Welfare and ethics in animal productions

Duration

9h Th, 6h Pr, 3h FT

Number of credits

Lecturer

Nadia Everaert

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

* Introduction: Place of animals in the society with the passing centuries: farm animals producing food, pets, animal as a bioreactor, laboratory animals - Knowledges and accepted values.
* Ethic and welfare of farm animals. - What is animal welfare? definitions; stress; - Indicators of animal welfare; - How to improve farm animal welfare? 
* Ethic and welfare of laboratory animals. - Fields of application: teaching, fundamental research including transgenesis; applied research (drugs and vaccines; food and feed additives; pharmacotoxicology; cosmetics, pesticides, ...); - 3Rs concept in animal experimentation: replacement, refinement, reduction; examples; limit point; Mepham matrix; - Alternatives methods: possibilities and limitations.
* Legal aspects: european and belgian legislations; ethic council.
* Small groups research of information and critical analysis of a production systems or of an experimental protocol; alternative production systems; alternative experimental methods;(visits of farms, laboratories, survey, ...).
Oral presentation to the other students and to the teacher followed by an interactive discussion.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

The student will be able to make an ethical reflection on the relationship between human and animals, animal welfare in animal production systems and experimentation. After completing the course the student is expected to - be familiar with different aspects of animal welfare; - establish specifications of production systems and experimental protocols respectful of animal welfare; - give an ethical standpoint on animal production systems and experimental designs.
 
This course contributes to the acquisition of the following skills:

• Analyze the overall functioning of the system taking into account its internal components and their interactions
• Identify the components of the environmental, socio-economic and legislative context of an agronomic production system

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Students should have a basic knowledge on animal production and production systems.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Lectures : 10h; Personnal Works : 12h; The course is taught in English. The presentations of the students are also in English

Organisational adjustments related to the current health context

A registration of the course will be put available if no live lectures can be given. A question-answer session will be organized then on collaborate.
For the group work: The meetings to follow the progress of the group work can be organized on collaborate.
The presentation of the group work will be organized on collaborate, again when the students are not allowed to come to the faculty due to sanitary reasons.

Recommended or required readings

Recommandations du Conseil de l'Europe Directives européennes et législation belge en la matière Farm Animal Well Being(Ewing, Lay, Von Borall) - Prentice Hall, 1999, 357 pages. Le bien-être animal - Regard éthique (ouvrage collectif) - Editions du Conseil de l'Europe, 2006, 296 pages.
PowerPoint available on line.

Assessment methods and criteria

Below you will find information on the evaluation methods planned for in-person and remote exams as well as those planned for hybrid sessions. Depending on how the health crisis evolves, the chosen method will be communicated to you no later than one month before the start of the exam session.

Any session :

- In-person

oral exam

- Remote

written work

- If evaluation in "hybrid"

preferred remote


Additional information:

Personal work (presentation of the group work, participation to the discussions) (100 %)

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

Contacts

Nadia Everaert
nadia.everaert@uliege.be

Items online