News
Keep up-to-date with the latest activities of UFAW including announcements about UFAW Awards open for application and the latest book releases.
Can we get better at tickling rats?
23 July 2021
Rats emit ultrasonic vocalisations (USVs) in the 50 kHz range when a human hand imitates the rough-and-tumble play seen between young rats. A recent publication questions whether current methods overemphasise the use of pinning, where the rat is flipped onto its back followed by rapid and forceful tickling of its belly.
Picking up mice after sanitising your hands can affect mouse behaviour
16 June 2021
During the Covid 19 pandemic, most of us have become all too familiar with hand sanitisers, sometimes complaining of their strong smell or the feeling left on our hands, whilst appreciating their protective effects.
UFAW responds to DEFRA consultation on genome editing, highlighting potential welfare benefits but also significant dangers
25 March 2021
In a recent consultation on the regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) produced by genome editing (GE) or other genetic technologies, DEFRA* made a distinction between genetic changes that could have been developed using traditional breeding methods and those that could not. However, the use of traditional breeding methods as a benchmark for what is and what is not acceptable is neither useful, nor scientifically logical.
Rodent glue traps consultation
25 March 2021
UFAW is pleased to see that the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission (SAWC) recommends a ban on the use of glue traps in its recently published report on the use of rodent glue traps in Scotland.
These devices are used to control ‘pests’ including rats and mice by catching them on a sticky board. Captured animals (which sometimes include non-target species) may remain alive and stuck to the board for hours, causing severe suffering as they try to escape. Astonishingly, these traps can currently be freely sold to, and used by, the general public in the UK.
UFAW lends support to The Wild Animal Welfare Committee’s virtual conference
22 March 2021
UFAW will be hosting the Wild Animal Welfare Committee’s (WAWC) one day conference on the GoToWebinar platform to enable hundreds of delegates from around the world to be able to attend.
Measuring and reducing damage during net handling of salmon
17 March 2021
In 2020, researchers at the University of Stirling used a UFAW grant to assess the damage (and potential stress) caused to Atlantic salmon by handling in nets. Dr Adam Powell (Marine Environmental Research Laboratory) examined whether different types of net mesh (rubber coated or standard knotless) and the number of fish per net (capture density) affected the extent of scale loss.
UFAW-funded Animal Welfare Student Scholarship could lead to welfare benefits for laying hens
17 March 2021
UFAW student scholar Rosa Schimmel, who undertook an internship at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Utrecht, was awarded an Animal Welfare Student Scholarship in 2020. She chose laying hens for her scholarship subject
Small Project funding helps rodents
17 March 2021
In 2019, UFAW awarded a grant of £1,877 under its Small Projects awards to Dr Claire Gibson at the University of Nottingham to enrich the environment of laboratory rodents by providing playpens and toys for them to interact with.
UFAW 2021 conference – latest
26 January 2021
The deadline for receiving abstracts for the 2021 conference – Recent advances in animal welfare science VIII has now passed but we have been delighted with the response
Improvements in animal welfare do not automatically change public opinion or decrease farm income
15 December 2020
A new, more comprehensive approach to evaluating measures to improve sow and piglet welfare in terms of their effect on farm income and public attitudes as well as animal welfare has delivered some interesting results.
