Learning objectives
D1 Knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
1. Know the meaning of animal welfare from physiological, ethological, veterinary and legislative point of views..
2. Describe the main strategies for the assessment of animal welfare.
3. Know the potential impact of animal welfare on food safety
D2 – Applying knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
1. Recognize the risk of poor animal welfare on the safety of food of animal origin.
2. Suggest strategies to improve animal welfare.
D3 – Making judgements
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
1. Evaluate the level of animal welfare in farmed animals
D4 – Communication skills
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
1. Express clearly and with appropriate terminology during description of concepts concerning the animal welfare.
D5 – Learning skills
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
1. Learn concepts relative to the animal welfare;
2. Understand of new strategies to improve the level of animal welfare in farmed animals.
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
General principles of farm animals ethology and physiology. General aspects of ruminants and monogastric housing systems.
Farm animal welfare: definition, history and EU policy and legislation.
Assessment of farmed animal welfare: principles and methods.
Interaction between animal welfare, animal disease and food safety with possible impacts on public health.
Full programme
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Bibliography
The students can find the power point presentation projected in classroom on ELLY web portal
Improving farm animal welfare. Blokhuis, Miele, Veissier, Jones. Wageningen Academic Publishers.
Welfare assessment protocols: http://www.welfarequality.net/en-us/news/assessment-protocols/
EFSA opinions on animal welfare: https://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/welfare/efsa_opinions_en
EU directive on animal welfare: https://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/welfare/practice_en
Teaching methods
During the lectures in the classroom, with the use of audio-visual facilities. The lessons will also be supplemented by seminars to deepen some specific issues.
Assessment methods and criteria
The assessment of expected learning results described in D1 and parts of those described in D2, D3, D4 and D5, is carried out by written examination, with ten open questions: five for the assessment of the knowledge, the understanding, the capacity of making judgements and communication skills of the students; five for the assessment of the capacity of the student to apply knowledge to solve a practical problem in animal welfare. To the students with diagnosis of specific learning disability (DSA) certified under law n. 170/2010, proper specific support will be provided.
Other information
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