Post Graduate Continuing Education in Advanced Animal Welfare Online Course 2017

Course description
Animal welfare is a growing field of science and is gaining more recognition within the veterinary profession as a necessary competency for every veterinarian. This course will focus on understanding the basic concepts behind animal welfare science, ethics and law, and how these concepts are relevant to veterinarians in Asia. It will also look at how animal welfare can be assessed through a hands-on workshop on animal welfare assessment.
Learning objectives:

  • To understand the different concepts of animal welfare, ethics and law
  • To understand and practice assessing animal welfare and to learn about the various approaches to animal welfare assessment
  • To learn about the various common welfare issues in Asia
  • To get inspired to integrate animal welfare into practice, policies or teaching

“Veterinarians should be the voice and the champions of animal welfare. A solid grounding & understanding of contemporary animal welfare concepts is vital, so veterinarians can knowledgeably address both public enquiry & misinformation by non-veterinary groups on animal welfare issues. This course will provide that grounding & understanding” Federation of Asian Veterinary Associations

Benefits of doing this course
A high level of competency in animal welfare is increasingly required by companies, governments and others who employ veterinarians. Vets who have the skills and knowledge to look after animals well are therefore likely to have better employment opportunities, particularly with international companies and organisations.
Target audience
This course is for veterinary educators, government veterinarians and other veterinarians who want to gain in-depth knowledge on the principles and concepts in animal welfare. The content and knowledge gained from this course will greatly assist in teaching animal welfare to the undergraduate veterinary student.
Requirements

  • Medium level of English proficiency (expect longer hours of study for weaker English proficiency)
  • 4-5 hours per week for 16 weeks (with one week break) for online modules
  • Internet connection

Workshop
A 5-day workshop will be held in Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand on 24-28th April 2017. This workshop will enable students to have a hands-on experience in animal welfare assessment. It is highly recommended to attend this workshop as most students generally find the workshop to be the most educational and fun part of the course.
Costs
The fee for this course is USD 500 (includes the cost for a 5-day workshop, excluding flights and accommodation).
The fee without the workshop is USD 250 (for online portion only).

Course schedule

Date Week Module Welfare issues to explore
6 Mar—10 Mar Week 1 Introductions Farm animal welfare
13 Mar—24 Mar Week 2-3 Module 1: The science behind animal welfare Companion animal welfare
27 Mar—7 Apr Week 4-5 Module 2: The ethics of animal use Welfare of wildlife in captivity
10 Apr—21 Apr Week 6-7 Module 3: The assessment of animal welfare
24 Apr—28 Apr Week 8 Workshop
1 May—5 May Week 9 Break
8 May—19 May Week 10-11 Module 4: Animal welfare law Animals in education and research
22 May—2 Jun Week 12-13 Module 5: Welfare and veterinarians Equine welfare
5 Jun—16 Jun Week 14-15 Module 6: Issues related to animal welfare
19 Jun—23 Jun Week 16 Final assignment

Course modules are based on the Concepts in Animal Welfare syllabus by World Animal Protection.

Course Info
Start date: 6th March 2017
Course length: 16 weeks
Language: English
Expected workload: 4-5 hours/week
Cost: USD 500 (with workshop)
USD 250 (without workshop)
Contact: inspire4animals@gmail.com