Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare
Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare

Making an impact: Training and policy contributions

In addition to running public seminars and symposia, CCSAW faculty and students work with specific groups to improve animal welfare in practice, liaising with and training farmers, practising veterinarians and other industry professionals, as well as pet owners, horse owners and lab animal technicians. CCSAW faculty also serve on international committees/working groups developing animal welfare guidelines and codes. Several CCSAW faculty have won awards for their tireless efforts for real world animal welfare impact.

Policy Contributions

CCSAW faculty directly contribute to policy with their service work (as well as indirectly through their research). Nationally and internationally, there are too many instances to list, but as examples CCSAW faculty participated in developing many of Canada’s National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) Codes of Practice for farmed animal care, and Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) guidelines regulating research animal use.

NFACC Codes written with help from CCSAW members include:

CCAC Guidelines written with help from CCSAW members include:

Dairy Welfare Forum and Veterinary Scholars

Each year, CCSAW coordinates a Dairy Welfare Forum, as part of our Saputo Dairy Care Program, where faculty and dairy industry professionals meet to discuss ongoing projects and research results, opportunities for further research, and key education needs within the Canadian dairy industry. Topics covered have included cow-calf separation, the condition of culled cows, and updates to the NFACC Dairy Code of Practice.

The Dairy Care Program also runs tailored continuing education weeks for ‘Dairy Welfare Scholars’: veterinarian in practice who work with dairy cows and, as DVM students, took the Dairy Welfare Rotation.

Equine Welfare Training

CCSAW helps support an online Certificate in Equine Welfare program led by Equine Guelph. Offered as an extension of the award-winning Equine Science Certificate, the Equine Welfare Certificate provides learners with the opportunity to investigate and discuss aspects of equine well-being, and to critically examine welfare issues in different sectors of the equine industry.

Animal Welfare Service Awards

Several CCSAW faculty have won college, university, national or even international awards for their real world impact advancing animal welfare policy and practice. These include: