Updates

Join the mailing list

If you would like to receive the montly updates to your inbox, you can join the mailing list. 

May 2026

1. Teaching Matters blog post: The wicked problem of animal welfare? Developing the problem solvers of the future with MScs in Animal Welfare. Cynthia Naydani, Professor Susan Jarvis, Dr Jill MacKay, and Dr Sarah M Brown, from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, draw a comparison between the discipline of Animal Welfare Science and the notion of ‘wicked problems’. They highlight two, innovative and long-standing MSc programmes as integral learning opportunities for the animal welfare community.
2. New funding: Dr Sarah Brown (PI), Dr Jill MacKay, and Fiona MacDowell have been successful in securing a pump priming grant for "A One Welfare approach to understanding workplace associated grief in veterinary nurses and its impact on animal welfare in clinics.
3. New publications: we have a list of new publications issued in the past month:

• Curry O, Everett A, Pearson G, Dwyer C, Duncan J. Preliminary investigation of equine veterinary hospital staff attitudes towards pain assessment in a single centre. Vet Rec. 2025;e1–e10. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.6122
• Ricci-Bonot, C., Costa, E. D., Houpt, K., Jones, M., Koch, V. W., Pearson, G., Randle, H., van Dierendonck, M., & Mills, D. S. (2026). Development of a consensus definition of “separation anxiety” for horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 298, Article 106937. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2026.106937
• Gonzalez, C., Lawrence, A. B., Mendl, M., Robinson, E., Bombail, V., & Brown, S. M. (2026). Sex differences in the enjoyment of enrichment: affective bias testing confirms female rats prefer more playful and less vigorous tickling. Biology Letters (2005), 22(4). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0075
• Jemberu, W. T., Lemma, M., Fatalo, T., Yitagesu, E., Doyle, R. E., Dione, M., & Knight-Jones, T. J. D. (2026). Impact evaluation of a small ruminant flock health intervention on animal health, welfare, and farmer income in Ethiopia. BMC Veterinary Research, 22(1), Article 222. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-026-05397-9

4. Presentation: Professor Eddie Clutton presented at the “3Rs in One Health Preclinical Research” conference sponsored by Laboratory Animal Veterinary Association and hosted by the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) at Weybridge, Surrey. Presentation: “The Case Against NMBA Use in Laboratory Animals”.
5. BONUS: Dr Sarah Brown has recorded a short seminar summarising the Gonzalez publication (above) recorded seminar on the topic 

Apr 2026 - special focus: clinical animal behaviour

1. New online course: The Evolution of Clinical Animal Behaviour. Free. 6 hours of CPD. The course provides insights into establishing a career within the field, the benefits of working collaboratively with allied professionals and putting research into practice. Available from 17 April, includes three live sessions. Delivered by leading behaviour practitioners, including Dr Sarah Heath, Dr Loni Loftus and Dr Kevin McPeake. If you are working in a veterinary role, in the clinical animal behaviour profession or are passionate about animal behaviour and thinking of taking this interest further, register now
2. Award: Hannah Crocombe, an undergraduate at the School, was one of two winners of the British Veterinary Behaviour Association (BVBA) Des Thompson Veterinary Studies Award 2026. The award recognises the commitment to the study of animal behaviour by students pursuing a higher education qualification at an RCVS-accredited institution. Hannah’s submission included a statement detailing her interest in animal behaviour and why it is relevant to the veterinary profession.
3. Webinar:In March, Kevin McPeake, Head of Behaviour Clinic and MSc CAB Programme Team delivered a webinar as part for the International Veterinary Students Association (IVSA) 74^th Symposium which was hosted online. The topic was “Behavioural first aid in companion animal practice”, teaching an approach to assess problematic behaviours and help veterinarians prioritise interventions such as ruling out medical problems, providing immediate management advice and considering referral to a behaviourist. There were 100 registered veterinary undergraduate delegates from different corners of the world, and the talk was delivered on behalf of the European Society for Veterinary Clinical Ethology (ESVCE) where Kevin serves as a committee member.
4. Online course – Animal Welfare in the Clinic: 4-week online course. Aimed at vets, vet nurses, animal carers, and owners to ensure that the welfare of the animal is supported at every stage of the clinical visit (from transportation, waiting area, examination, operating room, and recovery)? Videos, checklists, resources and more - helping to make real-world impact in relation to animal behaviour and welfare in the clinic. Join anytime. 12 CPD hours. Week 1 free. Five-star review! Positive feedback received from a veterinary clinic in China “I felt that what we learned from the course was no longer just knowledge — it had quietly become part of our clinic culture”. Find out more and register – visit the course website 

Updates - 2026

Updates - 2025

Privacy Statement

Information about you: how we use it and with whom we share it

The Animal Welfare Centre only uses the personal data you have provided in order to deliver and improve the opportunities and services we provide in a personalised manner, to ensure each individual receives relevant information. The information you provide will be used by the University to:
 

• Keep you up to date with news and progress regarding activities of the Animal Welfare Centre (which incorporates The Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education) at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh
• Provide you with information on any services you have requested and the promotion of benefits and services
• Ensure we only communicate with you about events, opportunities, or services of interest to you.

We are currently using information about you because you have previously indicated your interest to be added to our mailing list.

We will hold the personal data you provided us, for 2 years.  After this period we will send communication to you querying whether you wish to remain on our mailing list.  Alternatively, you can opt out of the mailing list at any time.

We do not use profiling or automated decision-making processes.  A human decision maker will always be involved before any decision is reached in relation to you.

This Privacy Statement is continued at: 

Continued privacy notice | Data Protection