University LINKs Scheme
Royal Veterinary College (UK)
Ms Natalie Chancellor
Dept of Pathobiology and Population Sciences
Email: nchancellor@rvc.ac.uk
2017:
Walks and Talks: Animal Behaviour, Welfare and Ethics presentations
Royal Veterinary College (Dr Siobhan Abeysinghe)
UFAW was pleased to support the involvement of students and staff members from the RVC at what has become the Walks and Talks’ training and networking event for postgraduate students conducting research on behaviour and welfare, which this year was held in the Peak District.
Over three days in early October, students from the Royal Veterinary College, Scotland’s Rural College and the universities of Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Nottingham and Winchester presented and discussed their research and exchanged ideas in a friendly peer environment facilitated by a few research and academic staff members. Amongst the topics covered by talks were:
- Advances in UK pig welfare with studies looking at vocalisations, enrichment and piglet tooth resection.
- Different aspects of dog welfare including, human interpretation of facial indicators of emotion, assessment of population management methods in Europe, how and why UK public obtain their cats and dogs and ‘GenPup’ - a large data collection study.
- Development of welfare indicators (posture in guinea fowl and sleep patterns in horse)
The presentations were complemented by a walk through Dovedale and the surrounding hills, quizzes and team building activities, and communal cooking of meals. The event was enjoyed by all who attended and provided a very helpful informal environment to share ideas and projects for early stage researchers.
