UFAW Programmes
The UFAW SAWI Fund
Promoting Animal Welfare in Israel
- The history of the UFAW SAWI Fund?
- Support for high quality animal welfare science
- Support for major, high quality education initiatives
- UFAW SAWI Fund grants and awards
- Some recent projects supported by the UFAW SAWI Fund
The history of the UFAW SAWI Fund
The Society for Animal Welfare in Israel (SAWI) was founded in 1958 by Miss Marguerite Silverman MRCVS, a veterinarian living in the UK, following a visit to Israel the previous year. In due course SAWI became a UK registered charity (No 206494). In January 1987, at Miss Silverman’s request, the UFAW Council took over responsibility for SAWI.
On 7th October 2003, following discussions with Miss Silverman and consultation with the SAWI membership and the Charity Commission, SAWI was brought within UFAW to become the UFAW SAWI Fund for promoting animal welfare in Israel. This was done to enable the further development of SAWI activities under the umbrella of UFAW’s limited liability (SAWI had been an unincorporated association).
Support for high quality animal welfare science
UFAW has been very influential in promoting progress in animal welfare in the UK and worldwide through support of high quality animal welfare science and through promoting and publishing information on animals’ welfare needs and how these can be met.
Supporting key research initiatives has proved a very effective strategy for bringing about major changes of attitude and improved animal welfare on a large scale. For example, during the 1950s, a UFAW project undertaken by William Russell and Rex Burch resulted in the development of the principles of the Three Rs as set out in their influential book: ‘The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique’. The Three Rs have been adopted around the world as the key guiding principles for the welfare of animals in research and this has resulted in, and continues to drive, huge welfare improvements.
UFAW is keen to identify and support projects in Israel through which high quality science can lead to major animal welfare benefits.
Scientific advances in animal welfare can have a great impact both through changing attitudes – fostering greater concern for animals – and more directly through the development of improved methods of animal care.
For these reasons, the UFAW SAWI Fund would be very pleased to receive applications from scientists, veterinarians and others in Israel, for the support of high-quality research in animal welfare. We would like particularly to encourage applications in the following fields:
- development of methodologies aimed at elucidation of the neurological basis of sentience in animals
- developments in approaches to alleviating welfare problems in farmed, companion and/or laboratory animals through breeding
- developments in detection and alleviation of pain, and
- development of methods of welfare assessment
However, UFAW does not wish to exclude potentially valuable projects in other aspects of animal welfare science and applications for work in any other areas will be considered equally.
Support for major, high quality educational initiatives
UFAW’s success in leading improvements in animal welfare is also based on production and publication of important educational resources, including, for example (in addition to the influential ‘Principles of Humane Experimental Technique’ mentioned above): The ‘UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory Animals’ (now in its 7th edition), the ‘UFAW Farm Animal Handbook’ (now in its 4th edition), the international quarterly scientific journal ‘Animal Welfare’ (now in its 17th year), and various books in the UFAW/Blackwells Animal Welfare Series (see Publications). The charity has also effectively helped promote animal welfare through organising major international workshops and symposia.
The UFAW SAWI Fund would be pleased to receive applications for support for major, strategic, educational initiatives for animal welfare in Israel, such as organising international workshops or conferences or the preparation or publication of books.
UFAW staff would be very happy to discuss, informally, any ideas that potential applicants might wish to put forward.
UFAW SAWI Fund Grants and Awards
UFAW SAWI Scholarships for animal welfare science education
Applications for these scholarships are invited from veterinary, agriculture or other biological science graduates in Israel to enable them to travel to the UK to undertake postgraduate courses relevant to animal welfare science. For example, to support travel, living and tuition costs for attendance on the MSc course in Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare at the University of Edinburgh Veterinary School (see www.vet.ed.ac.uk/animalbehaviour/index.htm). The UFAW SAWI Fund will consider meeting the costs of travel, reasonable accommodation and living expenses, and tuition fees to enable committed and suitably qualified students to undertake courses of up to one year in the UK.
For information about how to apply click here.
Vacation Scholarships
These awards are based on the very successful UFAW Vacation Scheme developed in 1983. In many cases, Vacation Scholars have published papers in scientific literature as a result of their work, and these projects have helped provide a first step in a career working with or for animals. We hope that the UFAW SAWI Fund Vacation Scholarship scheme will prove equally valuable in helping to promote animal welfare science in Israel.
Awards are available to undergraduates in agricultural, biological, medical, veterinary or zoological sciences, registered at a university or college in Israel.
For full details and application form click here
Research and Project Awards
The UFAW SAWI Fund is open to applications to fund research and project awards (amounts over £3,500). Applications are judged on their merits for animal welfare, their scientific quality (in the case of research applications) and also in relation to other applications received.
Details and application forms are available here
Small Project and Travel Awards
These awards (up to £3,500) support a variety of activities for the benefit of animal welfare. Applications may be made, for example, for the purchase of equipment, organisation of educational meetings, lectures and courses, or for publication, translation or transmission of information on animal welfare.
Details and application forms are available here
UFAW staff would be pleased to discuss any ideas for research proposals informally before full applications are submitted. Please see the Section above on ‘Support for high quality animal welfare science’ for indications about UFAW SAWI priorities.
Some projects supported by the UFAW SAWI Fund (please see above for information about current priorities)
Humane killing of chicks
In October 1999, SAWI made an award of £4,750 (with a further £4750 being given by UFAW’s sister charity, the Humane Slaughter Association, with whom UFAW shares premises and staff) to Mr Avraham Pinkas of Hai-Meshek to support the development and building of electrical facilities for the humane killing of day-old chicks. Before this technology was developed, very large numbers of day-old chicks (male hatchlings are unwanted byproduct of the laying hen production industry) were not killed humanely.
Conference on animals in society
The UFAW SAWI Fund supported a conference held in July 2005 at Tel Aviv University on ‘Animals in Society: Status, Perspectives and Awareness’ which addressed many animal welfare issues including improvement of the welfare of animals in agriculture and industry, the health and welfare of pets, and how to promote positive attitudes to animals. This conference, organised by Professor Joseph Terkel and his staff, was attended by over 600 participants.
Spay/neuter programmes
An award of £10,000 was made to NOAH, the Federation of Animal Welfare Societies in Israel, to support a spay/neuter population control programme for the welfare of feral cats in Arad, and an award of £6000 was made in January 2000 to the Haifa SPCA to support a spay/neuter programme for population control and welfare improvements in feral dogs and cats in the Haifa area.
Support for animal welfare organisations
In addition to supporting specific projects, the SAWI Fund has made contributions to help support the work of various regional animal welfare organisations including the SPCAs at Tel Aviv, Rehovot and Haifa, the Israel Cat Lover’s Society near Haifa, and the Cat Welfare Society at Even Yehuda. In addition to providing re-homing services for animals, these organisations also undertake spaying and neutering programmes. There are thought to be about 500,000 or more feral cats in Israel and helping to prevent the welfare problems associated with this large population is a major challenge.
Vacation scholarships
See above.
