Lecture Looks at Role
of Animal Caretakers

October 22, 2003

By Andrew Vowles

"Does the Animal Caretaker Need to Care?: The Importance of Human-Animal Interaction for the Welfare of Farm and Companion Animals" is the topic of this year's F.W. Presant Memorial Lecture hosted by the Ontario Agricultural College.

Paul Hemsworth, a professor in the faculty of agriculture, forestry and horticulture at the University of Melbourne and director of the Animal Welfare Centre in Australia, will talk about the growing attention being paid to the importance of stockpeople on the welfare of farm animals Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. in the Ontario Veterinary College's Lifetime Learning Centre cafeteria. The event is free.

Animal welfare audits and training modules for livestock handlers and truckers are being developed across North America, says Prof. Tina Widowski, Animal and Poultry Science.

"It's timely to be thinking about stockperson training and the importance of the stockperson," she says. "Prof. Hemsworth is well-respected as a researcher in this area and has been very successful in applying his research knowledge in training programs for stockpeople."

Hemsworth studies how the social and physical environment affects the behaviour, productivity and welfare of farm animals. During the past two decades, his research has emphasized the importance of stockperson attitudes and their impact on livestock productivity.

The lecture is being hosted by the Department of Animal and Poultry Science and the Colonel K.L. Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare. The centre is the longest-established research program in animal welfare in North America, has more than 50 associated faculty members across campus and is led by Prof. Ian Duncan, who holds the University's Chair in Animal Welfare.

The memorial lecture is named for 1923 OAC graduate Fred Presant, who served as the first chair of the OAC advisory board and chaired the Board of Regents during the formation of U of G in 1964. He died in 1996.

Established in 1988, the lecture is supported by the OAC Alumni Foundation and is held in alternate years. For more information, contact Janice DeMoor at Ext. 56728 or jdemoor@uoguelph.ca.