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
- Learning to Judge Animal Welfare
What do dolphins, pigs, octopuses, show cattle, caged laying hens, penguins and frogs have in common? They have all been animals studied in the ANSC4010 Animal Welfare Judging class. A fourth year Animal Biosciences class, this unique course gives students an opportunity to develop many skills including critical thinking, public speaking, ethical reasoning, concise messaging, and more, all within the context of evaluating of animal welfare on the basis of scientific theory and data.
Co-taught by Drs. Tina Widowski (OAC) and Derek Haley (OVC), the always-full course is taken by a wide-range of students including those aiming to apply to vet school and Aggies. Many have no previous judging experience. Students learn through team work, group experiences, tours, presentations, guest speakers and more, to evaluate animals in a wide variety of settings. In the past few years, tours have included visits to local humane societies, the Toronto Zoo, various farms, University of Guelph Animal Research Centres, and the Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto.
According to Haley, “students learn to integrate information within specific scenarios. For example, they see and get information about four different set-ups for caged laying hens, and must evaluate all of the information to form an answer as to why they think one set-up is more welfare-friendly. They need to assess the care and welfare of all aspects of each species’ situation, including transport, housing, health, caretaker training, retirement, production, slaughter/euthanasia, etc. The public speaking aspect comes in as the students have to give concise, timed reasons to their classmates, or instructors. Doing this over and over in front of peers allows them to become more comfortable speaking in public.”
Every year the students are given four different species which they will study. These are set by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) as part of their international Animal Welfare Assessment Contest where teams of students representing different universities assess the welfare of animals in a variety of settings using science-based methods and reasoning. Some of the students in Haley and Widowski’s course go on to compete at this competition. For 2024 the animals are dairy cows; laboratory frogs (Xenopus laevis); zoo penguins and commercially bred dogs.
Shaela Hurley, a fourth year veterinary student at Guelph took the course in the last year of her Animal Biology degree and competed on the University’s Animal Welfare Judging Team. She had always had a strong interest in animal welfare and had learned many of the fundamental principles & research methods involved in animal welfare science in other courses, but didn’t feel that she’d had a chance to develop practical skills for assessing welfare.
Hurley says “One of the most valuable skills I took from this course was learning to prioritize animal welfare concerns. When faced with a scenario, there can be many aspects of an animal’s care and environment that we might want to try and improve. I learned the importance of connecting management factors with animal-based outcomes to determine which aspects of care are having the greatest impact. At a glance, factors that might be the most glaring for us may not have the greatest effect on the animals based on their health & behaviour, and vice versa.
Aside from skills relating directly to animal welfare, the course also really helped my public speaking and communication skills. I gained extensive practice putting together persuasive arguments and articulating myself clearly to a roomfull of people. I also learned to think on my feet and speak with confidence, even with minimal practice!”
“Haley believes that the skills learned in this course and the way it is taught by a two-prof team adds to the attraction of the course. There’s always a waiting list, and we have even attracted international students. This year, students are coming from Denmark and New Zealand while last year we had a student from the Netherlands. This shows the international relevance of animal welfare.”
Hurley is now a final-year veterinary student at the Ontario Veterinary College and will be graduating as a veterinarian next year. “As a veterinarian, I will be responsible for ensuring the welfare of my patients and for being a trusted resource on animal well-being. I will be someone working directly with pet owners and animal caretakers, making it critical that I can evaluate animal welfare in “real life” scenarios. Taking this course has given me the ability to critically assess and utilize animal welfare research, ensuring I’ll always be able to make evidence-based recommendations for my patients and be able to clearly and concisely communicate my concerns and rationale with clients.”
- Dr. Georgia Mason honoured with Royal Society Fellowship
Dr. Georgia Mason, professor in the Department of Integrative Biology in the College of Biological Sciences at the University of Guelph, has been named a Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada, the country’s most prestigious body of independent scholars, researchers and creatives at the forefront of intellectual leadership.
Six U of G faculty representing the Ontario Agricultural College, the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences and the College of Arts have been named Fellows and one faculty member from the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences has been named to the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.
“This impressive acknowledgement of academic and scholarly excellence at the University of Guelph honours each of these faculty members for their remarkable work,” says Dr. Rene van Acker, vice-president (research and innovation). “We are proud to celebrate these seven researchers on this significant achievement.”
Dr. Georgia Mason, award-winning professor of behavioural biology, is an internationally recognized leader transforming the way humans treat other species through her extensive research in animal welfare. A global authority on the effects of captivity on animal behaviour and health, Mason investigates animal emotions, moods and overall wellbeing leading to discoveries that have changed attitudes, guidelines and laws to better protect animals globally. Mason’s creativity in this work brings light to an otherwise confused subject, bringing statistical and conceptual approaches from evolutionary biology and ecology into the animal world. A former Tier II Canada Research Chair, she is currently director of the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare (CCSAW) and an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (U.K.).
“I am thrilled, and very grateful to my referees, as well as to all my wonderful current and past grad students and post-docs,” Mason shares. “I am also excited to bring the fascinating, ethically important topic of animal welfare to new audiences.”
Since 1882, The Royal Society of Canada has enhanced the development of robust scholarly, scientific and artistic excellence and engagement. In its founding, the society queried how leaders can come together to help make a better future as scientific and technological change, demographic transformation, political reconfiguration and cultural diversification evolves throughout history.
More than 3,700 scholars and artists have been elected to the society’s three academies – the Academy of Arts and Humanities, the Academy of Social Sciences and the Academy of Science.
A formal Celebration of Excellence and Engagement will be held Nov. 7-9 in Vancouver, B.C. to induct all new Fellows and College Members.
- 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.”
Past Events
- CCSAW Research Symposium
testing category
