UBC Animal Welfare Program
2357 Main Mall V6T 1Z4 Vancouver, BC, Canada

Could Caustic Paste Trigger Bad Memories for Calves? Recent research by Thomas Ede and faculty in the Animal Welfare Program show that calves may show a preference for one form of disbudding over another. https://www.dairyherd.com//could-caustic-paste-trigger-bad

In focus groups, we asked Canadian dairy farmers to tell us their vision of the future of farming! Check out the results in our new article in the Journal of Dairy Science. https://www.journalofdairyscience.org//S0022-030/fulltext

Faculty from the Animal Welfare Program engage with undergraduate students in different ways. Last year, Prof. Nina von Keyserlingk supervised a unique Directed Studies project with Claire Wegner, an Applied Animal Biology major. As part of her project, Claire produced a video of research conducted by Anne-Marieke Smid on cattle preferences for outdoor access. See the results here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mcjr7DVYDZY&feature=youtu.be

Disbudding is a common but painful procedure on dairy farms, used to prevent horn growth in young cattle. A new study from the University of British Columbia's Animal Welfare Program compared two methods of disbudding: caustic paste and hot-iron. Even when using industry best practices for pain control, further refinements seem necessary. Article accessible at https://www.journalofdairyscience.org//S0022-0302/fulltext

Sasha Protopopova, NSERC/BC SPCA Industrial Research Chair in Animal Welfare, will be giving a free 3-hour seminar in coordination with the Applied Behavior Analysis Center’s ABACLive Cambridge Center Series on Thursday, October 1, 2020. This workshop will help practitioners gain a better understanding of therapy dogs in special education classrooms. This webinar is directed at practitioners but all are welcome to join in. CEUs available for an additional fee. https://abacnj.com/product/ccbs-therapy-dogs/

Dr. Sasha Protopopova, NSERC/BC SPCA Industrial Research Chair, who will be leading research into companion animal welfare, has recently been awarded funding for the developement of a laboratory for Human-Animal Interaction and Companion Animal Welfare! https://research.ubc.ca/ubc-researchers-get-106m-boost-cfi-

Are you interested in the intersection of animals, climate change and global health? Animalsclimatehealth is offering a series of webinars that explore these topics in the time of Covid 19. Please see https://animalsclimatehealth.com/ for full details. The first session, entitled Animals, Pandemics and Global Health will be held September 18, 2020.

Use of pasture can provide many benefits for dairy farmers across the globe. See this article featuring research conducted by UBC’s Animal Welfare Program Alumna Dr. Anne-Marieke Smid https://www.dairyglobal.net//Increase-pasture-use-Steps-t/

You are invited to participate in a survey study conducted by researchers at the University of British Columbia. To complete this survey, you must be an adult over 18 years old who is currently the guardian to a cat and/or dog that you have had for at least six months. The survey will take approximately 30 min. We are doing this study to learn more about consumer knowledge of and attitudes toward pet food safety, environmental sustainability of pet food, and the use of bacteriophage applications in pet food to reduce pathogens. No prior knowledge about these topics is required to complete this survey. Survey Link - https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1ZwGHWq7THJyrEV

Congratulations to graduate student Emeline Nogues for publishing her first paper with the AWP, together with PhD candidate Benjamin Lecorps, in Animals! 'Individual variability in response to social stress in dairy heifers' or whether it is better to engage or avoid social interactions when mixed with older cows? Read the paper here: mdpi.com/800686

Four UBC Animal Welfare Program papers are among the top 100 most highly cited in Journal of Dairy Science & JDS Communications since 2017! Congrats and thanks to our students, collaborators and funders for their contributions. The effect of milk allowance on behavior and weight gains in dairy calves: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2016-11195 ... Invited review: Effects of heat stress on dairy cattle welfare: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2017-12651 Parity differences in the behavior of transition dairy cows: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2016-10987 Citizens' views on the practices of zero-grazing and cow-calf separation in the dairy industry: Does providing information increase acceptability?: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2016-11933 NSERC / CRSNG, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Alberta Milk, BC Milk, Merck Animal Health, Boehringer Ingelheim Cattle Health, Semex, and Lactanet

The Future of Youngstock Management Symposium starts tomorrow (Aug 12 - 13 AEST- note, Australian Eastern Standard Time)! Email [email protected] for more info. See comments for the symposium schedule.

All are welcome to attend the The Future of Youngstock Management Symposium, organized by the University of Sydney, the University of British Columbia, and AgResearch, taking place next week (August 12 & 13)! The event is free to all and featuring speakers from around the world. Email [email protected] for more info

Dr. Lucia Amendola, Post-Doctoral Researcher and Dr. Dan Weary have recently published a review in the journal Translational Psychiatry, reviewing scientific evidence of emotional distress during CO2 exposure. World-wide, most rodent were used for scientific purposes are killed with carbon dioxide (CO2), but for years debate has swirled regarding the humaneness of this agent. The review, summarizing data from more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers on behavioral, physio...logical and neurobiological responses, describes extensive evidence that rats experience a variety of negative emotional states, including fear, anxiety, dyspnea, distress and panic, when inhaling CO2. The authors conclude that this evidence indicates that CO2 killing compromises rat welfare, suggesting the need for laboratories to adopt other procedures. You can see the full-text article here: https://rdcu.be/b5PaP See more

Graduate Student, Mohammad Wali Sahar and Drs. Beaver, von Keyserlingk and Weary, have published a paper in Animals, "Predicting Disease in Transition Dairy Cattle Based on Behaviors Measured Before Calving". You can see the full access here: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/6/928

With most post-secondary institutions moving online for teaching in the fall, Nina von Keyserlingk and several colleagues have written an article to address issues related to the discipline of animal science. The article Moving online: roadmap and long-term forecast can be found here: https://academic.oup.com/af/article/10/3/36/5875648

UBC researchers and colleagues have published a review paper assessing the use of anticipatory behaviour in animal welfare research. This behaviour is sometimes used to draw conclusions about positive emotional states, but might more accurately relate to feelings of frustration. Check it out here: https://www.ingentaconnect.com//art00001;jsessionid=3ntosl

Congrats Julia Lomb for getting published in the Journal of Dairy Science! "Behavioral changes associated with fever in transition dairy cows" Check out the new publication here:... https://www.sciencedirect.com//arti/pii/S0022030220303921

The 2020 winner of the UFAW Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Animal Welfare Science has been announced as Professor Daniel Weary! Dr Weary is a founding faculty of the Animal Welfare Program. His work has improved the lives of millions of animals and his mentorship has supported students and researchers at all levels. Congratulations Dan! https://awp.landfood.ubc.ca//dan-weary-awarded-ufaw-medal/

Congratulations to Hannah Spitzer, an undergraduate student in LFS who recently won the 2020 Canadian Society of Animal Science Award for Undergraduate Achievement. Hannah is currently an NSERC Undergraduate scholar, doing research out at UBC’s Dairy Centre in Agassiz under the supervision of Dr. Nina von Keyserlingk. Learn more about Hannah as one of our class of 2020 https://www.landfood.ubc.ca/meet-the-lfs-class-of-2020/

Brynn McLellan, 2019 AABI graduate (recipient of Medal in Applied Biology), recently published her research from her undergraduate thesis project. The manuscript "Efficacy of motion-activated sprinklers as a humane deterrent for urban coyotes" is now available online in the journal Human Dimensions of Wildlife. Brynn's work was a collaborative effort with the Stanley Park Ecology Society and home owners in the Metro Vancouver Regional District. Brynn is now continuing on her work with wildlife through her pursuit of a MSc at Trent University working on a black bear monitoring project. You can find the article here: https://www.tandfonline.com//full/10/10871209.2020.1781985

Updated: The deadline for the inaugural International Farm Animal Welfare Fellowship has been extended to July 7th! The IFAWF is aimed at those in the early stages of their career seeking a career in farmed animal welfare in mainland China. It will provide the unique opportunity to engage with field-leading experts, explore animal welfare issues and strategies in a Chinese context, and learn how academic concepts can be applied to improve animal welfare on a systems scale. T...he fellowship is expected to take place in London in January/February 2021exact dates to be confirmed, based on the COVID-19 situation and relevant travel restrictions. Fellow expenses are covered by the program. Apply now at ifawf.org, and please pass on to anyone who may be interested!

Animal Welfare is thrilled to announce that Dr. Alexandra Protopopova been named the NSERC/BC SPCA Industrial Research Chair (IRC) in Animal Welfare! As an IRC Chair, she will lead research between UBC and the BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BC SPCA (BCSPCA)) related to companion animal welfare over the next five years. https://www.landfood.ubc.ca/ubc-and-bc-spca-launch-new-res/... https://spca.bc.ca/n/ubc-bc-spca-launch-new-research-chair/

AWP Student Anna Ratuski has been awarded the prestigious NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship for her Doctoral (CGS D) Program! Anna’s current project focuses on housing refinements for breeding rats and their litters, and access to enriched playpens for standard-housed laboratory mice. Congratulations Anna! https://www.grad.ubc.ca/camp/meet-our-students/ratuski-anna