Updates

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Feb 2026 

1. SAVE THE DATE: Come and join us, with colleagues from GASL, FAO, WOAH and AMR MSPP for a webinar on Sustainable livestock transformation: animal welfare solutions for resilient agrifood systems on 26 February 2026. Details and registration can be found on the website
2. Survey: If you are a vet nurse, animal care assistant, or veterinary paraprofessional (UK and international) we would be delighted if you could take 5-10 minutes to complete our online survey. We want to understand what topics and species are priority for different audiences; as well as understanding what barriers or challenges exist relating to delivery approaches or engagement.survey link (and QR code)
3. Publication (pre-print): members of the Centre, Jill MacKay and Louise Connelly, provide a pre-print of their recent article. MacKay, J., & Connelly, L. (2025). Tail Wagging Cats: Veterinary Implications of AI Generated Video. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202512.1631.v1
4. Publication: Olivia Curry, a PhD student at the Animal Welfare Centre publishes findings from her research.  Curry, O., Everett, A., Pearson, G., Dwyer, C., & Duncan, J. (2025). Preliminary investigation of equine veterinary hospital staff attitudes towards pain assessment in a single centre. Veterinary Record. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.6122
5. Publication: An MSc Clinical Animal Behaviour student, along with supervisors from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Copenhagen, recently published aspects from their dissertation.  Weber, T., Lund, T. B., Forkman, B., McPeake, K., Meyer, I., & Sandøe, P. (2026). Dog Owners’ Use of Training Methods and Their Ethical Stance on the Treatment of Animals. Anthrozoös, 39(1), 41–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2025.2597086 

Jan 2026

1. New webpage: we have launched a new webpage focusing in vet nursing, animal care assistants and animal welfare. Weblink
2. Vet Nursing and Animal Care Assistants:      An area that the Centre will be focusing on in 2026 is supporting vet nurses and animal care assistants. This includes a new research project, new continuing professional development (CPD) online courses, lectures, and a grant application.
3. Survey: If you are a vet nurse, animal care assistant, or veterinary paraprofessional (UK and international) we would be delighted if you could take 5-10 minutes to complete our online survey. We want to understand what topics and species are priority for different audiences; as well as understanding what barriers or challenges exist relating to delivery approaches or engagement. survey link
4. New Grant:  The Centre is delighted to announce that Jess Davies, Martyna Godniak, Hayley Walters, Katharine Ross, Stella Mazeri, Rob Ward, and Rebecca Doyle, have been awarded one of the University of Edinburgh’s Fiona and Ian Russell Seed Corn Fund for Companion Animal Research. The project will focus on the development of a tool to support decision making in cases of complex care needs, and critical cases, for companion animals in a clinical context.
5. New lectures: Hayley Walters, RVN, MBE, will be delivering a number of international lectures in January. Dr Yuki Otani, has invited Hayley to deliver an online workshop on ‘Euthanasia and its welfare implications’ to students at Hokkaido University, Japan. In addition, Hayley has been invited by Dr Syamira Syazuana, a former Edinburgh PhD graduate, to deliver two online lectures to students at Putra University’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Malaysia. The lectures aim to increase the students’ knowledge on how to improve patient welfare in the clinic and ways to reduce dog bites within the clinical setting through a greater understanding of normal, anxious and fearful dog behaviour.

Updates - 2026

Updates - 2025

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