UK's leadership in animal welfare wins praise

According to SAC’s new Professor of Animal Health and Welfare, Brazilian-born Adroaldo Zanella, the UK has offered unmatched leadership in animal welfare across the globe, with Scottish research enhancing that reputation.

Professor Zanella joined SAC in January this year and is the coordinator of a major, new, EU funded, research project. It will develop more widely agreed standards of assessing on-farm animal welfare, with particular reference to pain. He is only settling into his new role, but believes there are few places in the world where the commitment to animal welfare is as strong.

"In the UK farmers and wider society have demonstrated genuine commitment toward animal welfare with advanced legislation, exceeding the standards present in most countries in the world. The focus of UK consumers on animal welfare shaped the policy of UK supermarkets, which are the most "welfare friendly" suppliers in the world".

Adroaldo’s appointment adds to an already globally significant animal welfare and behaviour team at SAC and one of the largest in Europe. Led by Professor Alistair Lawrence it includes many other internationally respected researchers and teachers, including live transport specialist, Dr Malcolm Mitchell and Dr.’s Emma Baxter (pigs) and Cathy Dwyer (Sheep). SAC expert staff help deliver an Animal Welfare MSc course with University of Edinburgh. More than 400 graduates from that course have gone on to influence animals welfare across the world.

The project Adroaldo Zanella is coordinating includes £3.8m of EU funding and involves research partners from 9 different countries and 10 different institutions. The group are holding their opening meeting at SAC’s Edinburgh HQ on 10th and 11th May. The 4 year project will include studies on sheep, goats, horses, donkeys and turkeys. One of the aims is to establish an on line, "one stop shop" information resource for researchers, students, teachers and others.

Speaking to the press today in Edinburgh the Professor said he believed SAC is the ideal choice for the work involved.

"SAC has a very long history of animal welfare research and its credentials mean it is uniquely positioned to coordinate what is the largest EU project on animal welfare. Through the project SAC will offer leadership to create a Centre of Excellence in Animal Welfare Science, fostering cooperation with the Scottish Cluster of Animal Welfare Experts and 9 other countries engaged in the animal welfare indicators project".

Professor Zanella’s main personal interest is the role of early environmental factors in shaping the adaptive responses of animals, including humans. In previous work he demonstrated how poor animal welfare affects the organization of brain pathways linked to memory and emotions. He is now seeking to develop brain imaging systems at SAC which would allow scientists to assess animal welfare by recognising the impact of experiences like pain and disease on the central nervous system.

He trained as a vet before becoming a pig specialist, working in outdoor units in Brazil. During that period he developed his passion for animal welfare at Brazils pioneer high welfare unit where he was involved in researching disease and production systems.

Adroaldo gained his PhD in Britain, at Cambridge in 1992. He studied pigs to investigate indicators of animal welfare found in blood, in particular brain "opioids" which are linked to psychiatric disorders in humans. He found dysfunction in the pig’s opioid system caused by bad welfare resembled human conditions like depression. He continued the work in Germany with particular emphasis on non invasive markers for measuring stress, testing how, the presence of opiods could change depending on whether the animal was alone or in groups.

In 1996, Adroaldo started the Animal Behaviour and Welfare program within the department of Animal Science at Michigan State University (MSU) where he also gained experience in teaching, using web based resources. His work on biomarkers of pain and how weaning age affected aggression, memory processes and brain organisation in young pigs was seminal in benchmarking good management practices in pig production systems.

The Professor came to SAC from Oslo and the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science where he had worked from 2006. In Norway, he studied pain, diseases and how good or bad management can affect the organisation of the developing brain and its impact on developmental outcomes.