Progress 08/01/04 to 01/31/06
Outputs
Animal Welfare Assessment (ANS 805) is a fully online 3-credit course that was developed with funds from the USDA-Higher Education Challenge Grant Program to address the global paucity of science-based instruction in animal welfare. The first module of the course was delivered in the fall semester of 2005. Our three-college interdisciplinary effort has drawn collaborators from around the world. In addition to providing graduate and veterinary students with high-quality didactic content, the 19 students enrolled practice applying their knowledge to objectively assess animal welfare. They are asked to compare the welfare of a given animal species in two different environments (e.g. dog in a kennel or shelter) based on factors such as housing, nutrition, veterinary care, social interactions, and potential to express natural behaviors. Scenarios cover a variety of species (companion, production, exotic animals) and environments (farms, zoos, laboratories) introducing a
broad range of societal issues. Students must defend their assessments, which are then compared with those of experts. To prepare students to objectively assess welfare, they are provided, with a series of multidisciplinary lectures created by international experts. Lectures cover origins and definitions of animal welfare, physiology, animal behavior, neurobiology, pain and suffering, health, human-animal interactions, ethics, animal law, economics, and welfare assessment and standards. For example, the opening lectures in the course, which define animal welfare, were created by two pre-eminent researchers, Dr. Donald Broom (Cambridge) and Dr. David Fraser (U British Columbia). Lectures covering the development of animal welfare assessment tools and standards were prepared by Dr. Jeff Armstrong (Dean, CANR, MSU), Dr. Michael Appleby (Trade Policy Manager, World Society for the Protection of Animals) and Ms. Adele Douglass (Director, Humane Farm Animal Care). Students receive unique
access to a broad network of animal welfare professionals and researchers. Lectures and scenarios were created using Macromedia Breeze and the course is delivered through Angel. Student performance is assessed using a combination of online quizzes (graded automatically) and written assignments submitted via drop boxes. Students communicate with each other and instructors using discussion forums and e-mail. Reviews of their contributions are used to assess student participation. In addition to graded assessments, we compare student assessments of the same scenario at the beginning and end of the course to determine how the course affects their ability to assess welfare and the strategies they use to perform such assessments. We also used a series of surveys to assess student satisfaction with the content and delivery of the course. This data was collected with UCRIHS approval (#05-640), as we will present these results at the meeting of the International Society for Applied Ethology in
Bristol, UK in August of 2006.
PRODUCTS: 1) ANS 805 Animal Welfare Assessment (ANS 805), a fully on-line 3-credit course ANSThe course is designed to teach students the basic principles of animal welfare science and how to apply these principles to assess animal welfare. Students are expected to develop the ability to objectively assess animal welfare of species in production, research, zoos, companion, and other situations. Course includes lectures, readings, notes, quizzes and exercises, assessment scenarios, evaluation and discussion. The course was offered in the Fall semester of 05 and is a regular course which will be offered every semester. 2) Introductory Animal Welfare Science (ANS 890-005 Independent Study) is a 1 Credit graduate and veterinary course. The course is designed to provide students with an introduction to what animal welfare is and some of the most common ways welfare is measured (including behavior and physiology). Topics covered include definitions of animal welfare, human-animal
interactions, behavioral and physiological indicators of welfare, and production measures related to animal welfare. Students will be given opportunity to assess 3 hypothetical welfare situations. The first offering of the course is the Spring semester of 2006. It will be offered every semester 3) Advanced Animal Welfare Science (Fall/2006) 1 Credit graduate/veterinary or self-study non-credit version. The course is designed to provide students with an in depth look at immunological and neurobiological measures of animal welfare. Topics covered will include immunology and welfare, neuroscience of animal welfare, and animal pain and suffering. Students will be given opportunity to assess 3 hypothetical welfare situations. this course will be offered in the Fall semester of 2006. 4. Ethics and Economics of Animal Welfare (Fall/2006) 1 Credit graduate/veterinary or self-study non-credit version. The course is designed to provide students with a societal perspective on animal welfare. The
ethics, economics, policy and legal issues surrounding animal welfare will be examined as well as human animal interactions relevant to welfare. Students will be given opportunity to assess 3 hypothetical welfare situations. The course will be offered in the Fall semester of 2006.
OUTCOMES: The most remarkable outcome from the USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant program was the opportunity to develop created to a very strong partnership with faculty at MSU, with colleagues the US and abroad. This partnership has been very productive in stimulating the development of extramural and intramural grant applications and publications.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Our team delivered talks at several conferences in the United States and abroad. 1) We delivered an invited talk to the Brazilian Association of Educators in Veterinary Medicine, Salvador, Bahia. 2) We delivered an invited talk to the participants of the Brazilian Regional Veterinary Congress, Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul. 3) We delivered a presentation at the Brazilian workshop addressing Teaching Animal Welfare in the Life Sciences, Jaboticabal, Sao Paulo, Brazil 4) We had a poster at the Conference on the Welfare of Animals at Farm Level, Vienna, Austria 5) We presented information related to the course at the American Association of Animal Science annual meeting in Cincinnati 6) We also delivered a poster presentation at a sustainable agriculture Conference in Battle Creek, Michigan.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: We are working closely with Michigan State University - MSU- Global to leverage the existing resources behind graduate level course developed with funds from the USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant Program (ANS 805) to create a product suite of animal welfare offerings based on the current course. We are planning to make regular offerings of the products previously listed. We would like to compete for additional USDA Higher Education Funds to develop novel modules and to orchestrate a regional initiative. We have secured support to develop tailored courses addressing animal welfare related issues relevant to the international community, particularly producers and exporters of animal products. These groups are clamoring for training materials that transfer animal welfare science into standards and practical action. For example, the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture is anxiously awaiting translation of existing material and wishes to collaborate on development of
new courses on transport and slaughter of animals.
Impacts
A new faculty position has been funded by the office of the Provost and College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University to expand our ability to deliver online modules in animal welfare. Student assessment of the course indicated that the majority of graduate students (93%) ranked the course as an enjoyable and stimulating intellectual challenge. One of the students commented the following: all in all I thought this was one of the best classes I have taken either online or traditional.
Publications
- Siegford JM, Bernardo TM, Malinowski RP, Laughlin K, Zanella AJ. 2005. Integrating animal welfare into veterinary education using an online, interactive course. J Vet Med Educ 32(4):497-504.
|