Animal Welfare Institute’s Post

As I begin my first day as Director General of the World Organisation for Animal Health, I am filled with hope. Hope and determination, that together we will affront critical animal health and welfare challenges ahead of us. Animal health is central to key global issues such as food security, economic stability, trade, public health, biodiversity, and climate change mitigation. WOAH must continue to grow and evolve. And everyone's support is needed to make it happen. Because animal health is our health, it’s everyone’s health. #OneHealth. Watch and read about the three key priorities I plan to focus on during my tenure: https://lnkd.in/eeThvgPJ and https://lnkd.in/e3Z7zegS

At our clinic, we celebrate reptiles each and every day, but today is officially Reptile Awareness Day! When it comes to animal welfare, unfortunately reptiles are often overlooked by many people who either view them with fear and disgust or who don't care about their well-being at all. As a result, reptiles in the wild face terrible threats ranging from habitat loss, smuggling and other forms of abuse. Meanwhile, many reptiles in captivity face their own threats of being forced to live in poor environments with inadequate diets because people don't do their research on how to properly care for them. But reptiles deserve just as much respect, understanding, protection and good care as their furry and feathered counterparts. Reptiles are not only beautiful and amazing creatures, but they are also critical to maintaining balance in our ecosystems by being both predator and prey. In addition to keeping our ecosystems healthy, reptiles also help protect our food supplies, our homes and our health from rodents and insects. Please join us in celebrating our reptile friends. They deserve our gratitude, admiration and respect today and every day! #ReptileAwarenessDay #Reptiles #ReptileMedicine #ExoticVeterinaryMedicine

Today is #WorldRatDay Check out these 3 great ways that anyone working with laboratory rats can use to enhance #animalwelfare and provide a good life for the rats in their care. Animal health and welfare is a variable that can negatively impact the reproducibility of data unless studies are appropriately designed and managed. For more hints and tips or to learn about many other aspects of Responsible Animal Research check out our #researchtraining today. https://lnkd.in/eZBCSbjF #lifesciences #CPD

At last year's RSPCA Lay Members' Forum, Dr Bentley Crudgington facilitated a session in which participants were asked the following three questions: 1. For your Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB) to be the best it can be, what will it be like? 2. For your AWERB to be like that, what do you need to be like? 3. For you to be like that, what support do you need? We conducted a thematic analysis of the responses to identify the key themes describing "the ideal AWERB" and "what AWERB members need for the ideal AWERB". These are summarised in the attached report, along with selected quotes from participants' responses. Exploring these themes will help us support AWERB members more effectively to ensure they can make meaningful contributions to their committees. The report also highlights what AWERB members value and includes suggestions of how committees can help their members feel confident and empowered. You can read and download the report below and please do share this with your establishment's AWERB(s). If you currently sit on an AWERB, do these themes resonate with you and your experience? #AWERB #animalresearch #ethics

If you sit on an #AnimalWelfare and #Ethics Review Body (#AWERB), or equivalent #AnimalResearch committee, you might find this Clean Set Up exercise both insightful and helpful! #3Rs #Alternatives #Ethics

Two pioneers in the science of #animalwelfare. 50 years of a landmark publication, present in my early years of study only reading journals, without internet ... Early times of discovery a specialty that marked my professional life forever to learn, teach, and understand that it is the backbone of #veterinarysciences and #sustainable #livestockproduction.

Stress Awareness Month is upon us, prompting us to prioritize our well-being! Let's focus on stress management and self-care strategies tailored specifically for the laboratory animal research community. Explore the insightful journal "Laboratory Animal Welfare Meets Human Welfare," featuring Dr. Megan LaFollette, Executive Director of the 3Rs Collaborative (3RsC). Dive into the article here: https://ow.ly/sr3k50R8jSt Together, let's conquer stress and uphold our commitment to a positive impact in biomedical research! #StressAwarenessMonth #LabAnimalProfessionals #Wellbeing #SelfCare

🦮Sunday InsomniFact: More Pets than Kids in Canada🐈 💤Do you ever stay up wondering how many pets Canadians have? Statistics from Statistics Canada | Statistique Canada and Canadian Animal Health Institute tell us that the Canadian pet population exceeds the number of children in the country. Did this surprise you? Let us know below and share some fun pet stories! #funfact #statistic #pets #canada #children Ontario Trillium Foundation

Transport is one of the most stressful times in a farmed animal’s life. Even healthy and physically fit animals find transport difficult, and these stressors are vastly amplified for animals who are young, weak, diseased, or injured. Thank you, Modern Farmer, for publishing this article about the welfare of farmed animals during transport, and for featuring our investigation with Animals' Angels monitoring a truckload of newborn calves on a 19-hour transport from a mega-dairy in Minnesota to a calf ranch in New Mexico. https://lnkd.in/eyFgu4u6 TAKE ACTION: Urge your federal representative and the USDA to protect vulnerable farmed animals during transport: https://lnkd.in/e-X_Qjbt

Beagles are gentle, loyal animals, which sadly makes them common subjects in lab tests. 🐶 Their trusting nature often leads to them being chosen for procedures they shouldn’t have to face. 💔 Science can progress without animals enduring suffering. Humane and reliable alternatives are available, and with these options, we can build a future where compassion and scientific progress go hand in hand. Let’s work toward a world where advancement doesn’t come at the cost of animal welfare. 🐾 #BeaglesInResearch #Animalhealth