18 February 2015

4 minute read

Europe

The UFAW International Animal Welfare Science Symposium with the theme 'Animal Populations – World Resources and Animal Welfare' will be held in Zagreb, Croatia from 14 to 15 July 2015.

Humans and their kept animals (farm and companion animals) comprise the larger part of the world's vertebrate biomass, the organisers say. The world’s resources are limited, and as humans use more of these, fewer resources are available for wild and other animals. Whether we like it or not, we humans now control or greatly influence the population sizes of many, and perhaps all, other vertebrate species, and decisions that we make to keep more of some species e.g., domestic, and farm animals have implications on the numbers and welfare of animals of other species that the world can support.

How do we apportion resources between kept and wild animals? How do we balance the welfare interests of one species against that of another? Modern veterinary science enables us to keep a high proportion of animals alive to old age (when we wish it), but these occupy niches that would otherwise have been filled by young replacements: but is fewer long-lived animals better than more short-lived ones? Little effort seems to have been made to address how such balances should be struck. It appears that it is time to try to decide how many of which animals we want and how to achieve that most humanely.

This meeting will consider issues surrounding the rationales and methodologies of humane control of animal populations (kept and free-living) in pursuit of preserving biodiversity and minimising welfare risks to animals.

The following speakers have already been confirmed:

• Professor Donald Broom (University of Cambridge, UK) ‘New directions for sustainable animal production systems and the role of animal welfare’
• Professor David Fraser (University of British Columbia, Canada) ‘Cars, cats, climate change and other neglected problems of animal welfare’
• Professor David Macdonald (University of Oxford, UK) ‘Animal welfare: From rough trade to compassionate conservation’
• Professor Frauke Ohl (University of Utrecht, The Netherlands) ‘Animal welfare considerations: Should context matter?’

Others that have been invited to contribute a talk are:

• Bonacic C, A Muñoz, E Beltrami and J Laker (Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Chile) ‘Feral animals and multiple species management: animal welfare implications’
• Carberry HJ (Aberystwyth University, UK) ‘Badgers, cattle, and bovine tuberculosis: an animal health problem?’
• Flockhart DTT and JB Coe (University of Guelph, Canada) ‘Responsible and cost-effective solutions to address the urban cat overpopulation crisis’
• Gibson TJ, S Van Winden, RJ Quy, CT Eason, MS Lambert and NG Gregory (Royal Veterinary College and AHVLA, UK; Lincoln University, New Zealand) ‘The development of humane rodenticides for rats and Grey squirrels’
• Gilchrist JS (Edinburgh Napier University, UK) ‘Stress physiology of game animal capture and cull: Welfare and productivity for the wildlife industry’
• Hammond-Seaman A and M Vucinic (RSPCA, UK and University of Belgrade, Serbia) ‘Establishing specific indicators for monitoring and evaluating dog population management interventions in the Balkan countries’
• Josephs JAE and EA McBride (University of Southampton, UK) ‘Mini livestock: The role of edible insects in welfare friendly farming’
• Jung J (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden) ‘Indirect effects of wild carnivores on livestock – examples from Sweden, Brazil and Kenya’
• Leus K and KM Schad (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, The Netherlands; Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark) ‘Controlling population growth while ensuring welfare and future reproductive potential in cooperative breeding programmes in zoos and aquaria’
• Mikuš T, S Barnard, M Ostovic and Z Pavicic (Croatian Veterinary Institute and University of Zagreb, Croatia; Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise, Italy) ‘Management of Croatian shelters and dog mortality’
• Olsson IAS, M Magalhães-Sant’Ana and NH Franco (IBMC and Escola Universitária Vasco da Gama, Portugal; University College Dublin, Ireland)‘Quantity of life: living long, well or not at all?’
• Sandøe P, TJ Kasperbauer and B Holst (University of Copenhagen and Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark) ‘Does culling improve the welfare of zoo animals?’
• Talling JC and D Cowan (Animal and Plant Health Agency, UK) ‘A model to facilitate decision making in wildlife management, incorporating welfare costs, effectiveness and population dynamics’
• Tomlinson AJ, A Rayner, D Cowan, KE Littin and R Layton (Food Animal Initiative and APHA, UK; Ministry for Primary Industries, New Zealand) ‘Considering animal welfare in a whole-farm approach to wildlife management for sustainable food production’
• Tribe A (University of Queensland, Australia) ‘Humane management of kangaroo populations in south-east Queensland’
• Tuner DC (IEMT, Switzerland) ‘Outdoor domestic cats and wildlife’

A full list of speakers and the 50+ posters that will be presented can be found by visiting the UFAW web site

Registration details

The registration fee for the Symposium includes attendance for the two days, lunch and refreshments and a drinks reception on the evening of 14 July.

A limited number of subsidised places have also been made available for students and veterinary nurses; these will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. To qualify for the reduced early registration rate, you must register before 1 March.

Further information about the symposium, including details of the venue and accommodation can be found on the UFAW web site, www.ufaw.org.uk.

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