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10th Expert Forum on Farm Animal Well-being, Rome (Italy), 2017

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At the 10th anniversary Boehringer Ingelheim Expert Forum on Farm Animal Well-Being in Rome on June 8 and 9, the company has invited a multinational, multidisciplinary group to share ideas on promoting better standards of welfare for livestock all around the world. Over the past decade, this series of conferences has repeatedly shown that paying attention to animal welfare is the right thing to do - and that it can also offer significant economic benefits. This 10th annual meeting offers a timely opportunity to review the progress made over the past decade in our understanding of how to improve the lives of farm livestock - and look forward to where these scientific advances will take us next.

Lectures:

Prof. Jon Huxley

The evolving attitude of the veterinary profession

Prof. Jon Huxley

University of Nottingham, UK

Recognising and acknowledging pain is the first condition to treat. How has the attitude of veterinarians changed over the past 10 years?

Video
Prof. Suzanne Millman

Assessing pain now and then

Prof. Suzanne Millman

Iowa State University, USA

Initial studies on animal pain tried to find objective pain markers, such as cortisol and heart rate. We’ve come a long way since then and learned about behaviors and how they are more sensitive to qualify pain. What will the measures be that will dominate the future research on pain in cattle?

Video
Prof. Dan Weary

From pain to suffering

Prof. Dan Weary

University of British Columbia, Canada

The more we can identify pain in animals, the more important becomes the question how it influences the quality of life. When does pain cause suffering and how does that relate to other sources of suffering in an animal’s life?

Video
Katrine Lecornu

Farmer perspective changes

Katrine Lecornu

European Dairy Farmers, France

Initially, farmers saw animal welfare as a threat by activists. Now they understand it is a discussion they have to take part in actively. How do farmer organisations make sure their members take the journey?

Duncan Sinclair

Adapting to the customer of the future

Duncan Sinclair

Waitrose, UK

Waitrose is very proud on its Tier one position in the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare list. The “willingness to pay” for more animal well-being is a conundrum yet to be solved by many producers and retailers. How was this retailer successful in building up a marketing strategy based on a life worth living for the animal?

Daniel Nowland

Well-being meats the foodies

Daniel Nowland

Jamie Oliver Group, UK

The relationship between people and their food is continually evolving, and meat can be a bone of contention. With Jamie Oliver as an example, Daniel will explain how commercial organisations can drive the change and bring people towards responsible consumption.

Prof. David Fraser

Animal welfare: the all-important human dimension

Prof. David Fraser

University of British Columbia, Canada

The “demand” on more animal welfare friendly production is mostly raised by consumers of developed countries, yet a large part of the world’s meat is produced in less industrialised countries, where the regulations designed to safeguard animal welfare don’t necessarily apply. What are the implications of a globalised market on animal well-being?

Dr. Mike Siemens

Building up an open dialogue between industry stakeholders

Dr. Mike Siemens

Arrowsight Global Agribusiness, USA

End of life issues, transportation and painful procedures have so far dominated the efforts of the industry to improve welfare standards. Dr. Mike Siemens tells us the story from the perspective of one of the largest providers of food worldwide.

    Alison Bard

    How communication can improve animal well-being?

    Alison Bard

    University of Bristol, UK

    Workshop run by Alison Bard. More effective conversation about change using motivational interviewing.