8th Annual Meeting of AWRN

The theme of the meeting is “How Animal Welfare Science can result in real-world impact“ and it focuses on how both fundamental and applied research can result in changes to improve animal welfare in a range of settings.

Plenary Talks
We have some fantastic talks for you, including:
Prof Candy Rowe (Newcastle University) – Inclusive research.
 Mike Radford OBE (University of Aberdeen) – Animal welfare law and society: Bridging the gap.
Helen McNally (Battersea Dogs and Cats Home) – Making an Impact: How animal welfare researchers and charities can work together to campain for real-world change.
ECR Plenary Speaker: Holly Vickery (Harper Adams University) – Why understanding people is key to improving animal welfare; a mixed methodology approach to improve the weaning transition of artificially reared goat kids.

Other Reasons to Attend
In addition to the plenaries, we have lots of other talks on the conference theme, covering topics such as QBA for donkey welfare, heat-related illness in dogs, facial recognition of social stress in pigs and welfare of livestock on ferries. Benjamin Lecorps and Helen Gray will present the results from their kick start funding projects and we will also have talks from funders including BBSRC and Defra.

As usual our events are not just about talks, we also want to offer opportunities to meet and talk with the other delegates. In addition to lunch and coffee breaks, we have a drinks reception and a speed networking session offering the opportunity to meet other delegates and forge collaborations.

We also have breakout groups, which are an opportunity to discuss the barriers to progress in improving welfare in some key areas. This years topics include:
“Indoor alternative-farrowing systems for sows: how can we overcome the barriers preventing a transition?”
“How can we bring about about behaviour change in relation to anti-parasite drug use in horses, in the face of increasing resistance?”
“Getting welfare research findings applied on farms: factors complicating compliance in calf rearing”
“Feather pecking in laying hens and turkeys: how can the RSPCA overcome barriers to change?”
“How to Publish in Top-tier Journals”

In addition, Belfast is a great city to visit, with lots of historic buildings and fascinating history to explore. Further information about travel to Belfast and hotels can be found on the meeting website: Link to 8th Annual Meeting website

Registration

Registration has now closed for this event, if you still want to attend then please get in touch with Poppy Statham (Network Manager) on awrn-manager@bristol.ac.uk.