Gracias! Merci! Grazie!

After three weeks in three different countries, our time in Europe is complete. We wanted to thank all of those involved to make this trip possible! To our wonderful hosts in Spain: Xavier Manteca and his welfare team at The Autonomous University of Barcelona and Vet School IRTA (research and technology, food and agriculture) CAAD Marisme Animal …

Earthquakes, Floods, Wildfires- Animal Welfare and Emergency Management

Over the past few years you may have heard about several devastating earthquakes that have struck central Italy. Natural disasters are unpredictable events. The emergency management protocols and plans used to help respond to such crises have to be well organized and adaptable. Given that there have been 3 recent and significant natural disasters in …

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 …

Italian Farm Animal Welfare

Another great day in Italy in the books! We began our day with a visit to Teramo's vet school. It was great to not only see their school and hospital but to also be able to chat with some students about the structure of their vet school. I think the biggest shock for all of …

Stem cell studies and a visit to MIRA Europe

This morning we learned about the Cellular Processes and Sustainable Interactions Department. Pietro Asproni heads the department and it was interesting to hear his background of being a veterinarian and having a PhD in Veterinary Pathoglogy. His background provides a unique angle to the research being performed in an area such as behavior. His department …

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 …

Our Day at a Spanish Shelter

After our day at Granja L'huera, we shifted our focus to companion animal welfare with a visit to CAAD Maresme, an animal shelter housing dogs and cats about 30 minutes outside of Barcelona city in Argentona. We were greeted warmly by Aina Sanz, the medical director and currently the sole veterinarian on staff. We were …

Swine Welfare Assessment

Hola! As a part of our trip's focus to learn about the welfare policies in the EU in comparison to the United States, we were lucky to be able to visit a local commercial swine farm here in Barcelona. Eva from UAB arranged this day trip to Granja L'huera as an opportunity for us to …