Over the past year, the charity has worked diligently to explore what matters to animals through funding vital work including the implications of long-term exposure to stressors in primates and research to develop new measures to assess cumulative chronic stress in poultry.  Other, smaller grants have funded a variety of projects, for example the welfare implications of hot-iron disbudding in dairy calves, the effectiveness of “playpens” for lab rodents and training methods in dogs and how this affects the dog-owner bond.

UFAW’s Chief Executive and Scientific Director Robert Hubrecht said: “Unlike some other charities, UFAW cannot rely on heart-warming stories to seek support. Instead, much of UFAW’s work is about pushing the boundaries of our knowledge of animals and their needs because, as UFAW’s founder, Charles Hume, recognised, animal welfare science is absolutely necessary to ensure that we really meet the needs of animals, avoiding the pitfalls that can occur with anthropomorphism.”

The 2018-19 report also highlights the consultation work undertaken by UFAW, both in the UK and around the world.  The charity’s progress and achievements is a reflection of the continued support UFAW has had from its members and donors.  If you’d like to become a member or make a donation, you can do so here (link to memberships page).  To download a copy of this year’s annual report click here

The format tackles the following myths:

Myth:     Leaving a gift in your will is only for the rich and famous

Reality:   Every single person can leave a gift in their will

Myth:     Most people in the UK assume that you can’t leave money in your Will to family as well as your favourite charity

Reality:   This is simply not true.  After taking care of your loved ones, you can do both. And it doesn’t have to be money you can leave to charity, it can be a small percentage of your estate or an item   

Myth:     Leaving a small gift in your will to your favourite cause won’t make any difference.

Reality:   The truth is, when combined with other people’s gifts, it could make a huge difference.  In fact, many charities wouldn’t exist if it were not for gifts in wills.  Large or small amounts left to any charity in a will really could make all the difference.

Myth:     Leaving a gift in a will is complex and difficult

Reality:   Leaving a gift in a will is easier than you think, whether you are considering revisions to an existing Will or making one for the first time. A professionally written Will ensures that your wishes are clear and your affairs are in order and you could also save your loved ones from additional administrative demands at a difficult and stressful time.     

UFAW’s work to reduce animal suffering and to improve animal welfare is only possible because of the generous support of those who leave a legacy.  Gifts left in wills make up over 50% of our income, so every one is extremely valuable to us. Gifts left in wills have enabled UFAW to develop from simple beginnings in 1926 to become an organisation that has championed the application of science in the service of animal welfare. 

UFAW has put together a simple guide which should be of some assistance to you when speaking to a solicitor and making your Will which can be downloaded free here (

The theme for the Week is “Pass on something wonderful” and aims to challenge some of the most common misconceptions around gifts in Wills, inspiring people to consider their favourite charity in their Will.

Legacies are vital to UFAW and have the power to have an impact far into the future.  You can read more about how a legacy left to the charity in 1995 enabled UFAW to establish and award its first Research Training Scholarship as well as identify appropriate analgesic pain-relief drugs or other methods of pain control for animals here.  Both of these initiatives have benefitted countless animals worldwide and are still making a difference today. Last year, gifts in Wills helped UFAW to fund a number of projects including a workshop on elephant behaviour, welfare and training for owners and mahouts in Thailand, the promotion of animal welfare by introducing new approaches to clinical skills teaching at veterinary schools in Bangladesh and a study which looked at the effects of dog training methods on pet dog welfare and the dog-owner bond in Portugal.

Please see https://www.ufaw.org.uk/support/leaving-a-gift-in-your-will to find out more about leaving a gift to UFAW.

Since completing his research, Roi has continued to lead and teach the Animal Welfare courses at the Koret School of Veterinary Medicine.  He teaches both first year veterinary students and veterinarians who are pursuing a Masters degree in Public Health.  An interesting and novel approach to Roi’s teaching involves channelling animal welfare information to the general public using short YouTube videos created by the students themselves and you can view them here:  

Roi has also had a number of papers published relating to his work, including Detection of lameness in dairy cows using a grooming device and Environmental enrichment of dairy cows and calves in indoor housing.  You can read more about Roi’s work here .

This is the first major animal welfare science project that UFAW has funded in Israel and we hope to use the UFAW SAWI fund to further establish animal welfare science as a discipline in Israel, to address both local and global welfare issues.  If you would like to support animal welfare in Israel, you can make a donation online here.

In 2003, the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) set up a working group (the Garden Bird Health Initiative) to conduct an ongoing surveillance and research programme investigating garden bird diseases, ways to minimise the risk of their occurrence, and to advise on best practice for feeding garden birds. The project was extremely successful, making it possible to learn a great deal about garden bird diseases and to identify practical measures that may help prevent or control outbreaks.  In 2013 the Garden Bird Health Initiative expanded its remit to include other garden wildlife and became the Garden Wildlife Health (GWH) project.

In 2016, UFAW agreed to support the Garden Wildlife Health (GWH) Project by providing a grant over three years to enable the GWH to develop website tools to better collect and analyse vital data on the health of wildlife populations from sightings provided by the public of sick or dead wildlife.  You can read more about the project here .

Since 2016, the Garden Wildlife Health team has continued to investigate disease threats (some of which may turn out to be influenced by human activities) to British wild animal health and welfare. The team is led by vets at the Zoological Society of London, who work in collaboration with scientists from the British Trust for Ornithology, Froglife and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.  Over the past year, 3,500 disease incident reports were received from members of the public and post-mortem examinations were conducted on around 200 wild animals to determine their cause of death. Since June 2018, the team has co-authored nine scientific publications on a range of conditions affecting multiple species, including herpesviruses, Erinaceus coronavirus and Listeria monocytogenes infection in hedgehogs; proliferative leg skin lesions in finches, salmonellosis in great spotted woodpeckers, ranid herpesvirus skin disease in common frogs, phaeohyphomycosis in a common toad and the apparent absence of salamander chytrid in British wild newts.  In order to share findings, GWH vets have given multiple conference presentations, participated in public outreach events and provided undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in wildlife health.  New disease factsheets were produced based on their scientific findings and are available to download from www.gardenwildilfehealth.org; a biannual e-newsletter has been circulated to more than 1500 reporters and social media platforms have been used to share best practice guidance for garden habitat management.

For more information, including factsheets and links to an interactive map, visit www.gardenwildlifehealth.org.

Marguerite Ruth Silverman, MRCVS, ACIS 1914-2003

The vet who helped animals in Israel

No-one knew where it came from, what I should do with it, where I could take it.  I talked to everyone… I did not know what to do and did not want to do anything.

Marguerite Silverman wrote these words on having found a stray puppy huddled against a wall whilst on holiday in Israel.  But such was her tenacity in wanting to improve the welfare of animals, she went on to found the Society for Animal Welfare in Israel (SAWI) now the UFAW SAWI Fund.

Marguerite was born on 4 May 1914 in Southampton, one of two children to Joseph and Edith Silverman.  Her father was the Mayor of Southampton and her family were well respected.  She graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 1935 – among the first of the new wave of female veterinary scholars - and spent some time in companion animal practice before the Second World War.

She then changed career and developed a successful business in verbatim recording (before the invention of the tape recorder) as well as writing a training manual for audio transcribers.  She also wrote three crime fiction novels whose central character was Chief Inspector Christopher Adrian.

In 1958, following a holiday visit to Israel during which she had been distressed by the scale of the animal suffering she had seen, she founded the Society for Animal Welfare in Israel (SAWI).  In 1986 she approached UFAW about the possibility of SAWI being taken under its wing but remained as its President throughout her lifetime.  She generously supported SAWI and followed the activities of both SAWI and UFAW with interest.

She died peacefully at a nursing home, near her home in Catcott in Somerset, on Friday 5 December 2003, aged 89.  Through her efforts in founding and developing SAWI and in her generous support for its activities, Marguerite Silverman had a tremendous impact on improving the welfare of animals in Israel.

In Marguerite’s own words – how she came to found the Society for Animal Welfare in Israel (SAWI) – taken from the 1977 Annual Report for SAWI

Early in 1957, I went to Israel for a short holiday.  I knew very little about the country, but that was soon remedied by the enthusiasm of the people who literally wanted to show me a few blades of grass where none had grown before.  It was a most exciting experience marred for me by the complete lack of animal welfare facilities.  I picked up a puppy huddled against a wall.  No-one knew where it came from, what I should do with it, where I could take it.  I talked to everyone.  A women doctor friend said if you had seen refugees in the state that I have, you wouldn’t be worrying yourself about dogs and cats.”  A leader of a tour I joined, a kind young man, said we shall have time in a few years to think about these things.  A German woman who sold entrance tickets at a museum said there are street dogs in every country.  If you want something done about it here, then you must do it yourself.”

I became haunted by this remark.  I had given up veterinary work because I could not stand up to the emotional involvement.  Still less did I want to be caught up in animal welfare work. 

Eventually, back in England, I went unwillingly to the Israeli Embassy and saw a very sensible and helpful man.  He told me that people came in with many strange enquiries, but no one had come in before and talked about animals.  He told me to write to the Jerusalem Post, the English language newspaper of Israel.  I did this and was astonished to receive a large number of letters from people of various nationalities, living in Israel.  All the letters said the same thing; we can’t make anyone do anything.  No-one here has time.  YOU must help from England.  I was appalled.  I did not know what to do and did not want to do anything.

Eventually, I wrote a letter to the Jewish Chronicle.  My letter brought several charming replies.  Some of the people who wrote at that time are still on our committee or help whenever they can.

We had a meeting to try to decide what to do.  We knew that we could not impose animal welfare on Israel from outside.  Even if we had some money, we wouldn’t have known to whom to give it.  We decided the first thing to do was to get ourselves organised and in this we had the utmost help from animal welfare societies in this country.  Miss Nina Hosali of SPANA showed me how to draw up the Rules of a society.  Miss Kit Wilson, who at that time worked for the Cats Protection League, arrived one day in my office to offer help.  The International League for the Protection of Horses offered advice and help and the RSPCA and others offered free literature and posters.  UFAW gave us free books and booklets. 

By this time, we had made a few contacts in Israel with people who, we discovered, were running small animal shelters, or were anxious to do so.  And so, gradually, here and in Israel we began to get a working arrangement going.  We worked in the evenings (we were all in jobs) and we struggled with circular letters, writing a leaflet, making contacts here and there, getting patrons, getting money.  We tried out all the accepted ways of making money – jumble sales, Bazaar stalls, talking to groups, coffee evenings in the houses of friends, persuading people to make payments under Deed of Covenant.  We had to make it clear that we were genuine and not a society that was here today and gone tomorrow.  At all times, I had great help and support from my work colleagues, and SAWI has always been made up of non-Jewish as well as Jewish supporters.

We were most fortunate in our original Chairman, Leonard Levy, a barrister and alderman and a man of great kindness and wisdom.  He guided us until his untimely death in 1974.  We became a registered charity and more recently we became registered with the Board of Deputies.

One of the most astonishing moments was when we discovered someone had left us some money in a will.  We really felt we existed.  The other outstanding moment was when the Jewish Chronicle offered to become our Patron. 

In these twenty-one years, the animal welfare workers in Israel have done a tremendous job. It has been a hard, uphill battle with little money, in a country consisting of people (many of them refugees) from all over the world, all preoccupied with their own problems and the problems of a new country surrounded by enemies.  There is much there still to be done, but that is scarcely surprising when here, in England, with hundreds of animal welfare societies and small welfare groups, we still have cruelty, neglect and ignorance.  However, at least in Israel these days, in many areas, if you see a puppy in the street there is somewhere to take it.

Marguerite Silverman

SAWI today

Initially, SAWI’s role encompassed sending funds, equipment, drugs, technical information and advice to a network of animal protection and welfare societies in Israel.  This approach enabled much to be achieved over the years and in due course SAWI became a UK registered charity (No 206494).  By 1986 Miss Silverman was in her 70s and felt that she could no longer shoulder the burden of the charity’s administration.  She approached the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) about the possibility of SAWI being taken under its wing.  UFAW was happy to be able to assist and, on 1 January 1987, the UFAW Council formally took over responsibility for SAWI with Miss Silverman remaining as SAWI’s President and continuing to take an active interest in SAWI’s work. 

As well as continuing to support the existing animal welfare societies in Israel, SAWI also funded other work to benefit animal welfare there such as a conference in Tel Aviv University 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.

In 2003, following discussions with Miss Silverman and consultation with the SAWI membership and the Charity Commission, SAWI’s assets were transferred to a restricted fund within UFAW — the UFAW SAWI Fund for Promoting Animal Welfare in Israel, to enable the further development of SAWI activities under the umbrella of UFAW’s limited liability (SAWI had been an unincorporated association).

Full Circle

Having qualified as a vet herself and knowing that education in animal care is of immense importance, one of Miss Silverman’s long-term aims for SAWI was to secure a continuation of discovery and education through the promotion of animal welfare science in Israel.

In 2012, this finally came to fruition when a series of meetings with staff at the Koret School of Veterinary Medicine of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem led to the funding of a UFAW SAWI Research Scholarship in animal welfare science at the Vet School at Rehovot.

This was awarded to Roi Mandel for a project under the supervision of Dr Eyal Klement on the detection of disease progression and recovery in cows.  This work, now completed, supports the inclusion of grooming brush use, and possibly other low-resilience behaviours, into automated health monitoring systems, to better detect disease progression and recovery.  Roi is now teaching ethology and animal welfare at the ETH Zurich, Switzerland and has been teaching at the Koret Veterinary School, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He leads the Animal Welfare course and teaches both veterinary students and veterinarians who are pursuing a master’s degree in Public Health.

Sixty years after its foundation, SAWI is still helping animals in Israel and continuing Miss Silverman’s legacy through its UFAW SAWI Fund.  Currently, the fund is open to support projects in Israel which can lead to major animal welfare benefits - high quality science, or major, strategic, educational initiatives for animal welfare in Israel will be considered for support.

Please help us to help animals in Israel

The first SAWI Scholarship was awarded in the hope that it would not only develop useful animal welfare knowledge, but also help build Israeli capacity in animal welfare science.  Roi’s scholarship and subsequent work is an excellent start and his teaching work is helping to develop interest and expertise in animal welfare in the next generation of animal welfare professionals. Roi plans to continue teaching animal welfare and to develop a research programme in Israel. However, UFAW would like to do more.  The SAWI Fund is dedicated to improving the welfare of animals in Israel but we need your help to fund further vital research and educational work that will help build expertise and thus make a real, and long-term difference, to the welfare of animals in Israel.

You can help by providing a gift or legacy.  The SAWI Fund is specifically for use to promote animal welfare in Israel.  If you would like to help, please consider a donation or a legacy to SAWI, which will help us to continue supporting animal welfare in Israel and building on Miss Silverman’s legacy and the work already begun.  Thank you.

Photo credit: Danny Isaacs

The orphan who fled the Bolshevicks and went on to become a pioneer in the field of animal welfare

She was given a Red Cross label marked ‘Orphan No 7’ to hang round her neck, and was told to pack a basket with a change of clothes… 

Dame Olga Uvarov DSc HonCBiol FIBiol FRCVS (1910-2001)

Olga Uvarov was born in Russia in 1910 to a prosperous family.  Her parents, Nikolas and Elena, as well as her three brothers perished in the Revolution of 1917, when she was a young girl.  She survived the typhoid epidemic which was sweeping the country at the time and was rescued and brought to England by her uncle, Sir Boris Uvarov.  Malnourished and suffering from malaria, she arrived in London in 1923. 

Olga’s interest in science was sparked by her uncle, who was an entomologist working at the Imperial Bureau of Entomology in London.  After schooling, she entered the Royal Veterinary College, London, in 1930 and qualified in 1934, having also won the college’s bronze medals for Histology and Physiology.  This was an incredible achievement for a woman with Russian as a first language at a time when women students were rare - there were only thirty-five registered women veterinarians in 1934.

Initially, Olga worked in mixed practice before running her own veterinary practice which she purchased in 1944.  She went on to rise to the highest level in her profession, being voted President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1976-1977 (the first female president of the RCVS). She worked for many years in the pharmaceutical industry and was keenly interested in animal welfare and the ethics of animal use. She served on UFAW's Council from 1983-1986, was elected an Honorary Life Member of the charity, and became Vice-President from 1986-1992.  During this time, UFAW was instrumental in advancing animal welfare for companion, wild, zoo, farm and laboratory animals - you can read more about UFAW’s history here.  In her later years, Olga was much in demand as a member of parliamentary and other committees concerned with veterinary matters, and as a speaker at international veterinary symposia. She also wrote over 40 scientific papers on veterinary pharmacology and therapeutics.

Dame Olga died aged 91 at her home in Middlesex on the 29th of August 2001. She is remembered fondly by UFAW for her sharp intellect and her long and very loyal support.

Dame Olga not only made a real and lasting impact in animal welfare, but also led the way for the generations of women scientists and veterinarians to come.  Examples include Dr Rebecca Meagher who won UFAW’s Young Animal Welfare Scientist of the Year award in 2018 for her outstanding contribution to animal welfare , Dr Rachel Tanner, who was awarded a 3Rs Liaison Group Studentship in 2012 to carry out a project concerned with a vaccine for cattle TB ) and Professor Georgia Mason who was awarded a UFAW 3Rs award for her study into the welfare of laboratory primates and indicators of poor welfare.

Thanks to women like these and also to the support of people who share the charity’s concern for the welfare of animals, UFAW has already made a real and lasting difference to millions of animals – from the mouse to the elephant.  Please help us to continue their legacy by reading their stories and donating to UFAW.  Large or small, your donation means a great deal to the lives of many animals and is vital in helping us continue - you can make a donation or become a member here.    Thank you.

Photo credit:  National Portrait Gallery

UFAW had previously stated that it wanted to see laboratory techniques become more humane for the animals concerned and had made contact with Dr Russell, an Oxford zoologist and Greek scholar, who agreed to undertake a programme of research into this subject.  Dr Russell was appointed as a UFAW Research Fellow in October 1954, and with his assistant Rex Burch developed the Three Rs. 

For further info see (Link to https://www.ufaw.org.uk/why-ufaws-work-is-important/welfare-of-animals-used-in-scientific-testing-and-research).

Why UFAW's work is important

Humans have been farming animals for a very long time (over 10,000 years) and, over the past few decades, considerable progress has been made in improving farm animal welfare (such as better-quality veterinary care, enhanced nutrition, and a greater understanding of animal behaviour and genetics). However there are still some long-standing welfare issues facing today’s farmed animals that have proved difficult to deal with.

For instance, did you know that in the UK it is estimated that the prevalence of dairy cow lameness is 22.1%? Given that the UK has a dairy herd of approximately 1.9 million cows, 419,900 dairy cows may be suffering from lameness at any one time in the UK alone.

To see some examples of UFAWs work in this area (and to show why it is so important to support animal welfare research and to disseminate important findings) the following examples have been selected to highlight a number of welfare issues that still affect many millions of animals every day:

However, there are now few, if any, places in the world where human activities have not, either directly or indirectly, affected animals and with this, arguably, comes some responsibility for their welfare.

Over many years, UFAW has worked to improve the welfare of wild animals by identifying issues and seeking solutions.  If you want to know the effects of human activity on the behaviour and physiology of seals in Antarctica, or how tourism impacts on the health and welfare of the endangered Galapagos sea lion, see here)

You can read more about how human activity has affected the welfare of wild animals and how UFAW has worked towards improving these situations by clicking on these links. 

Garden wildlife health

Monitoring wildlife populations

Wild animal control

The most commonly used animals are mice, fish and rats, but many other species including monkeys, cats, dogs, horses and pigs are also used.

For the foreseeable future many animals will continue to be used in research. Whilst animals are used it is important to look for ways to improve their lives and reduce the impacts of research upon them.

UFAW has worked since its foundation in 1926 to improve the welfare of animals used in research by supporting scientific studies to understand and improve their welfare alongside education and training to improve the lives of animals used for scientific purposes worldwide.  You can find out more about how UFAWs work in this area, including the 3Rs concept (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) developed by Russell and Burch whilst they were working for UFAW in the 1950s, here.  UFAW has supported developments in all of the 3Rs which have resulted in improvements to the welfare of millions of animals.