Animal Welfare Centre

26/05/2026

New publication: Jemberu, W. T., Lemma, M., Fatalo, T., Yitagesu, E., Doyle, R. E., Dione, M., & Knight-Jones, T. J. D. (2026). Impact evaluation of a small ruminant flock health intervention on animal health, welfare, and farmer income in Ethiopia. BMC Veterinary Research, 22(1), Article 222. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-026-05397-9

24/05/2026

New publication; Gonzalez, C., Lawrence, A. B., Mendl, M., Robinson, E., Bombail, V., & Brown, S. M. (2026). S*x differences in the enjoyment of enrichment: affective bias testing confirms female rats prefer more playful and less vigorous tickling. Biology Letters (2005), 22(4). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0075

20/05/2026

New publication: Ricci-Bonot, C., Costa, E. D., Houpt, K., Jones, M., Koch, V. W., Pearson, G., Randle, H., van Dierendonck, M., & Mills, D. S. (2026). Development of a consensus definition of “separation anxiety” for horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 298, Article 106937. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2026.106937

18/05/2026

Teaching Matters blog post: The wicked problem of animal welfare? Developing the problem solvers of the future with MScs in Animal Welfare. Cynthia Naydani, Professor Susan Jarvis, Dr Jill MacKay, and Dr Sarah M Brown, from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, draw a comparison between the discipline of Animal Welfare Science and the notion of ‘wicked problems’. They highlight two, innovative and long-standing MSc programmes as integral learning opportunities for the animal welfare community. https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/teaching-matters/the-wicked-problem-of-animal-welfare-developing-the-problem-solvers-of-the-future-with-mscs-in-animal-welfare/ MSc International Animal Welfare, Ethics & Law (on-line) MSc Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare

18/05/2026

New publication: Curry O, Everett A, Pearson G, Dwyer C, Duncan J. Preliminary investigation of equine veterinary hospital staff attitudes towards pain assessment in a single centre. Vet Rec. 2025;e1–e10. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.6122

13/05/2026

Centre updates (May) - Tails & Tales is now available. Publications, presentations, funding, and a blog post..find it on our website or register for the monthly email version

Animal Welfare Centre updates. Information about conferences, publications, visits, collaborations, and much more.

12/05/2026

New online short course...

A practical online short course has been designed to help sustainably manage haemonchosis using the FAMACHA scoring method.

The course, Sustainable control of haemonchosis in UK livestock grazing systems, lets participants gain valuable knowledge to integrate control strategies and support animal health and effective gut worm control across UK flocks and herds.

Benefits of this online short course:

- Access modules anytime, at your own pace

- Inclusive course fee of £60

- Supports sustainable parasite health planning for sheep, goats and camelids

- Training manual and video case studies

- Two FAMACHA cards.

This course is designed for vets, farmers, livestock keepers and animal health professionals, including suitably qualified persons (SQPs) authorised to sell anti-parasitic treatments.

Vets can sign up now, with the course opening to others in late June.

If you're involved in livestock health and want to strengthen your parasite control strategies, this course offers a valuable addition to your skills.

Find out more: https://edin.ac/4uyNjh9

12/05/2026

New blog post: "The wicked problem of animal welfare? Developing the problem solvers of the future with MScs in Animal Welfare". Cynthia Naydani, Professor Susan Jarvis, Dr Jill MacKay, and Dr Sarah M Brown, from The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, draw a comparison between the discipline of Animal Welfare Science and the notion of ‘wicked problems’. They highlight two, innovative and long-standing MSc programmes as integral learning opportunities for the animal welfare community. MSc Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare MSc International Animal Welfare, Ethics & Law (on-line)

1st May 20261st May 2026 jscoles The wicked problem of animal welfare? Developing the problem solvers of the future with MScs in Animal Welfare The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland are a long-term collaborator with the Programmes. Photo Credit: Cynthia Naydani, Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfa...

07/05/2026

It's Awareness Week (3-9 May 2026) and thank you to a member of our Team, sharing this amazing video of a hedgehog in her garden. Find out how to help and protect hedgehogs by following the British Hedgehog Preservation Society

29/04/2026