News & Reports
ANIMAL WELFARE
Animal welfare teaching: breaking
new ground
In 2003 the BVA Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF) launched a
programme of sponsorship for three lectureships in animal welfare at
the UK veterinary schools. Its funding for the project is now coming to
an end, but the veterinary schools involved have made a commitment
to continuing the posts. Grainger Laffan looks at the background to
this ground-breaking project and its effect on veterinary undergraduate
training in the UK.
THE chairman of the BVA AWF trustees,
Carl Padgett, believes that the lecture-
ships have addressed a real deficiency
in the training of veterinary surgeons.
They were made possible by a bequest
to the foundation of just over half
a million pounds: ‘The foundation
decided to use the funds to reach out
to as many future veterinary surgeons
as possible to ensure that their training
in animal welfare and ethical reasoning
was being addressed,’ he says.
‘Hitting upon the lectureship idea,
the AWF instigated a tendering process
and the successful bid at the end was a
collaborative proposal by the universi-
ties of Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow.
They agreed to have their lecturers
working with each other and extend-
ing out to each of the other schools’
students as well, so that everyone was
benefiting as much as possible. We, as
the trustees, thought that our furthest
reach and best return on the money for
the objectives we had put in place was
to go with the collaborative bid.’
The University of Bristol position
was filled by Dr David Main with the
other two posts being filled later, result-
ing in a staggered start for the four-year
programmes. Liverpool followed with
its appointment of Dr Jennifer Duncan
and then Dr Dorothy McKeegan took
up a position at Glasgow, becoming the
first non-veterinary appointee.
‘Their main job was to identify
where welfare and ethical reasoning was
being taught and to identify improve-
ment opportunities in the curriculum,’
says Mr Padgett. ‘This was so we could
find out exactly how welfare was being
addressed.
‘I’m glad to say that it seems each
of the veterinary schools has benefited
from this and [they] are taking the rec-
ommendations on board. They have
recognised that this issue does need to
be specifically addressed, and they have
utilised their lecturer appropriately.’
The funding for Bristol’s lectureship
came to an end in December last year;
Liverpool’s funding comes to an end
this month and Glasgow’s will cease in
February 2009. But already the three
The Veterinary Record, September 20, 2008
Mr Carl Padgett: encouraged by the
veterinary schools’ acceptance that
animal welfare is an important part of
the undergraduate curriculum
schools have committed to continuing
the posts – something that gives Mr
Padgett hope that similar faculty posi-
tions will eventually become standard
throughout all veterinary schools.
He says that the BVA AWF would like
to find ways to fund similar lecture-
ships in schools that do not yet have a
welfare lecturer, but that funds are lim-
ited: ‘We are at about three-quarters of
the funding level that we should be for
sustainability in the general fund so we
are not in a position to spend in this
direction at the moment.’
The three BVA AWF lecturers have
also played a part in promoting the
cause: ‘The other thing the lecturers
have been doing is reaching out to the
other schools to see how collaborations
can continue from there. I know they
have done a lot of work with London
and Nottingham,’ he says.
They also have a role in the BVA
AWF’s animal welfare symposium for
final-year students at Lancaster uni-
versity each September: ‘We conduct
case studies at the symposium where
we break the students up into groups
to look at the animal and human wel-
fare aspects of different cases and use
real-life ethical reasoning exercises that
the students are going to have to go
through in their practice lives. It’s very
entertaining and also very educational
because they find themselves placed in
situations that they didn’t necessarily
think they would be placed in when
they start their first job.’
Lecturers’ perspective
Dr David Main’s post at the University
of Bristol was the first of the BVA AWF
lectureships. He had already done some
welfare research and teaching before
taking the position and he sees ani-
mal welfare as his long-term academic
career.
‘Welfare science is slightly differ-
ent from other veterinary subjects as
it is very multidisciplinary,’ he says. ‘It
is actually quite competitive to be a
full-time academic in animal welfare
because many other non-vets with skills
in animal behaviour are competing for
animal welfare posts. It’s not really
that crucial that you are a vet; it’s more
important to be multidisciplinary.’
Dr Dorothy McKeegan at the
University of Glasgow agrees. She stud-
ied zoology, which prompted her inter-
est in animal welfare. She then went on
to study applied animal behaviour and
animal welfare before working in the
research sector. Her PhD and subsequent
work was on behavioural and neuro-
physiological approaches to a range of
poultry welfare issues, including feather
pecking and humane slaughter.
‘When studying zoology I became
fascinated by animal behaviour and I
had always had an interest in animal
welfare,’ she says. ‘During my Masters
I really began to see how behavioural
studies had a key role in welfare-related
work and I decided to pursue a research
career in this area.
‘I think this non-veterinary train-
ing does give me a slightly differ-
ent perspective in that I have a more
research-orientated and less clinical- or
health-based view of welfare. Most ani-
mal welfare researchers are non-vets,
and previously there has been a lack
of interaction between vets and animal
welfare researchers.
‘In my current position, at the inter-
face between welfare and veterinary sci-
ence, I hope to facilitate the transfer of
knowledge between these fields.’
Dr McKeegan saw the post as an
opportunity to contribute to some-
thing she feels strongly about: ‘I saw
that teaching vet students about welfare
and ethics could make a real difference
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News & Reports
to animal welfare. At the time I was
working as a full-time researcher, but I
had done a small amount of teaching,
which I enjoyed, so I hoped to develop
my skills in that area. I was also keen to
set up my own research lab.’
She says the students are very recep-
tive to animal welfare course work: ‘I
think that reflects an element of the
motivation to become a vet – a concern
for the welfare of animals.
‘Welfare topics are often chosen
voluntarily by students in project work
and the students organise an annual
welfare symposium. One of the aims
of the welfare and ethics teaching is
to raise awareness so that the students
consider these issues throughout their
whole veterinary education.’
Dr Main agrees: ‘They [the students]
love the debate and welfare is one of the
main reasons they are studying to be
vets. Most of them are coming from a
compassionate ideology.’
He believes veterinary undergradu-
ates receive many benefits from having a
full-time animal welfare lecturer: ‘I think
it is quite difficult to do animal welfare
348
in all five years of the course without a
full-time animal welfare lecturer. It’s not
something like anatomy that you do at
first and that’s it, or a clinical subject that
you do at the end. With welfare you need
to do different bits at different times dur-
ing the course. You need to build upon
what has gone before.
‘At Bristol we have quite a compre-
hensive animal welfare course and it’s
now only a question of fine-tuning it
a bit. All courses need to be tweaked
regularly.’
Animal behaviour and welfare is a
major research theme at Bristol, and
Dr Main believes that the contribution
he makes to producing new veterinary
surgeons fits well with the school’s core
objectives.
Dr McKeegan says that animal wel-
fare was already present in the Glasgow
curriculum, but had never been formally
presented or assessed: ‘Given the central
importance of welfare and the ethi-
cal challenges faced by vets, I think it is
appropriate that the students consider
welfare and ethics as subjects in their own
right in the undergraduate curriculum.’
The Veterinary Record, September 20, 2008
The school is very supportive and
works closely with her to embed welfare
and ethics teaching at various points in
the course and to assess the students’
progress.
‘I believe that all veterinary schools
should include formalised welfare and
ethics teaching, which could be success-
fully carried out by a team or individ-
ual. I think having a named individual
does highlight the importance of the
subject area, and also acts as a focus for
the development of welfare research.’
Dr Jennifer Duncan and Ms Janet
Horsfield job share the BVA AWF lecture-
ship at Liverpool. They have both spent
several years in general practice and
now work in the Division of Livestock
Health and Welfare at Liverpool. Dr
Duncan also has a research back-
ground, and Ms Horsfield has gained
the diploma in bovine reproduction
and RCVS certificate in cattle health and
production. They bring a strong clinical
view to the post at Liverpool and can
offer an ‘I wish I’d known about that
when I was in practice’ element to their
teaching.

‘The main aim of our teaching is
to enthuse the students about animal
welfare. The vast majority of veterinary
undergraduates start the course with
a great concern for animal welfare; we
want to encourage and inform their
views. We try to put animal welfare in
context of veterinary life, highlight-
ing the role of vets in animal welfare,
whether that is in clinical practice, wel-
fare research, or government roles. We
want the students to understand that
their training and experience provides
them with the skills and expertise to give
sound advice to their clients on their
animals’ welfare, and as a profession to
make valid contributions to the debates
on animal welfare within society.’
During the course of the BVA AWF lec-
tureship at Liverpool, the welfare teach-
ing has been completely redesigned.
In the preclinical years the principles
of animal welfare science, ethics and
law are outlined and the main welfare
issues for each species are highlighted.
‘In the clinical years we revisit many of
the topics in order to apply them to the
clinical veterinary context. For example,
The Veterinary Record, September 20, 2008
‘We want the students
to understand that their
training and experience
provides them with the
skills and expertise to
give sound advice to
their clients on their
animals’ welfare, and
as a profession to make
valid contributions to
the debates on animal
welfare within society’
we have devised role-play scenarios for
veterinary legislation, discussion top-
ics for veterinary ethics using “real-life
situations” and discussed welfare issues
while on farm visits.
‘The students seem to particularly
enjoy the debate and discussion ses-
sions; it’s great to see their passion
and enthusiasm for animal welfare.
We have also been very lucky to have
News & Reports
had a number of excellent guest speak-
ers, including Sean Wensley from the
BVA AWF, Paul Roger from the Sheep
Veterinary Society and James Yeates
from Bristol vet school, providing a
wider perspective on animal welfare.’
The Glasgow and Bristol BVA AWF
lecturers have also been to Liverpool to
speak on veterinary ethics. ‘Veterinary
ethics was a new subject to me,’ says Dr
Duncan, ‘and thanks to collaboration
in teaching with Glasgow and Bristol,
we’ve really improved this aspect of
the course. Much of our ethical think-
ing in veterinary practice is hidden; we
don’t realise we are doing it. However,
a lack of awareness of ethics and ethical
thinking can lead vets into difficulties
with their clients, their colleagues and,
unfortunately, it can be the animal that
comes out worse. So it has been great to
be able to expand this aspect of welfare
teaching at Liverpool. I am extremely
grateful to the BVA AWF for sponsoring
the welfare post at Liverpool; taking it
on has provided me with a whole new
fascinating area of veterinary teach-
ing to develop and also provided fan-
349
News & Reports
tastic new opportunities in veterinary
research.’
Welfare teaching elsewhere
Professor Christopher Wathes, pro-
fessor of animal welfare at the Royal
Veterinary College (RVC) in London,
says that although the RVC didn’t win
one of the BVA AWF lectureships, the
school will shortly appoint its own lec-
turer in this area.
‘I think the BVA AWF lectureships were
a very good initiative and I’m really dis-
appointed that the RVC didn’t win one
of those too,’ he says. ‘I think they have
done a lot to help welfare teaching,
particularly at Glasgow and Liverpool,
because Bristol has a large animal wel-
fare group of about 50 people strong
already. But what David Main has
done is very good. He’s acted as a focus
for Bristol and clearly you need simi-
lar focus at Cambridge, Nottingham,
Edinburgh and here.
‘I started here two years ago to
establish a welfare group, which we
have done, and as part of that we have
completed a strategic review of animal
welfare activities that sets our policies
for the next five or six years.
‘We decided to make two lectureship
appointments with a possible third. We
have appointed a lecturer in animal
behaviour. And we are just about to
recruit a lecturer in animal welfare.’
350
He says the school had a ‘very strong
list of applicants’ from which to choose
a welfare lecturer. The successful appli-
cant is expected to start this year.
The RVC does not plan to stop there:
‘The next appointment that we hope to
make is one in veterinary ethics,’ says
Professor Wathes. ‘Ultimately, I think a
lectureship in animal ethics will be the
most influential appointment that we
might make, because ethics lies at the
heart of much of the college’s work, be
it in research or teaching or clinics or
elsewhere. The ethical decisions are the
hardest.’
At the moment, he says, there are no
lecturers in veterinary ethics across the
UK vet schools: ‘It’s a Cinderella subject.
And that is really surprising because it
is an important subject and as part of
our strategic review we looked at the
ethical decisions that were being made
in the clinics and found that they were
variable. And it is because no-one has
been taught formally as a veterinary
surgeon in great detail about veteri-
nary ethics.’
He compares this situation with
that at the University of Pennsylvania
in the USA, which teaches its third-year
veterinary students 12 hours of ethics in
the form of didactic lectures and ethical
case studies. ‘I would be very surprised
if our students get more than an hour
or two,’ he says.
The Veterinary Record, September 20, 2008
Students at the
BVA AWF welfare
workshop in 2007,
held the day before
the annual final-year
students’ symposium
at Lancaster, role-play
an animal welfare
situation before
discussing the issues
in detail
Reflecting on the progress of the past
four years, Mr Padgett is pleased by what
has been achieved as a result of the BVA
AWF initiative and encouraged by the
increased acceptance by the veterinary
schools that animal welfare is an impor-
tant part of an undergraduate curricu-
lum: ‘My gut opinion of what is going to
happen in the future is that each of the
vet schools will see the value of this and
set their own positions in post. It is now
a core part of the curriculum.’