Welfare and ethics in animal productions

Duration

9h Th, 6h Pr, 3h FT

Number of credits

Lecturer

Nicolas Gengler

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

* Introduction: Place of animals in the society with the passing centuries: farm animals producing food, pets, animal as a bioreactor, laboratory animals - Knowledges and accepted values.

* Ethic and welfare of farm animals.
- What is animal welfare? definitions; stress;
- Indicators of animal welfare;
- How to improve farm animal welfare? 

* Ethic and welfare of laboratory animals.
- Fields of application: teaching, fundamental research including transgenesis; applied research (drugs and vaccines; food and feed additives; pharmacotoxicology; cosmetics, pesticides, ...);
- 3Rs concept in animal experimentation: replacement, refinement, reduction; examples; limit point; Mepham matrix;
- Alternatives methods: possibilities and limitations.

* Ethics of animal breeding.

* Legal aspects: european and belgian legislations; ethic council.

* Small groups research of information and critical analysis of a production systems or of an experimental protocol; alternative production systems; alternative experimental methods;(visits of farms, laboratories, survey, ...).

Oral presentation to the other students and to the teacher followed by an interactive discussion.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

The student will be able to make an ethical reflection on the relationship between human and animals, animal welfare in animal production systems and experimentation. After completing the course the student is expected to - be familiar with different aspects of animal welfare; - establish specifications of production systems and experimental protocols respectful of animal welfare; - give an ethical standpoint on animal production systems and experimental designs.
 
This course contributes to the acquisition of the following skills:

• Analyze the overall functioning of the system taking into account its internal components and their interactions
• Identify the components of the environmental, socio-economic and legislative context of an agronomic production system

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Students should have a basic knowledge on animal production and production systems.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face course


Additional information:

Lectures : 10h;
(External presentations and field visits under preparation)

Personnal Works : 12h;

The course is taught in English. The presentations of the students are also in English
(Assessment of the level of English: hybrid class)

Recommended or required readings

Recommandations du Conseil de l'Europe Directives européennes et législation belge en la matière Farm Animal Well Being(Ewing, Lay, Von Borall) - Prentice Hall, 1999, 357 pages. Le bien-être animal - Regard éthique (ouvrage collectif) - Editions du Conseil de l'Europe, 2006, 296 pages.
PowerPoint available on line.

Written work / report

Other : Presentation of the group work, participation to the discussions


Additional information:

Personal work (presentation of the group work, participation to the discussions) (100 %)

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

Contacts

Nicolas Gengler
nicolas.gengler@uliege.be

Association of one or more MOOCs

Items online