Animal welfare programme

Funding total

£7.75M

Projects funded

Advancing Animal Welfare Science: welfare assessment and early life programming
University of Bristol, University of Oxford and Royal Veterinary College
Perinatal programming of stress response and nociceptive mechanisms, and the welfare consequences
University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, Scottish Agricultural College and Roslin Institute
Welfare of farm animals: Environmental perception, cognition, interaction and management of pigs and fowl
Royal Veterinary College

Purpose

To improve our understanding of the science of animal welfare. The coordinated, complementary projects involve researchers from some of the UK’s veterinary schools and associated institutions with a track record in animal welfare science. The 3 projects include: assessment of welfare, the impact of stress in the womb and early life, pain mechanisms, cognition and perception, and animals’ interaction with their environment.

Key aims

Producing knowledge that will lead to a better understanding of how to improve the quality of animals’ lives
To provide a core programme of fundamental research including molecular, genetic, neurobiological, physiological and behavioural approaches to underpin animal welfare in farmed, laboratory and companion animal
To provide training in animal welfare research
To produce knowledge that will lead to a better understanding of how to improve the quality of animals' lives

Contact

Merewyn Loder, Strategy and Policy Manager - Animal Welfare
merewyn.loder@bbsrc.ac.uk
tel: 01793 413283