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In this edition of Animal Welfare Conversations, I’m delighted to chat to Dr Sean Wensley. We discuss a diverse range of topics starting with what animal welfare means to Sean – that takes us into a fascinating conversation about the physical and men...
In this edition of Animal Welfare Conversations, I’m delighted to chat to Dr Sean Wensley. We discuss a diverse range of topics starting with what animal welfare means to Sean – that takes us into a fascinating conversation about the physical and mental wellbeing of animals, alongside animal welfare science, ethics and law. We delve into the complexities of each of these, how we can understand what an animal needs and wants and how to assess welfare.
We discuss Sean’s book Through a Vet’s Eyes – How to Care for Animals and Treat Them Better a book which challenges us to see how animals experience the world and how we can make their lives better, across the spectrum of animals kept for food, as companions, for sport, and wild animals impacted by human activity. We discuss sentience, innate behaviour and behavioural needs, and what our relationship with animals should look like, alongside the importance of education and raising awareness about animal welfare problems. We look at the big challenges in animal welfare including breeding for brachycephaly (a ‘flattened face’ in certain dog breeds and other species) but also discuss areas of good work which need to be adopted more widely by animal owners. Although we discuss what governments can do to improve animal welfare, responsibility doesn’t end there, with the individual and society also having a central part to play in continuously striving to improve animal welfare.
Further information
RSPCA Assured UK - Farm Animal and Chicken Welfare
BVA policy - Animal welfare strategy
Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) Animal Welfare Strategy - FVE Animal Welfare Strategy: The Veterinary Voice for Europe’s Animals – FVE – Federation of Veterinarians of Europe
World Organisation for Animal Welfare Animal Welfare - WOAH - World Organisation for Animal Health Animal Welfare - WOAH - World Organisation for Animal Health
Shock Collars / BVA / Template letter BVA policy - Electric shock collars and training aids BVA policy - Electric shock collars and training aids
PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report - PAW Report - PDSA
Vet, Medical Educator, Company Director
Dr Mary Fraser BVMS MRes PhD CertVD MAcadMEd MIoD PGCHE FHEA FRSPH FRSB FRSM FRCVS
Mary has had a varied career, starting out in mixed practice, then focussing on veterinary dermatology, veterinary nursing, medical education, animal welfare, owner support and clinical decision making. She was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2017 for Meritorious Contributions to Practice and is a past Chair of the RCVS Fellowship Science Advisory Panel.
Working both as a clinician and academic, Mary has a PhD in immunological aspects of canine atopic dermatitis and the RCVS Certificate in Veterinary Dermatology, worked in referral practice, and also set up her own first opinion/referral small animal practice in rural Perthshire.
In between this, she had the opportunity to work in veterinary nursing at both FE and HE levels becoming a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Member of the Academy of Medical Educators, and alongside Simon Girling, setting up the Advanced Programme in Veterinary Nursing of Exotics a postgraduate training programme for veterinary nurses that has now been running for over 20 years and trained over 1000 vet nurses.
She is a accomplished researcher and author, with over 100 published articles, book chapters, books and papers. Areas of work include veterinary dermatology, medical education, preparing students for practice, the challenges of clinical decision making, providing better support in practice for clients with sight loss, and the application of evidence based medicine in practice.
During her ti…
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Dr Sean Wensley FRCVS is Senior Veterinarian for Animal Welfare and Professional Engagement at the UK veterinary charity, PDSA. He was President of the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and chaired the Animal Welfare Working Group of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE). Sean has contributed to animal welfare and conservation projects around the world and received the Global Animal Welfare Award for Europe from the World Veterinary Association (WVA) and the J.A. Wight Memorial Award from the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA). His first book Through A Vet’s Eyes: How to care for animals and treat them better was one of the Financial Times’ Best Summer Books of 2022.