MSU Undergrad Team Places First at Annual Animal Welfare Competition
MSU Undergrad Team Places First at Annual Animal Welfare Competition
4/1/08
Contact: Sara Long
517-432-1555, ext. 170
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State University (MSU) took top honors at this year’s Intercollegiate Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Competition, held March 15-16 on the campus of MSU. The seventh annual event drew teams from universities and veterinary colleges across the Midwest and Canada.
In the undergraduate division, MSU placed first in the team category. MSU team members Clarissa Allen, animal science senior from Webberville; Chelsey Shivley, zoology senior from Battle Creek; and Jordan Ball, animal science senior from Battle Creek, placed second, third and fourth as individuals, respectively. Margaret Gooding, University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada), was high individual.
Atlantic Veterinary College (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) won the veterinary team competition, and Atlantic student Christy Coulson earned the top placing in the individual category.
Traveling trophies were awarded to the highest placing team in each division. The trophies featured original artwork of various animal species created by Lynne Millman, a fine artist from Nova Scotia.
This year’s competition marked the first time that veterinary students participated in the Intercollegiate Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Competition, underscoring the expanding role that veterinarians play in ensuring the observance of humane animal welfare standards.
The American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA’s) Animal Welfare Division provided a grant to MSU to cover the costs associated with conducting the first animal welfare competition for veterinary students. Division director Dr. Gail Golab helped coordinate the veterinary division of the event.
“This competition helps teach students how to approach animal welfare issues comprehensively, objectively and effectively,” she said. “They learn very quickly that they have to pay attention to a multitude of factors -- science, social expectations and practical realities -- if they want to be successful.”
MSU, the University of Guelph and the University of Wisconsin-Madison were represented in the undergraduate division team and individual contest categories, while three Canadian veterinary colleges -- Atlantic Veterinary College, the Ontario Veterinary College (Guelph) and the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) -- participated in the team and individual categories of the veterinary division. The University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine was also represented in the individual veterinary division.
The contest was created as an educational exercise to enhance students’ understanding of the welfare issues affecting animals used for human purposes, including livestock production, research and companionship. The experience promotes critical thinking, teaches ethical reasoning skills, encourages objective assessments based on science, and improves persuasive public speaking and presentation skills.
In addition to a team problem assignment, contestants were challenged to assess the welfare of animals in comparative scenarios featuring show and sled dogs, gestating sows, aquaculture and livestock auction facilities, and to prepare an oral presentation of their evaluations to a team of judges.
“Each year it’s rewarding to have like-minded individuals from across the country come together in a competitive setting to test their skills for assessing the complex subject of animal welfare,” said Camie Heleski, MSU animal science animal welfare instructor and competition organizer. “Participants are challenged to objectively evaluate given scenarios on the basis of a balance of science-based information and personal values systems. It is a really effective exercise for using and enhancing a person’s critical thinking and persuasive speaking skills.”
Before the contest began, experts from the University of Alaska-Anchorage, Purdue University and MSU presented talks on understanding the ethical issues affecting the aquaculture industry, assessing animal welfare in companion animals and comparing sow housing. Steve Halstead, D.V.M., state veterinarian with the Michigan Department of Agriculture Animal Industries Division, talked about the proposed ban on equine slaughter in the United States and how the alternative of exporting horses for slaughter conjures up other welfare-related questions.
Heleski said the opportunity to network with animal welfare experts continues to be one of the focal points of the competition for students.
“The students really benefit from being able to interact one-on-one with the judges,” she said. “Having face time with them really offers students a unique perspective and a chance to learn about animal behavior, health, physiology, welfare and ethics from the leading species experts in North America.”
The first animal welfare competition for veterinary students was sponsored by the AVMA in coordination with the MSU Animal Behavior and Welfare Group (ABWG), the organizing body for the Intercollegiate Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Competition.
The MSU Animal Behavior and Welfare Group studies animal well-being issues using non-invasive practices. 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, visit www.canr.msu.edu/animalwelfare/index.html.
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