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Edinburgh Has Key Role to Play in Animal Welfare Research
Animal Welfare research being undertaken by the Easter Bush Research Consortium (SAC, the University of Edinburgh and the Roslin Research Institute) has an important role to play in improving standards across the globe, according to SAC Animal Welfare expert Professor Alistair Lawrence.
Giving his inaugural lecture as a University of Edinburgh Honorary Professor in Animal Behaviour, Dr Lawrence highlighted some of the groundbreaking welfare research that is being carried out by the members of the EBRC. Among the initiatives covered, Professor Lawrence highlighted SAC’s work on animal sentience – their ability to feel, perceive or be conscious – to help improve welfare standards.
This includes the development of Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA), a technique that aims to accurately describe animal body language. Industry body Quality Meat Scotland has already express an interest in QBA.
Dr Lawrence’s lecture focused on three questions – ‘What is animal welfare?’, ‘What is the problem?’ and ‘What can we do about it?’ He explained that from the first animal cruelty acts in the 1800s, our understanding of animal welfare had evolved to become ‘an ethical concern for the mental and physical wellbeing of animals under our care’. Today, there is a focus on animals’ mental as well as physical wellbeing.
However, as the growing world population means an increasing demand for food, the need for efficient methods of meat production can lead to animal welfare standards becoming compromised.
Therefore, said Dr Lawrence, science has a vital role to play to develop efficient and effective techniques to measure animal welfare, taking into account not only physical health but also mental wellbeing. Dr Lawrence said he believes the Easter Bush Research Consortium has a great opportunity to make a significant impact in this field.