Abstracts: Pathways to specialising in animal welfare

Safeguarding animal welfare is an important aspect of the day-to-day work of almost all veterinarians; however, only some choose to pursue specific postgraduate qualifications in this area. Andrew Knight describes some of the routes to specialisation that are available around the world, highlighting in particular how suitably experienced individuals can currently seek accreditation in Europe […]

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Ocean fertilisers

With the International Whaling Commission’s scientific committee due to consider approval for Japan’s re-modelled scientific whaling program in late November, results of several studies undertaken in the US and Australia all serve to demonstrate the important role whales play in maintaining healthy oceans, ensuring sustainable, productive fisheries, and mitigating the impacts of climate change . […]

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Abstracts: Invited review: animal-based indicators for on-farm welfare assessment for dairy goats

This paper reviews animal-based welfare indicators to develop a valid, reliable, and feasible on-farm welfare assessment protocol for dairy goats. The indicators were considered in the light of the 4 accepted principles (good feeding, good housing, good health, appropriate behavior) subdivided into 12 criteria developed by the European Welfare Quality program. We will only examine […]

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A timely health check for endangered eastern gorillas

While the world’s attention is currently focused on the Ebola crisis in western Africa, a virus that has been responsible for the deaths of almost one third of the region’s gorillas and many thousands of chimpanzees, as well as humans, in eastern Africa’s Democratic Republic of Congo veterinarian Alisa Kubala’s interest in studying infectious diseases […]

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