Hostname: page-component-7b7567c8c-fvjsw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-15T21:41:18.153Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Leveraging expertise in animal welfare to create educational equity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

JM Siegford,
AJ Zanella,
T Bernardo,
CR Heleski,
CL Wickens,
K Laughlin and
R Malinowski
JM Siegford*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, 1290 Anthony Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
AJ Zanella
Affiliation:
Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Norwegian School of Veterinary Sciences, PO Box 8146, Oslo 0033, Norway
T Bernardo
Affiliation:
Information Technology Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
CR Heleski
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, 1290 Anthony Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
CL Wickens
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, 1290 Anthony Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
K Laughlin
Affiliation:
Humane Farm Animal Care, PO Box 727, Herndon, VA 20172, USA
R Malinowski
Affiliation:
Information Technology Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: siegford@msu.edu
Get accessRights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Globally, veterinarians and professionals in animal-related industries are faced with growing public concern for the welfare of animals, particularly those in production. To prepare professionals, courses in animal welfare should be created to provide consistent education on a global scale in an efficient and cost-effective manner. However, a creative approach to welfare education is needed to reduce the disparity between supply and demand for instruction in animal welfare. Michigan State University (MSU) is piloting a graduate-level, online interactive course in animal welfare assessment to provide students with high-quality science-based education from renowned international animal welfare experts at numerous institutions. Innovative use of technology enables students to interact with material, each other and instructors. Students actively apply their accumulated skills to hypothetical scenarios, enhancing learning effectiveness. Student performance and opinion were examined to determine whether the course meets the stated objectives. Twenty-three students from four institutions enrolled in the pilot course. In the first month, the majority of students found the online course easy to use and material appropriate for a graduate-level course. The students agreed that scenarios helped them integrate lecture material. The MSU course will serve as a model for collaboration in content assembly and course delivery, using technology to leverage global expertise to create educational equity.

Keywords

animal welfareeducationgraduateonlinestudentsveterinary

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Arnot, C 2005 Winn-Dixie welfare audits. Feedstuffs 77: 11Google Scholar
Estol, LR 2004 Animal welfare in the veterinary curriculum. In: Proceedings of the Global Conference on Animal Welfare: an OIE Initiative pp 37–49. Office for Official Publication of the European Communities: LuxembourgGoogle Scholar
Fraser, D, Mench, J and Millman, S 2001 Farm animals and their welfare in 2000. In: Salem, DJ and Rowan, AN (eds) The State of the Animals 2001 pp 87–98. Humane Society Press: Washington DC, USAGoogle Scholar
Gallup Organization 2003 Poll Analysis 5/21/2003. Public lukewarm on animal rights. http://www.gallup.comGoogle Scholar
Heleski, CR, Zanella, AJ, and Pajor, EA 2003 Animal welfare judging teams—a way to interface welfare science with traditional animal science. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 81: 279–289CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OIE 2005 Section 3.7 Animal welfare. In: Terrestrial Animal Health Code. Office for Official Publication of the European Communities: LuxembourgGoogle Scholar
Rauch, A and Sharp, JS 2005 Ohioans' attitudes about animal welfare. Topical report from the 2004 Ohio Survey of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Issues. Ohio State University: Columbus, USAGoogle Scholar
Schneider, H 2004 Animal welfare in the veterinary curriculum. In: Proceedings of the Global Conference on Animal Welfare: an OIE Initiative pp 325. Office for Official Publication of the European Communities: LuxembourgGoogle Scholar
Siegford, JM, Bernardo, TM, Malinowski, RP, Laughlin, K and Zanella, AJ 2005 Integrating Animal Welfare into Veterinary Education Using an Online, Interactive Course. JVME 32(4): 497–504Google ScholarPubMed
Smith, R 2005a KFC, PETA in chicken fight. Feedstuffs 77(21): 16Google Scholar
Smith, R 2005b Alliance to review OIE welfare reports. Feedstuffs 77(29): 1Google Scholar