Internationally respected scientists from across the globe presenting at event
UFAW is pleased to announce a full programme of speakers at its forthcoming international symposium Measuring animal welfare and applying scientific advances - Why is it still so difficult? to be held on the 27th-29th June at the Royal Holloway, University of London, Surrey, UK.
Keynote speakers including Professor Georgia Mason from the University of Guelph, Canada, Professorof Bristol in the UK will be addressing what we can assess, and how, to determine animals’ subjective Jaak Panksepp from the Washington State University USA and Professor Mike Mendl of the University states and hence their welfare.
In addition, the symposium will feature 30 talks from other international speakers and over 90 poster presentations. The speakers will cover a wide range of topics from the future of zoo animal welfare science, a comparative framework to determine which animals are aware of their pain, and sleep disturbances as an indicator of animal welfare to the challenge of assessing welfare in abattoirs and boredom in animals.
UFAW’s Chief Executive Dr Robert Hubrecht said: “There seems to be a growing consensus that what matters to animals that are presumed to experience feelings, and therefore what should matter most to those concerned about animal welfare, is how those animals feel. However, this raises difficult questions, such as are the techniques that we have to study emotional state adequate or are there new and better ways of assessing how animals feel about themselves and their environment? UFAW’s three day symposium will consider whether and how animal welfare scientists can make progress in this and other areas, with the aim of developing new ideas and of promoting higher quality and better-focused animal welfare science which will ultimately benefit large numbers of animals.”
Further details about this meeting, including the full programme of speakers, venue and how to register can be found on UFAW’s website www.ufaw.org.uk/symposium2017. To ensure attendance, early registration is encouraged as UFAW symposia are usually over-subscribed and places have been filling fast. Those who register before the 1st March will qualify for a reduced rate.
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