Research, Development &
Education Programs

Research planning activities at the Animal Welfare Science Centre

• The Centre’s Research, Development and Education Plan
• A workshop to identify animal welfare priorities for research
• The Centre’ 6-monthly planning process
• A review of the Centre
• The Centre’s Research, Development and Education Programs
• Current Projects of the Centre
• Post-graduate Student Projects
• Current, submitted and awarded
• Project Highlights

1. The Workshop to identify animal welfare issues within the animal industries

During 2001, a series of planning exercises were undertaken with representation from industry, animal welfare, science, legislation and Government to 1) identify the animal welare issues that are likely to affect domestic and farming animals in our community and 2) to develop consensus on the relative priority of these issues, both within and across the animal industries.

A number of working groups were established to determine animal welfare issues, for 11 animal industries/sectors and a workshop was held with all stakeholders to complete this exercise and a report compiled to summarise the results:

A workshop to identify animal welfare issues within the animal industries

2. The Centre’s Research, Development and Education Plan

The above planning exercises were utilised, together with scoping of priorities from partner organisations, Governments, animal welfare organisations and in particular, the animal industries, to provide strong basis for the development of the Centre’s RD&E (research, development and education) activities.

The Centre conducts animal welfare research and development within three major program areas:

1. Animal welfare methodology,
2. Housing and husbandry effects on animal welfare,
3. Attitudes to animals and animal welfare, and farmer, consumer and community behaviour

All of the above programs contribute to another key area of Centre activity, tertiary and postgraduate education and training.

3. The Centre’s 6-monthly planning process

The Centre holds 6-monthly planning meetings twice each year to review and communicate research outcomes, involving all the partner organisations contributing scientists and staff, the Centre Advisory Committee and Board of Management and other key visiting scientists, industry stakeholders and other key representatives from science, animal welfare and Government.

The outcome of each planning meeting is to adjust the Centre’s 5-year RD&E plan on an annual basis by

• reviewing and communicating current Centre projects
• providing a forum to consider industry and national research priorities
• identifying future priorities for the Centre
• developing new projects that align with the Centre’s RD&E plan

In addition, the Centre participates in a number of other organisations planning activities including partner organisations, other Federal and State animal welfare science planning activities and has regular meetings with key stakeholders to utilise their views in Centre planning activities and priorities for animal welfare science.

A summary of the recent projects of the Centre

4. A review of the Animal Welfare Science Centre

An independent review of the Centre and series of planning exercises were undertaken to evaluate the Centre’s scientific performance and contribution to animal welfare science. In addition, the review was developed to identify areas and opportunities that need to be addressed in the Centre’s future strategic, communications and research plans and activities.

Similar reviews are to be conducted for each 5-year term of the Centre.

5. The Centre’s Research, Development and Education Programs

The Centre conducts animal welfare research and development within three major program areas:

1. Animal welfare methodology,
2. Housing and husbandry effects on animal welfare,
3. Attitudes to animals and animal welfare, and farmer, consumer and community behaviour

Program 1: Animal welfare methodology
Animal welfare assessment is a contentious topic in animal welfare science: assessment of animal welfare is a complex task and scientists differ in their views on how animal welfare should be judged. An important focus of the Centre is the improvement in the methodology to assess animal welfare. For example, the Centre is presently undertaking a large research project, funded by the Poultry CRC and the Victorian Department of Primary Industries, studying the relationship between an animal’s biological requirements for resources or features of its environment, based on integrated studies of animal behaviour, physiology, health and fitness, and an animal’s preferences for these resources, based on Y-maze preference tests.

Program 2: Housing and husbandry effects on animal welfare
Confinement of animals and painful husbandry procedures are controversial issues for many in the general community and the Centre has a number of research projects studying some of these most controversial issues for farm and companion animals. Current programs include evaluation of enrichment and handling programs for dogs in kennels and shelters, the importance of nests for the welfare of laying hens, floor space for breeding pigs in groups and alternatives to mulesing of lambs.

Program 3: Attitudes to animals and animal welfare, and farmer, consumer and community behaviour
Human behaviour significantly impacts domestic animals both directly and indirectly. The Centre’s research has highlighted the effects of inappropriate attitudes and handling during production and slaughter on the fear and stress responses in livestock and this knowledge has been utilised to develop training programs targeting those farmer attitudes and behaviours that seriously limit animal productivity and welfare. The Centre is also conducting research on the relationships between public and consumer attitudes and a range of community and consumer behaviours. Reliable and valid measures for monitoring public and consumer attitudes to animal welfare are required to assist in establishing research, education and regulatory policy in animal welfare.

6. Current projects

Current research involves work in the following key areas:

• behavioural and physiological measures to identify fundamental animal welfare requirements
• physical and social requirements of animals
• assessing the impact of husbandry practices
• the effect of human-animal interactions on the welfare of animals
• the role of human contact in reducing the aversiveness of routine husbandry practices
• characteristics of stockpeople and community attitudes to animal welfare
• the use of selection tools to evaluate desirable animal handler characteristics
• provision of scientific advice to Governments, industry and the community
• teaching and training programs in animal welfare, livestock handling and for scientific graduate and post-graduate programs
• teaching and training programs for industry and animal carers.

7. Student projects

Current

• An investigation into groups size and stocking density of group housed gestating sows
• Designing components of milking sheds
• Time budgets of behaviour in grazing dairy cows
• An investigation of factors affecting the success of canine adoptions from animal welfare shelters
• The Effect of Morphology on Communication in the Dog (Canis familiaris)
• Behavioural and physiological effects of introducing a structured enrichment program into a kennelled population of domestic dogs
• Best way to measure personality in dogs using the Five Factor Model of Personality in People as a model
• Behavioural assessment of adult companion dogs: Development of national standards for identifying behaviourally sound canidae
• A study of owner factors influencing dog obesity
• The welfare of recreational horses in Victoria: the occurrence of and factors associated with horse welfare
• The critical role of the stockperson to layer hen welfare and productivity

Special Projects

• Werribee farrowing pen
• Animal Welfare Quality Assurance
• ProHand: professional livestock handling packages for the animal industries
• EU quality program

Animal welfare quality assurance

A series of projects have been completed to develop animal welfare quality assurance programs for the animal industries. The aim of these projects is to develop practical documentation for existing industry quality assurance programs, based on sound science and that demonstrates meeting existing legislation and Codes of Practice for animal welfare.

These quality assurance programs have been completed for:

• the poultry industry (farm to processing)
• the pork industry (on farm)
• the dairy industry [on farm)
• the livestock transport industry (covering sheep, cattle, pigs, calves, goats, horses)
• the meat processing industry (covering sheep, cattle, pigs, calves, goats).

These programs have been incorporated into existing industry based quality assurance programs across the animal industries.

For further information see Media or contact jskuse@unimelb.edu.au, john.barnett@dpi.vic.gov.au

The Animal Welfare Science Centre was established by the University of Melbourne, Monash University and the Department of Primary Industries, Victoria. The Centre focuses and coordinates the research and academic resources of the three collaborating organisations, providing the animal industries, animal users, the farming community, Government, the general community and the academic community with an internationally competitive research, teaching and training resource in animal welfare.