Recipients – Student Club Grants

1. University of BC – Pre-Veterinary and Animal Welfare Club

AWFC provided $2000 in funding to sponsor their March Animal Welfare conference on “Human-Wildlife Interactions” with a focus on compassionate conservation, and supplies for their animal welfare educational booths around campus.

2. University of Calgary – Veterinary Medicine, Training and Behavior Club

AWFC provided $1200 in funding to host three speakers for their Welfare Symposium.

3. University of Guelph – Ontario Veterinary College Student Animal Welfare Club

AWFC provided $1670 in funding for a discussion on auction farm animal welfare, particularly horses and cows. Students will also learn how to analyze videos with suggested animal cruelty to assess animal welfare. Students will also learn about humane euthanasia.

4. University of PEI – Atlantic Veterinary College Student Animal Welfare Club

AWFC provided $2000 in funding to support students in their external veterinary rotations, as well as hosting cow and horse wet labs and a ‘tickling’ rat welfare workshop. They will also host an annual Animal Welfare in Practice Conference.

1. University of BC – Pre-Veterinary and Animal Welfare Club

– AWFC provided $1700 in funding to sponsor guest speaker travel to their March conference and supplies for their animal welfare information booth.

2. University of Calgary – Veterinary Medicine, Training and Behavior Club

– AWFC provided $800 in funding to help secure one or two speakers for their Behavior Showcase conference.

3. University of Guelph – Ontario Veterinary College Student Animal Welfare Club

– AWFC provided $1400 in funding to sponsor speaker travel for their 18^th Annual Animal Welfare Forum.

4. University of Montréal – CEBA / Student Animal Welfare Club

– AWFC provided $670 to help fund website maintenance, printing of pamphlets, delivering dog bite prevention and humane education to classrooms and costs related to hosting their annual conference.

5. University of PEI – Atlantic Veterinary College Student Animal Welfare Club

– AWFC provided $750 in funding to support students in their external veterinary rotations and their Annual Intercollegiate Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest.

6. University of Saskatchewan -Western College of Veterinary Medicine Vets for Humanity and Animal Welfare Club

– AWFC provided $1420 in funding to sponsor guest speaker travel to present various animal welfare workshops and lectures.

1. Dalhousie University, Faculty of Agriculture – Student Animal Welfare Club

– AWFC provided $100 in funding to sponsor guest speakers and a farm tour field trip.

2. University of BC – Pre-Veterinary and Animal Welfare Club

– AWFC provided $1000 in funding to sponsor guest speaker travel to their March 2017 animal welfare conference on animal use and their welfare within the food industry. Four guest speakers were invited:  Dr. David Fraser (UBC), Dr. David Mellor (Massey University, New Zealand), Dr. Jennifer Walker (Dean Foods – US dairy company) and Leanne McConnachie (AWFC). Videos of their presentations can be viewed at:  http://awp.landfood.ubc.ca/2017/03/29/videos-from-ubc-animal-welfare-conference-2017/

3. University of BC – Student Animal Legal Defense Fund

– AWFC provided $250 in funding to sponsor a presentation on farm animal regulations in Canada.

4. University of PEI – Atlantic Veterinary College Student Animal Welfare Club

– AWFC provided $1630 in funding to support their Animal Welfare in Practice Conference, to support student external rotations, lunch lectures and their Annual Intercollegiate Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest.

5. University of Guelph – Ontario Veterinary College Student Animal Welfare Club

– AWFC provided $1400 in funding to sponsor speaker travel for their 18^th Annual Animal Welfare Forum.

6. University of Montréal – CEBA / Student Animal Welfare Club

– AWFC provided $500 in funding to sponsor their dog bite prevention workshops in municipal libraries and schools and their conference on aggressive canines /breed ban legislation.

7. University of Saskatchewan -Western College of Veterinary Medicine Vets for Humanity and Animal Welfare Club

– AWFC provided $1450 in funding to sponsor guest speaker travel for their workshops on companion animal behavior and low-stress cat handling.

1. Atlantic Veterinary College – University of PEI

2016 was another successful year for the Atlantic Veterinary College Animal Welfare Club! This year our Annual Welfare in Practice Conference was on sheep welfare, in response to the 2013 revised NFACC Code for Care and Handling of Sheep. We had a great group of attendees and wonderful speakers, including our keynote speaker Paula Menzies from Guelph University, which made for a wonderful weekend full of fantastic discourse on sheep welfare. We also awarded seven fourth year students grants for external rotations related to animal welfare. Upon their return, recipients have been sharing with the student body what they’ve learned and what they’ve taken away from their experiences. The AVC Animal Welfare Club was also very fortunate to be able to send 3 members to the Annual Intercollegiate Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Competition in November at Ohio State University. Finally, throughout the year the AVC Animal Welfare Club has hosted several lunch lectures on topics such as assessing welfare scenarios for persecution in a court of law, and animal protection laws. We’ve had a wonderful year of animal welfare education, and we’d like to the thank the AWFC for supporting us. Without their generosity we would not be able to provide these activities.

2. Ontario Veterinary College – University of Guelph

Over the past year, the OVC Animal Welfare Club has offered a variety of educational activities for DVM students and the broader community, including lunch talks, wet labs, field trips, and the annual OVC Animal Welfare Forum. Our goal is to use a variety of educational opportunities to increase awareness about animal welfare issues, and to encourage people to adopt practices to improve animal welfare in their personal lives and in the case of DVM students, in their future careers. Lunch talks included: Reptile and Amphibian Care and Welfare by Tom Mason, Methods of Humane Bovine Euthanasia by Jeff Rau, and Livestock Sales Auctions by Mike Draper. The club co-ran two wet labs on captive bolt/humane euthanasia for DVM students and two field trips to the Guelph Humane Society and the Ontario Livestock Exchange. Our 17th Annual Animal Welfare Forum included lectures and discussion with Drs. Nikki LePage, Jeff Rau, Dave Barney, Mike Petrik, Lena Levison, Lynn Henderson and Ms. Twyla Francois. We continue to see strong attendance at the Forum and hope to continue to see interest from the school and the greater community.

3. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – University of Montreal

The Student Committee for Animal Welfare/Comité Étudiant du Bien-Être Animal (CEBA) is involved within the community of the veterinary medicine faculty to help improve the well-being of faculty teaching animals. Our members are also in charge of adoptions for our cats, beagles and horses, to ensure that they find a new loving home. The CEBA is involved in the education of the general public regarding animal welfare and the promotion of animal adoption through walks and free workshops in elementary schools and libraries, focused on bite prevention and animal welfare tips for children (Animateliers). The CEBA also holds conferences on current animal welfare topics which are accessible to all veterinary students at the faculty.

1. Atlantic Veterinary College
   A grant of $2000 was given to the Atlantic Vet College Animal Welfare Club. The grant helped fund four student externships, a lunch lecture on the prosecution of welfare cases, a viewing of a film on declawing cats, and their annual Animal Welfare in Practice conference. This past year’s conference topic was applied equine behavior.
2. University of Montreal – Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (CEBA)
   A grant of $1000 was given to the University of Montreal animal welfare club (CEBA). The grant helped fund their bite prevention workshops in the local community and their annual Paws a Marché walk and an exhibit booth and brochures. The event was a success with more than 400 students and personnel members attending.
3. University of Guelph – Ontario Vet College
   A grant of $2000 was given to the OVC Vet School’s Animal Welfare Club. The grant helped fund two lunch lectures and their annual Animal Welfare Forum. The Forum included the following speakers: Dr. Ian Duncan, Dr. Katrina Merkies, Dr. Catherine Schuppli, Dr. Lesli Bisgould, and Dr. Catherine Filejski.
4. University of Saskatchewan – Western College of Veterinary Medicine
   The Animal Welfare Club, officially known as Vets for Humanity and Animal Welfare, received a grant of $1500. The granted helped them host several expert speakers, with highlights being Dr. Jennifer Conrad of the Paw Project, and Dr. Temple Grandin who held a talk for over 2000 people during her visit. Other events the club organized or was involved in included animal welfare movie nights, feral cat handling workshops, body condition scoring in horses, and a talk on the new swine code of practice. The movie nights and expert talks all served to supplement the curriculum.

Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC) – University of PEI

The AVC Animal Welfare Club was able to financially support 4^th year students who participated in animal welfare related externships and learned about their experiences at lectures they gave to the student body. We were also able to host two lunchtime lectures for students and staff; Dr. Pierre-Yves Daoust addressed animal welfare issues regarding the Canadian Seal Hunt, and Dr. Alice Crook enlightened us regarding animal cruelty investigations in Canada. In October 2014, we collaborated with the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre to present the 10^th Annual Animal Welfare in Practice Conference at the Atlantic Veterinary College. The topic for this year’s conference was “Mink Farming,” and it was well attended by industry proponents, veterinarians, veterinary students and the general public. We heard excellent lectures from keynote speaker Dr. Georgia Mason, researcher and professor of animal welfare at the University of Guelph, as well as a variety of other industry professionals.

Student Committee for Animal Welfare/Comité édudiant pour le bien-être animal (CEBA) – L’Université de Montréal

The funds received from AWFC were mainly used for the three components of the mission of CEBA. First, to improve the well-being of teaching animals. This includes the purchase of brushes for our cows, buying a Kuranda bed as part of a pilot project for our beagles, buying cat toys, acquiring equipment to create a booth to represent CEBA, and maintaining our website .Second, we invested in the organization of the public walk “Marche Pas à Patte”. This walk, which was a first, aimed to promote animal welfare through the distribution of an information brochure. Students received a t-shirt with a logo and walked through the city while distributing flyers. The money from AWFC was used to cover the printing costs and to buy promotional t-shirts for students. Finally, the funding helped finance a second walk, another first for CEBA. The march took place in a highly popular park of Saint-Hyacinthe and aimed to promote adoption as an alternative to buying pets. Information booths were installed, stickers with messages such as “I adopt”, and a hat bearing the logo of the walk were distributed to participants. A mural was made with pictures of animals adopted by the participants.

Ontario Vet College (OVC) – University of Guelph

During the past year, the OVC Animal Welfare Club has offered a variety of educational activities, including: lunch/dinner talks, wet labs, field trips, and our annual animal welfare forum. Lunch and dinner talks included: Assessing Pain in Dogs and Cats by Sheilah Robertson (Assistant Director of the Animal Welfare division of the AVMA), an Ontario Livestock Exchange talk by Mr. Mike Draper, a Humane Bovine Euthanasia talk by Dr. Ken Bateman, and a Canadian Animal Assistance talk by Ms. Chris Robinson of the Ontario Animal Assistance Team. Two wet labs on captive bolt/humane euthanasia for DVM students were held. Field trips included the Ontario Livestock Exchange field trip with Mike Draper from OMAFRA and the Toronto Humane Society field trip. Our 14th Annual Animal Welfare Forum included lectures by Dr. Jim Berry, Dr. Kristopher Chadroo, Anne Malleau, Dr. Physick-Sheard, and previous Care-a-Thon Scholarship recipients Dr. Joelle Ingrao and Dr. Stephanie Torrey. Our 15^th Annual Animal Welfare Forum, which included lectures by Dr. Pat Turner, Ms. Jackie Wepruk, Dr. Elizabeth Berliner, Dr. Scott Petrie, and Mr. Robert Laidlaw. We wouldn’t be able to offer these important educational activities without the integral support of the AWFC, as well as our other sponsors.

Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) – University of Saskatchewan

The WCVM Animal Welfare club was able to get many new initiatives off the ground. These new projects included the NFACC Codes of Practice discussion series, a clicker training and positive reinforcement lab, and an equine body condition scoring workshop. However the activities for the club did not stop there! Some very interesting speakers were brought in for lunch talks at the college, including Dr. Terry Whiting manager of animal health and welfare with Manitoba Agriculture to talk about branding, and Merial who presented a talk on pain management in small animals. We also hosted a humane cattle handling workshop with Dylan Biggs in conjunction with the Production Animal Club once again. Overall the Welfare Club had a very active and exciting year and we hope to add even more activities and learning experiences to the agenda this coming year!

Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC) – University of PEI

In 2013, the Animal Welfare Club at the Atlantic Veterinary College continued to be quite active in educating students and the public, and helped to provide unique experiences to students. Our ‘Animal Welfare in Practice: Companion Animal Behaviour’ conference, in association with the SJDAWC, was a resounding success, yielding the best attendance in the conference’s nine years. Keynote speaker was Dr. Barbara Sherman, past president of the ACVB and founding member of the new American College of Animal Welfare. The AWC helped to send a team to Guelph, Ontario to compete in the Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest. Support was also provided to senior veterinary students who attended external rotations on issues related to animal welfare, and those students gave public lectures to educate students and faculty on their experiences. Numerous animal welfare lectures at the AVC were hosted by the AWC, on such topics as “Welfare issues in the Canadian Seal Hunt”, “Bold vs Shy Behavioural Style in Cats in a Shelter Setting”, and “Animal Welfare Issues from the CFIA’s Perspective”.

Ontario Vet College (OVC) – University of Guelph

Activities of the animal welfare club over the past academic year included field trips to livestock auctions, our annual OVC Animal Welfare Forum and various lunch talks and wet labs. A trip to the Ontario Livestock Exchange in Waterloo, Ontario was organized. It was beneficial for participants to be able to walk through the holding pens and assess how these animals were treated at the auction. A follow-up discussion with Mike Draper of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) facilitated the students’ understanding of livestock animal welfare in auction environments. In October we held our biggest event – the annual OVC Animal Welfare Forum. We had five engaging speakers on everything from managing coyotes and livestock depredation in Ontario, to assessing the welfare of elephants in zoos. We had over one hundred attendees, including students as well as members of the general public. Additionally, our club organizes various lunch talks and wet labs related to animal welfare. In October, we had Dr. Sheilah Robertson (AVMA) discuss the assessment of pain in animals during a very popular lunch talk held in conjunction with the OVC Pain Management club. Our club also co-hosted a dinner talk with the OVC Community Outreach club featuring Chris Robinson (Canadian Animal Assistance Team). Our final event last year was a animal cruelty investigation lunch talk with detectives from the York Regional Police. This lunch talk illustrated the role of the veterinarian in animal abuse cases and described many recent and relevant cases that had been shown in the news.

Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) – University of Saskatchewan

The WCVM Veterinarians for Humanity and Welfare provided education opportunities for the student body last year through lunch hour talks and a lab. Dr. Anne Allen from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency presented on “Animal Welfare at Slaughter” which addressed regulatory and animal handling issues at the time of animal processing. The Food Animal Council of Saskatchewan sponsored a talk “Getting the FACTS with FACS” which highlighted the ways practicing veterinarians can get involved in animal welfare in Saskatchewan. The last talk, “The Saskatchewan SPCA: What Future Veterinarians Should Know” presented by Kaley Pugh of the Saskatchewan SPCA, discussed the role of veterinarians in animal abuse and the requirements for reporting suspected animal abuse. The club also sponsored a Low Stress Cattle Handling lab hosted by Dylan Briggs in partnership with the Production Animal Club. This was an awesome opportunity for students to get out for a day and refine their cattle handling techniques.

Atlantic Veterinary College Animal Welfare Club – 2011 Report

Annual Animal Welfare Conference

The AVC Animal Welfare Club co-hosted our annual conference in conjunction with the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Center (SJDAWC). The 2010 topic was ‘Animal Welfare in Practice: Exotic Pets’ and we are proud to report that we had the largest turnout since the founding of this conference.  Attendees included veterinarians and veterinary technicians from the Maritime provinces as well as many veterinary students and members of the public. Keynote speakers included Dr. Doug Whiteside, exotics specialist and senior staff veterinarian from the Calgary Zoo, who spoke on ‘Considerations when getting an exotic pet’ and ‘Behavioural issues in small mammals, birds, and reptiles’. Dr. Stéphane Lair, specialist and professor of zoological medicine at the Université de Montréal, spoke about ‘Ethical considerations for veterinarians working with exotic pets,’ and AVC’s own exotics specialist Dr. Marion Desmarchelier discussed ‘Pain management in small mammals, birds, and reptiles.’ For the first time ever this conference also included laboratory sessions with hands on experience in handling and environmental enrichment of exotic pets put on by Ssafe Haven Reptile and Amphibian Rehabilitation Center and faculty from the AVC. The laboratory sessions were extremely well received and we plan to continue this tradition for next year’s conference, which will focus on lameness in dairy cattle. The AWFC’s generous contribution was used to help fund the airfare and accommodations for the speakers, as well as the necessary provisions for the conference itself. The continuous support of the AWFC was acknowledged at the conference.

Conference Follow-up Session & Animals On Campus Committee

This year the Welfare Club decided to allocate some of the conference funding towards a follow-up session which will apply some of the principles learned to a real life scenario. Dr. Marion Desmarchelier has agreed to lead a discussion with students who attended the conference on exotic species which will focus on how we can make improvements to AVC’s current housing and enrichment programs to improve the welfare of the exotic species in our care. This session is scheduled to take place in the coming 2011 school year.

The club would also like to make this follow-up session into a permanent tradition and will be founding the Animals On Campus committee in the upcoming school year. This committee will consist of interested students who will attend the annual conference and then meet several times throughout the school year with applicable faculty to learn about evaluating welfare scenarios. They will then perform an assessment and come up with a realistic and relevant project to improve the lives of our own teaching animals. Next year’s conference will focus on lameness in dairy cows and the Animals On Campus committee will use the knowledge learned at the conference to perform an assessment on AVC’s teaching cows. Funding has been set aside to support this project for next year.


Senior Student Rotations in Animal Welfare

The AVC Welfare club wished to use some of our funding this year to support welfare education for future veterinarians. This year we encouraged 4th year students to pursue clinical rotations related to animal welfare by providing financial support to deserving students. Students submitted essays demonstrating their financial need and outlining how their experience will educate them on welfare issues. They also had to come up with a way to share their knowledge with their fellow students. Three awards were given to selected students who will be on their rotations in the next few months. The successful applicants are required to share their experiences and knowledge with the AVC student body upon their return through a presentation or other approved method of their choice.


Lunch Time Lectures, Promotions and Student Support

The remainder of the AWFC funding was used to support the general Animal Welfare Club activities for the year. These activities include co-hosting lunch time lectures on topics related to animal welfare and promoting club activities. Each year AVC sends a team of students to the annual Animal Welfare Judging Competition at Michigan State University. This year the club provided funding to support the travel expenses of five students who attended the competition in November and acquitted themselves well, placing third overall.

Comité Étudiant pour le Bien-être Animal – Rapport 2011

Mandat

Le Comité Étudiant pour le Bien-être Animal (CEBA) regroupe des étudiants en médecine vétérinaire dont la principale préoccupation est le bien-être et le respect des droits des animaux. L’objectif premier de ce groupe est d’améliorer les conditions de vie des animaux résidant à la Faculté de médecine vétérinaire (FMV) de l’Université de Montréal. Le CEBA s’implique aussi dans l’éducation des futurs vétérinaires et dans la sensibilisation du public via la présentation de conférences et d’ateliers concernant le bien-être animal. Dre Josée Dupras, directrice de la division Fermes et animaleries de la FMV parraine le CEBA depuis plusieurs années.

Projets


Animateliers

Le projet des animateliers, anciennement nommé programme de prévention des morsures, existe depuis quelques années à la FMV et a pour objectifs principaux de réduire l’incidence des morsures causées par les chats et les chiens, de diminuer le nombre d’euthanasies suite à ces agressions et de faire connaître la médecine vétérinaire au grand public. Des équipes d’étudiants en médecine vétérinaire visitent des écoles primaires et secondaires pour présenter aux jeunes des moyens permettant de reconnaître le comportement et le langage corporel d’un animal agressif ou effrayé qui pourrait mordre. La façon sécuritaire d’approcher un animal, la meilleure réaction à avoir en cas d’attaque, un petit aperçu de ce qu’est la médecine vétérinaire et quelques autres sujets sont également abordés.

Site web

Notre site web nous permet de nous faire connaître à travers toute la communauté et d’afficher les animaux prêts à l’adoption. Il comprend une description détaillée de tous nos projets, des liens vers différents sites internet sur le bien-être animal ainsi que des capsules d’informations. http://www.ceba-fmv.ca

Conférences

Le CEBA organise plusieurs conférences chaque année. Lors des deux dernières années, le CEBA a notamment présenté des conférences portant sur l’organisme Anima Québec présentée par Yannick Thibault, sur les droits des animaux présentée par Me Martine Lachance et sur le bien-être animal au Québec présentée par Dr Joël Bergeron. Cette année, le CEBA veut aussi défrayer les coûts de transport et d’inscription à deux de ces membres pour assister au colloque en droit animal organisé par le GRIDA qui se tiendra le 20 mai 2011 à Ottawa. Pour l’an prochain, le CEBA a plusieurs idées de conférences notamment sur la chasse au phoque.

Concours de photos

Pour une 2e année, le CEBA a organisé un concours de photographies sur le thème : « Le bien-être animal à la FMV ». Ce concours nous a permis de sensibiliser la population facultaire au bien-être animal, de nous faire connaître à travers la Faculté et d’encourager le parrainage des animaux d’enseignement et donneurs de sang. Les photos ont été développées puis affichées sur un babillard afin que les gens puissent voter pour leur photo préférée. Des pancartes avec la description de nos activités étaient aussi présentées pour que les visiteurs puissent prendre connaissance de nos projets. Un prix a été remis au gagnant du concours et les photos seront éventuellement placées sur notre site web.

Programme de don de corps

La dissection et les exercices chirurgicaux sur des animaux décédés sont une part très importante de l’éducation du futur vétérinaire. Le programme de dons de corps vise à réduire le nombre d’euthanasies d’animaux en santé en permettant aux propriétaires faisant euthanasier leur animal au CHUV de la FMV de donner le corps de ce dernier pour l’enseignement. Le projet est en cours de développement et avance très bien. Un formulaire d’acceptation de don de corps a été rédigé et est maintenant disponible au CHUV. L’an prochain, nous organiserons une rencontre d’information avec les cliniciens et les internes du CHUV afin de promouvoir ce projet.

FUSA (Fond d’Urgence en Santé Animale)

Le FUSA est un fond destiné à offrir des soins d’urgence de base aux animaux de la FMV lorsque la somme impliquée dépasse celle allouée par la Faculté pour le soin de ses animaux. Aussi, en plus de servir à payer des soins et des traitements, cette ressource monétaire est utilisée pour défrayer l’hébergement des animaux d’enseignement retraités qui n’ont pas encore trouvé de foyer. Bref, le FUSA sert à combler le manque! Le FUSA représente des coûts annuels récurrents dont le montant exact est impossible à prédire.

Parrainage des animaux d’enseignement et donneurs de sang

À la FMV, plusieurs animaux (chats, chiens, juments et vaches) sont utilisés à des fins d’enseignement. Ces animaux permettent aux étudiants en médecine vétérinaire de développer leurs habiletés techniques (contention, administration de traitement, prise de sang, anesthésie, etc.) afin de bien exercer leur futur métier. De plus, la FMV héberge des chats et des chiens donneurs de sang qui permettent de sauver de nombreuses autres vies animales. Ces animaux dévoués méritent donc notre attention! C’est pourquoi, tous les étudiants de la FMV sont invités et encouragés à visiter nos animaux d’enseignement et donneurs de sang afin de les brosser, de les cajoler, de jouer avec eux et de les socialiser. En plus de sensibiliser les étudiants à l’utilisation d’animaux pour leur propre apprentissage, le programme de parrainage permet aux animaux de vivre une expérience positive avec les humains contrairement à certaines manipulations vétérinaires. Aussi, à la fin de leur mandat, les chiens et les chats sont mis à l’adoption afin qu’ils demeurent dans un foyer accueillant. Le CEBA promeut l’adoption de ces animaux en créant de la publicité à travers la Faculté. De plus, le CEBA fournit aux nouveaux propriétaires des chats et des chiens d’enseignement une trousse de départ contenant plusieurs objets (laisse, bols, jouets, brosse, gâteries, etc.) ainsi qu’un guide d’information. Cette année, le CEBA a aussi lancé un nouveau projet d’enrichissement des chiens d’enseignement. Ce programme vise à éduquer et à socialiser les chiens d’enseignement en vue de leur adoption future. Les étudiants sont jumelés à un ou deux chiens et sont responsables de les visiter régulièrement et de leur apprendre les commandements de base.

Enrichissement des milieux des animaux de la FMV

Le CEBA s’engage dans l’amélioration du bien-être des animaux de la FMV à chaque année en leur offrant de nouveaux jouets, lits, gâteries, etc. Cette année, nous avons fourni de nouveaux jouets et lits pour les chats d’enseignement. Nous avons aussi acheté des licous (nose-band) pour nos juments d’enseignement afin d’améliorer leur confort. Le CEBA se procure régulièrement des gâteries pour le programme de renforcement positif des juments. Ce programme permet de récompenser les juments d’enseignement lors de manipulations difficile afin de réduire leur stress et de faciliter l’apprentissage des étudiants. L’an prochain, le CEBA prévoit fournir un escalier d’exercice pour l’enclos des chiens d’enseignement ainsi qu’une nouvelle mangeoire pour les juments d’enseignement.

Polycopies

Afin de se faire connaître à travers la Faculté et de promouvoir ses projets, le CEBA imprime régulièrement des signets qui sont distribués à la FMV. De plus, le CEBA distribue des pamphlets afin de promouvoir le programme de dons de corps auprès des cliniciens du CHUV. Aussi, le CEBA imprime des affiches avec les photos des animaux d’enseignement prêts à l’adoption afin de leur trouver un foyer parmi les gens de la Faculté. Enfin, le programme de parrainage est affiché et annoncé de nouveau à chaque année afin de promouvoir les visites par les étudiants. Aussi, une liste de produits non testés sur les animaux a été produite par le CEBA et est distribué parmi les étudiants intéressés.

Ontario Veterinary College Animal Welfare Club – 
2011 Report

October 2, 2010. “11th Annual Animal Welfare Forum”

A day-long event organized by the executive over the previous year, with talks on palliative cancer care in pets, caring for organic dairy cattle and the abolitionist philosophy of animal rights, as well as a panel discussion on the Canadian seal hunt.

November 20-21, 2010. “Animal Welfare Judging Competition”

The Animal Welfare Club helped fund the OVC Student Team’s participation in the Intercollegiate Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment contest, held at Michigan State University.

November 15, 2010. “Reporting Animal Cruelty”

The Animal Welfare Club hosted a joint lunch talk with the OVC Bovine Club. Mike Draper, the Livestock Community Sales Act Coordinator for OMAFRA, spoke regarding what constitutes a veterinarian’s responsibilities for reporting animal cruelty.

November 29, 2010. “Assessing Pain Behaviour”

The Animal Welfare Club hosted a joint lunch talk with the OVC Behaviour and Pain Management Clubs. Lee Neil, our new faculty advisor, gave a talk regarding current research in the area of pain behaviour assessment.

March 3, 2011. “Confessions of an Undercover Conservationist”

Author Leah Lemieux will discussed marine mammal welfare in captivity and in the wild, sharing her astonishing discoveries that reveal why dolphins and whales are under threat, both in Canada and elsewhere, with a short lecture and film.

March 16, 2011. “Ontario Livestock Exchange: Pre-Talk”

Penny Lawlis, a Human Standards Officer and Mike Draper, the Livestock Community Sales Act Coordinator for OMAFRA spoke to our members regarding some of the issues associated with livestock auctions in preparation for a tour.

March 19-20, 2011. “College Royal Club Exhibit”

The Animal Welfare Club created a display with information regarding welfare issues concerning pets, livestock, and wildlife. Our main goal this year was to educate the public regarding dog bit prevention. We presented a display of pictures, diagrams and verbal explanations on “How To Read Your Dogs Body Language” and distributed children’s colouring books that illustrate how to play safely with dogs, along with a pamphlet published be the OSPCA. Our display received a 2nd place ribbon!

March 24, 2011. “Ontario Livestock Exchange: Tour”

Interested AWC members were given a tour of the exchange by faculty advisor Dr. Derek Haley.  We were given a chance to observe the welfare of cattle and horses at the exchange. A week later, an OMAFRA humane standards officer discussed what we saw and answered questions for us.

April 7, 2011. “Care-a-thon Animal Welfare Research Scholarship”

The Animal Welfare Club funds a scholarship given to the graduate student whose research is likely to have the most practical application to the improvement of animal welfare. This year the award went to Marianne Villettaz Robichaud, a PhD candidate in the department of population medicine at the OVC studying dairy cow welfare.

February 1, 2011-Present. “Animal Welfare Forum 2011 Planning”

There have been several AWC members actively involved in the planning of the 2011 Forum, attending weekly meetings, providing input, and contacting and confirming speakers. Possible topics to be covered at the 2011 Forum include:

• Equine Welfare in the entertainment industry, such as the Calgary Stampede
• Elective procedures in companion animals
• Zoo and marine animal welfare
• Livestock predation and urban safety with respect to coyotes

Western College of Veterinary Medicine Animal Welfare Club
 – 2011 Report

Animal welfare was well represented this year at WCVM. Several students attended the Saskatoon SPCA Animal Welfare conference in September where they participated in wet labs and learned from a well-rounded panel of speakers. In November, Dr. Alice Crook spoke about animal abuse as part of CVMA’s Animal Welfare lecture tour.

In January, the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners held their conference and AGM in Saskatoon. The Animal Welfare Club invited two of their speakers to visit WCVM for lunchtime talks to the student body. Dr. Ed Pajor’s presentation, entitled ‘Animal Welfare: A Contemporary Issue for Animal Agriculture’, filled the room with students, staff and faculty. The club provided pizza and soda pop for student attendees. Dr. Temple Grandin’s talk was widely publicized and the Animal Welfare Club received a request to have 400 psychology students attend! This resulted in webcasting her presentation across campus to the Neatby Timlin Theatre in the Arts Building and two rooms within WCVM. The room she spoke in was filled to capacity! The expenses of this event were shared equally by the Animal Welfare Club and Dean Freeman of WCVM. The Animal Welfare Club was thrilled to be able to share these excellent speakers to such a wide audience, beyond the WCVM student body!  In addition Prof. Donald Broom also visited the college following the WCABP meeting in Saskaton and spoke to the 1st year class on World Developments in Animal Welfare – Science and Public Attitudes.

The 2010- 2011 WCVSA executive also considered animal welfare issues important. In late January, they screened the Temple Grandin movie at WCVM. Popcorn was sold by donation and proceeds went to the SPCA. In February, 2 animal control officers were invited to speak about animal abuse and cruelty investigations.

Some of the Animal Welfare Club plans for the coming year include collaborating with the WCVM Bovine Club in bringing Dylan Biggs for his “Low Stress Cattle Handling” lab, which is always poplar! We also hope to send a team of students to the Michigan State University Judging Competition in the fall. Club members were unable to attend last year due to scheduling issues, but thanks to your generous support, funding should not be a significant issue for next year’s team. We have also been collaborating with WCVM students interested in volunteer work with groups such as RAVS, Global Vets, Vets without Borders, CAAT, World Vets to widen our membership base and provide networking opportunities to like- minded individuals.

On behalf of the WCVM Animal Welfare Club, I wish to extend my thanks for your continued support in our endeavors.