Historically, the AWFC has supported campus lectures organized by UBC’s Animal Welfare Program and the University of Guelph’s veterinary school. More recently, the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare (CCSAW) at the University of Guelph and the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre (SJDAWC) at the University of Prince Edward Island have been ongoing partners through our Public Lecture grants.
Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre (SJDAWC)
Prof. Kathryn Proudfoot
2025 – Animal Welfare in Practice Symposium
With support from a $2,000 grant from the AWFC, the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre (SJDAWC) is presenting its annual three-part public webinar series in 2025, focusing on the welfare of small mammals kept as pets, such as rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and other rodents.
The series brings together experts to discuss key topics, including strategies to improve the welfare of pet rodents, understanding the natural behaviours and needs of pet rabbits, and providing optimal veterinary care for rabbits, guinea pigs, and hamsters.
Aimed at veterinary professionals, students, humane organizations, and the general public, the series is designed to promote evidence-based approaches to improving the lives of these often-overlooked companion animals.
2024 – Animal Welfare in Practice Symposium
Topic: Veterinary Communication and Animal Welfare.
Speaker: Various, including Dr. Caroline Ritter, Canada Research Chair, Atlantic Veterinary College.
More information here.
2023 – Animal Welfare in Practice Symposium
Each year, the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre (SJDAWC) at the Atlantic Veterinary College, UPEI, hosts a symposium exploring a current issue in animal welfare. The 2023 symposium addressed the important and sensitive topic of end-of-life decisions for animals, focusing on the associated welfare concerns.
The event began with a free public lecture on Friday, September 15, 2023, followed by a half-day symposium for veterinary professionals and students on Saturday, September 16, 2023. The symposium was held in person, with select speakers joining via Zoom to present to the live audience.
2022 – Animal Welfare in Practice Symposium
The Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre held its 17th annual symposium which highlighted research on the welfare of reptiles and amphibians presented virtually on October 28 and 29, 2022. Dr. Anna Wilkinson, Professor of Cognition from the University of Lincoln, started off the symposium by presenting on “Cold-blooded care: Understanding the needs of captive reptiles”. Dr. Wilkinson explained that most people do not think of reptiles as intelligent, compared with other animals like apes and dogs. This perception may result in potentially poor environments for reptiles that do not meet their needs. There were 91 registrants (no charge to 55 students and 36 paid registrants) which attracted veterinarians, veterinarian technicians, students and other interested parties joining from Canada, United States, Mexico, Slovakia, and Hungary.
Read their newsletter here!
Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare (CCSAW)
Prof. Georgia Mason
2024 – Animal law around the world: a global perspective on diverse regulatory perspectives
Speaker: Dr Carolina Maciel, fellow with the Animal Law & Policy Program, Harvard University.
Dr. Carolina Maciel is an international policy analyst specializing in animal protection. Dr. Maciel started her fellowship with Harvard’s Animal Law & Policy Program in April 2021, aiming to analyze the intersection of animal welfare standards elaborated by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and agreements governing multilateral trading systems. Prior to this, she served for about five years as Brazil’s Country Director for Humane Society International––during which she coordinated efforts that improved protection for animals kept for food production and laboratory tests. Her academic background includes a Ph.D. in International Policy and Law from the University of Wageningen (Netherlands) and a master’s degree in Political Sociology from the University of Santa Catarina (Brazil). She is a registered attorney at the Brazilian Bar Association, and a member of the Animal Welfare Research Network coordinated by the Bristol University.
2022 and 2023 – The University of Guelph’s Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare (CCSAW)
For around a decade CCSAW has been running monthly welfare science seminars, bringing outside speakers for a largely student-based audience. Two public lectures were funded by AWFC. The first one was held on November 9th 2022 on the human factors that either foster or get in the way of improving animal welfare. You can access the presentation here. The second lecture was held on April 2023 and will build on the first lecture via some real life scenarios and lessons learned by/for Canadians who are trying to improve dairy cattle, equine and laboratory animal welfare. You can access the presentation here.
2020/2021 – Due to pandemic restrictions/school closures, no applications were submitted this year.
Animal Welfare Program (AWP)
Stratton Memorial Lecture
2019 – Panel Discussion: “The Future of Animal Welfare in Canada”
Dr. Joanna Makowska, UBC
Dr. Diego Moya, University of Saskatchewan, Western College of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Sasha Protopopova, Texas Tech University
Dr. Charlotte Winder, University of Guelph, Ontario Veterinary College
2013 – Chris Draper, Born Free Foundation: “Welfare in a Conservation Context”
2012 – “Improving the lives of working horse (and their owners) in the developing world”
Dr Becky Whay, Professor, University of Bristol, School of Veterinary Medicine
2010 – “Animal welfare, a recent history”
Dr Ian Duncan, Professor, University of Guelph
2009 – “Enriching the lives of zoo animals”
Steve Ross, Lester E Fisher Center for Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago
2008 – 10th Anniversary of the UBC Animal Welfare Program, alumni panel discussion:
Cassandra Tucker, PhD University of California, Davis
Carol Morgan, PhD, DVM, Veterinarian
Sara Dubois, MSc, BC SPCA
Julie Huzzey, PhD candidate, Cornell University
Leanne McConnachie, MSc, Vancouver Humane Society
2007 – “Animal welfare and conservation”
Prof. Larry Dill, Simon Fraser University
2006 – “Emerging social ethics for animals”
Dr. Bernard Rollin, Colorado State University
2006 – “Animal welfare and the control of stray dogs in Brazil”
Dr. Carla Forte Maiolino Molento, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil
2005 – “The animal protection movement in North America”
Dr Andrew Rowan, Executive VP Humane Society of the United States
2004 – “Understanding the no-kill controversy”
Dr Arnold Arluke, Professor, Northeastern University
2016 – “Maintaining High Standards in Animal Welfare”
Temple Grandin, University of Colorado
The 2016 Stratton Lecture “Maintaining high standards in animal welfare” by Dr Temple Grandin was a tremendous success. The interest from the public and the University community was overwhelming. Dr Grandin’s talk was fully subscribed two weeks before the event, with a waiting list of 164. Dr Grandin kindly allowed us to audio tape her talk, a link to which was sent to all those on the wait list. The talk was also broadcast on UBC CiTR radio, and the lecture was available as a podcast to the general public on the Faculty’s website.
Basil Capes Lecture
2014 – “The Evolution of the horse-human relationship through time”
Dr. Sandra Olsen, Research Associate in the Biodiversity Institute University of Kansas
2009 – “Animals and Ethics”
Dr. Peter Singer, Princeton University
2007 – “Why should we care about animals during times of crisis?”
Dr. Michael Appleby, World Society for the Protection of Animals
2006 – “Emerging social ethics for animals”
Dr. Bernard Rollin, Colorado State University
2004 – “Pain in Farm Animals: An investigation of how bad it is and what can be done about it”
Professor Vince Molony, University of Edinburgh
2002 – “Welfare and Efficiency: Can they be put together in piglet production? – A Swedish example”
Dr. Bo Algers, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences