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  • AWSC / RSPCA Seminar – March 2012

    AWSC / RSPCA Seminar – March 2012

     

    The Animal Welfare Science Centre is pleased to present this seminar in conjunction with RSPCA Australia.

    Professor Peter Sandøe from the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark will challenge your thinking on the ethical treatment of animals.

    •     Is there a clear distinction between animal welfare science and the ethical discussions about what is right and wrong in our dealings with animals?

    •     Does it matter how animal welfare is defined?

    •     What are the ethical assumptions affecting the study of animal welfare?

    •     Why do these assumptions vary depending on whether we’re talking about farm animals or companion animals?

    •     How can researchers present results in a way that makes their ethical assumptions transparent?

    Thursday March 1st

    6pm – 7pm

    Lower Lecture Theatre,

    Melbourne School of Land and Environment,

    Cnr Royal Parade & Tin Alley,

    Parkville, Melbourne.

     

    To assist with catering, please RSVP to the RSPCA before February 24th at

     

  • St Michael's Medallion awarded to Paul Hemsworth

    St Michael's Medallion awarded to Paul Hemsworth

    As a part of St Michael’s day, each year St Michael’s Uniting Church in Melbourne, presents two “St Michael’s Medallions.” The award is designed to recognise their work in the prevention of violence, trauma and destructiveness or the promotion of growth, health and well-being. 
    This year the two recipients were Dr Helen McCraken and Prof Paul Hemsworth. Helen McCraken is currently the Senior Veterinarian at Melbourne Zoo. Helen is recognised as an authority on the diagnosis and management of mycobacterial infections in zoo animals, and has produced many important studies on animal disease and medicine. 
    Prof Hemsworth is the director of the Animal Welfare Science Centre. He has built a research career studying the behaviour and welfare of farm and companion animals, particularly examining the influence of the social and physical environment on farm animal behaviour.

  • New appointment - Research Fellow, pigs and poultry

    New appointment - Research Fellow, pigs and poultry

     

    The AWSC is pleased to announce the appointment of Jean-Loup Rault to the position of pig and poultry research fellow at the University of Melbourne.

    Jean-Loup has recently completed his PhD at Purdue University under the supervision of Dr Don Lay. He has previously worked with Dr Xavier Boivin and Dr Alain Boissy at INRA in France where he received his MSc in ethology from the University of Paris.

    His research interests focus on the potential for positive social interactions to enhance animal well-being, with an emphasis on social support.. His PhD research aimed to elucidate the involvement of oxytocin in social behavior and he was recently assigned a plenary presentation at the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE) conference in Indianapolis.

    Jean-Loup has considerable knowledge of behavior, endocrinology, neurophysiology and immunology and has worked with an array of species: swine, veal calves, sheep, horses, beef and dairy cattle.

    In a bold move to ensure research capability in pigs and poultry, his position at the University of Melbourne has been funded by Australian Pork Limited, Australian Egg Corporation Limited and the Rural Industries Research Corporation (chicken meat).

    Jean-Loup will be “on deck” from the end of September and we look forward to his research input as the AWSC continues to deliver important research in pigs and poultry.

     

  • Prizes for AWSC PhD students working in dairy industry

    Prizes for AWSC PhD students working in dairy industry

     

    Australian Dairy Conference Ltd and their event major sponsor, Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry, have announced that Anoma Hetti Arachchige has been chosen as a finalist in the 2012 DAFF Dairy Science Communications Award to be judged at the 2012 Australian Dairy Conference at Lardner Park, Gippsland in February 2012.

    Anoma is a student within the School of Veterinary Science at The University of Melbourne and is working on defining dairy cow behaviour and welfare in feeding systems based on total mixed ration fed in conjunction with grazed pasture. The quality of her work was also recognised within the School with her award of the V.W. Officer Prize in Veterinary Science for 2011.

    Also within the School of Veterinary Science, Joanne Coombe has won the Dairy Farmers of Victoria Postgraduate Scholarship Prize and the John Nevill Research Scholarship Prize. Jo is studying the effects of flexible feeding systems on the health and welfare of dairy cows.

    Congratulations to Anoma, Jo and their supervisors.

Animal Welfare Science Centre is a joint centre of:

The University of Melbourne
Monash University
The Ohio State University
Department of Primary Industries Victoria

 

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