Evaluating Animal Welfare
Animal welfare judging contest trains students with the hope of making a long-term impact on animal care.
When Camie Heleski was looking for a project for her graduate program at Michigan State University (MSU) that focused on animal welfare, she never imagined she would still be involved with it a decade later.
"Working with my major professor, Adroaldo Zanella, we were trying to come up with something," she said. "We saw the energy and hard work being put forth in the dairy, livestock and horse judging teams and thought to ourselves, 'We could do this with animal welfare.' "
Ten years later, Heleski is working with undergraduate students, preparing for the 10th annual Intercollegiate Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Competition (AWJAC) and Educational Seminar, the event that grew out of her project.
The first AWJAC took place in March of 2002 and included undergraduate students who competed individually to evaluate five animal welfare scenarios. Since then, the event has grown to include undergraduate, graduate and veterinary student divisions. The structure of the contest has also changed. Competitors now evaluate three welfare scenarios both as individuals and as a member of a team. Contestants analyze each scenario — an environment or situation where animal welfare might be evaluated, such as a zoo or a farm — and then defend their analysis to a panel of judges. The goal is to put students in the most real-life situation possible, providing them the opportunity to evaluate animal welfare and behavior just as they would in a future career.
"The contest gives students a chance to apply scientific knowledge to make decisions about the quality of animal welfare in a given scenario," Heleski said. "They learn skills that can be used in future careers regardless of whether they become livestock producers, animal welfare auditors or veterinarians."
Success starts with preparation. At MSU, students start preparing for the contest well in advance. Heleski coaches the undergraduate team and works to prepare for the contest with assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science Janice Siegford, assistant professor in the Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation Dalen Agnew, and the graduate and veterinary teams.
"Our students take an introductory animal welfare class where we teach some of the basic principles that will be a part of the contest," Heleski explained. "From there, about 10 from that class go on to take the advanced animal welfare course. These students refine their skills further in preparation for competition."
Marisa Erasmus, a doctoral student at MSU, originally from Oakville, Ontario, is studying animal welfare and behavior issues relating to poultry under Janice Swanson, professor of animal behavior and welfare and interim department chair in the Department of Animal Science. Erasmus first participated in the contest in 2008 while she was completing her master's degree at the University of Guelph in Ontario. At the time, it was the first year a graduate division was offered, and her team was the only one competing. This year, she is a member of the MSU graduate student team and looks forward to an exciting event with several other graduate teams.
"Participating in the contest provided me with an opportunity to put all of the knowledge I gained as an undergraduate and graduate into practice — it forced me to make decisive judgments about animal welfare in different situations," she said.
Erasmus says participating in the AWJAC allowed her to visit MSU and become familiar with the faculty members and their research work — a visit that had a large impact on her decision to come to East Lansing to pursue her doctoral studies.
After completing her degree, Erasmus plans to pursue a career in animal welfare and behavior research, either at a university or in the poultry industry. She believes that the AWJAC really benefits students who, like her, are pursuing careers in animal science or veterinary medicine.
"This contest is especially important in bridging the gap between veterinary medicine and animal science and provides students in both fields with a solid basis for making animal welfare judgments."
Learning about appropriate animal welfare for individual species and the best methods of caring for animals is not just for students, however, as Erasmus points out.
"As a whole, the general public is much more aware of animal welfare issues and the demand for better welfare is increasing on all levels," she said. "The contest may indirectly influence public beliefs regarding welfare by helping future animal welfare researchers think more critically about animal welfare issues and identify those issues requiring further research. This in turn may increase public awareness and result in changes to the ways in which animals are housed and treated."
This year's contest takes place Nov. 20-21. MSU and the MSU Animal Behavior and Welfare Group (ABWG) will host the contest with the support of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the MSU Department of Animal Science.
The ABWG studies various animal well-being issues. Its mission is to develop practical solutions for improving the general well-being and long-term welfare of animals based on sound science, in addition to providing the necessary training to implement these solutions. To learn more about the ABWG and the annual judging competition, visit www.animalwelfare.msu.edu/.
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