Food Safety and the Importance of the Veterinarian’s Role

Hello! As I’m writing this I can’t believe its already our last day in Europe! After being greeted by our furry friend at our bed and breakfast, we headed out on our walk to IZSAM. For our final section of the study tour we discussed food safety, hygiene and security and the role of the …

Stray Dog Population Management And Welfare Assessment in Dog Shelters

Given that a number of us are from the Philadelphia area, our instructors began our second to last morning at IZSAM with a video embracing the importance of Dr. J (the Basketball Hall of Fame forward that played for the 76ers) before getting on to the more serious topic of stray dog management. There is …

Slaughterhouse Welfare and a Cat Museum (two things that couldn’t be more different!)

Buongiorno! Today we had a 6am departure time to spend the morning in Pescara at Cappola Brothers, a family-owned business that produces raw and cooked hams, cured meat, and other types of meat cuts. They follow the production process from slaughter through creation of the final product. Our time spent here was to observe and …

Problem-Solving with Semiochemicals

Happy 4th of July from France! Today was our second day at IRSEA and was jam-packed with information. The first half of the day we met with several researchers and technicians who described the projects they have worked on or are currently working on. At IRSEA they work with semiochemicals, which are chemicals produced by …

First day in France at IRSEA

Bienvenue de France! After arriving last night from Barcelona we settled into our new place in Apt, France before heading to orientation this afternoon for our first day at IRSEA! Since this is my first time in France I am loving all of the beautiful vineyards and fields of lavender that we saw on our …

A Visit to IRTA

Buenas Tardes! As our week in Barcelona comes to an end, we took a drive out into the countryside away from the city to the town Monells to visit the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA). Our host, Emma Fabrega, who is a member of the Animal Welfare Subprogram at IRTA greeted us with …

A Day at the Zoo

As I'm sure you can tell from our previous blog entries, we've already learned quite a bit during our time here in Barcelona, Spain. Probably the most important bit of information I have learned thus far is "cafe con leche sin lactosa para llevar, porfavor!", which very roughly translates to "one coffee with lactose-free milk to …

Day 19 Au revoir au sud de France

On our last day at IRSEA, we received a few last presentations on Friday morning on:    -nasal stem cells research used in navicular syndrome    -feline pain scale for oral diseases, presented by a final year vet student    -pheromones used by snails to protect themselves from beetle predators It is inspirational the support and …

Days 17 – 18 Bees, ticks, mosquitoes, and horses?!

The following days at IRSEA were filled with hands on activities, additional seminars, and a fun and food filled evening! On Wednesday we were introduced to how IRSEA researchers are combining  semiochemistry and parasitology in several different modalities. We met with several parasitologists and researchers and how they are  discovering new ways of using various pheromones …

Day 16: Semiochemicals and Mira Europe

On our first full day at IRSEA, Dr. Patrick Pageat, a veterinarian and the founder of the company, spent the morning, giving us an overview of pheromones, semiochemicals and the connection between the nose and the brain. He dove into the idea the chemical communication is common to every living creature and depends on the …