and in the fall in Ontario. Students who are interested in attending should visit the website for details on how to apply.
- Dr. Patricia Turner Elected President of the American College of Lab Animal Medicine
Dr. Patricia Turner, University Professor Emerita in the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC)’s Department of Pathobiology, will become the first Canadian to be elected President of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM). ACLAM is a specialty board which aims to advance the humane care and responsible use of laboratory animals through certification of veterinary specialists, professional development, education and research.
ACLAM aims to establish standards of training and experience for veterinarians involved with the care and health of laboratory animals, as well as recognize qualified persons in laboratory animal medicine through certification and examinations.
Turner explains that “ACLAM is one of the veterinary profession’s oldest specialties and it has remained dynamic – focused on high quality education and training opportunities for veterinarians, while embracing diversity amongst its members. ACLAM sets standards for laboratory animal veterinarians that are highly regarded the world over with significant impacts through the promotion and support of research into science-based guidelines for animal care and use.”
Turner has been devoted to laboratory animal health and welfare throughout her career. She completed her bachelor of science at McMaster University and her master of science at Dalhousie University. She then attended OVC, where Turner earned a doctor of veterinary medicine in 1992 and a doctorate of veterinary science in comparative pathology under Dr. Dean Percy in 1997. Subsequently, Turner served as the Director of Animal Care Services at Queen’s University and later worked as a toxicologist at Warner-Lambert/Pfizer before beginning her professorship at OVC. She has been internationally recognized for her contributions to animal welfare, particularly her efforts to improve the health and welfare of farm and research animals.
As a professor in the OVC’s Department of Pathobiology, Turner led the Laboratory Animal Science program from 2002 until her retirement in 2018. This program was internationally recognized and ACLAM accredited, and it was the only graduate program in Canada focusing on training veterinarians in laboratory animal science. Turner also spearheaded the U of G’s distance learning certificate program in laboratory animal medicine for veterinarians. After she retired from OVC, Turner became an adjunct faculty member and an associated graduate faculty member in OVC’s Department of Pathobiology, continuing her involvement in graduate programs.
“Dr. Turner continues to be an exemplary leader in the veterinary profession globally, particularly in the field of laboratory animal medicine,” said Dr. Brandon Lillie, Chair, Department of Pathobiology. “She will be an excellent president for ACLAM, bringing her extensive experience in both industry and academia to the College. We are lucky to have one of our esteemed former faculty members leading this organization and the members of ACLAM will benefit greatly from her leadership and knowledge of the field.”
Turner is a diplomate of the ACLAM (2000), as well as a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (2009), and the European College of Animal Welfare and Behavioural Medicine (2013). She has authored several books on laboratory animal medicine, applied ethics, small mammal pathology, and international regulations and legislation in primate care, and has published over 150 peer-reviewed research articles and book chapters.
This is not the first time that Turner has led the charge for Canadian veterinarians. In 2020, she became the first Canadian and second ever woman to be appointed President of the World Veterinary Association (WVA). She still holds the position as immediate Past President for the WVA, which will be completed in April 2024. She has served on various associations and groups, including serving as Chair of the Animal Welfare, Science, Ethics, and Law subspecialty of the European College of Animal Welfare and Behavioural Medicine, and as a past president of the Association of Primate Veterinarians.
“I am deeply honoured to be elected to this position,” Turner shares. “ I have so many wonderful mentors and colleagues within ACLAM who generously shared their time and expertise with me – as the incoming President, I have an opportunity to give back to the specialty.”
The OVC Community extends their congratulations to Dr. Patricia Turner!
This story originally appeared on the Ontario Veterinary College news hub.
Past Events
- CCSAW Research Symposium
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