Animal welfare goes academic
The University of Bristol, in conjunction with Dogs Trust, is offering the first vocational course in Companion Animal Welfare and Behavioural Rehabilitation.
Animal welfare can be a complex field with many large organisations active in the UK and many small home operations all offering differing perspectives on what represents good animal welfare.
Typically, staff working in animal welfare organisations will have a keen interest in providing good levels of care but despite good intentions, maybe they do not always have a full grounding in all of the necessary skills to provide the best outcome for their charges. This new course hopes to remedy this.
The Dogs Trust has funded the development of the course which it sees as important in enabling welfare staff to take an “evidence based approach to canine behavioural assessment and modification, which we believe is key.” commented Paula Boyden, the Dogs Trust Deputy Veterinary Director.
The aim of the course is to enable staff to effectively and consistently manage each stage of the rehoming process. This depends on properly assessing the individual needs of each animal through to managing behaviour modification and then managing the rehoming process by identifying suitable homes and providing necessary support for animal adopters.
The course is a two year, part time vocational course and is based in the Universities Animal Welfare and Behaviour Group which has international recognition.
The educational concept should offer benefits of providing qualifications to staff, promoting a structured process and necessary skills for staff working in a challenging environment and improving animal welfare.
The university can be contacted for information about the course through e-mail to joanne.fryer@bristol.ac.uk.
