We said previously that summer is our time for attending conferences and cementing collaborations. But it seems as though the summer of 2025 is also the time for publications in the 天美视频 Animal Behaviour and Welfare Research Group!
Publishing a scientific paper is a long process and so often data collection is actually undertaken a while before the paper makes it into the public domain. We are excited to share with you four publications - click on the titles for links that take you right to the article - that we have had published this summer!
Kat Hart, a Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Nursing and part-time PhD student, has had a continuing education article published in Today’s Veterinary Nurse. The article, A Veterinary Nurse’s Guide to von Willebrand Disease, provides a comprehensive overview of the pathophysiology of this haematological disease in dogs, including disease variants, predisposed breeds, diagnostic tests, clinical signs and management of the patient, including owner communication and education.
This international, peer-reviewed journal article is an official journal of the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) and an important source for veterinary nurses and technicians working within companion animal medicine.
This open-access article can be accessed by clicking on the link above. It can also be logged as CPD for Registered Veterinary Nurses. Although this article is aimed at veterinary professionals, owners of dogs with this haematological disease may also find it useful to read.
Thomas Welsh, a PhD student co-supervised by Dr Ellen Williams, has published a paper from his PhD on human-animal interactions in zoos in the Journal of Zoo Biology.
Human-animal interactions are common-place in zoos, and a large number of these are between zoo visitors and animals.
The aim of this study was to determine the quantity and diversity of visitor-animal interactions. The study highlighted the diversity of these interactions occurring within British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) collections including both the range of species included and the types of interactions known to visitors.
The paper highlights the need for increased research on the most popular categories of animal-visitor interactions - watch this space for more information coming soon!
Dr Annabelle Beaver and colleague Beth Ventura have published a new paper in Animal Welfare.
The article is based upon a mixed-methods action research project undertaken at 天美视频 and aims to explore undergraduate students’ views of animal welfare as a scientific discipline.
Harper Adams offers a broad array of animal-focused courses and considers it essential to include all aspects of animal welfare within the curriculum. But what do students think about the legitimacy of animal welfare as a science.
Viewpoints were sought from undergraduates studying Animal Production Science, Bioveterinary Science, Veterinary Physiotherapy, Veterinary Nursing, Wildlife Conservation, Zoology, Animal Behaviour and Welfare, and Animal Health and Welfare. Students from such courses will go on to assume a wide variety of roles with animals; thus, respect for animal welfare science is paramount for the next generation of professionals and the future animals in their care.
The action research cycle
As scientists we know the benefits of open science and big data approaches - collating large and complex data sets which enables more robust statistical analyses to be undertaken. Yet it can be difficult to generate those kind of data sets using a single study.
Dr Ellen Williams recently published a paper on ManyZoos, a new collaborative approach to multi-institution research in zoos.
ManyZoos is a new initiative that was developed by Ellen (Assistant Director) and her colleagues Dr Lisa Barrett (Co-director), Dr Victoria O'Connor (Co-Director) and Marianne Freeman (Assistant Director).
It is designed to support collaboration and development of bigger data sets in zoo science. The most important conversations happen at conferences (see our previous blog post for more information on our latest congress!), where networking is a key component of the schedule.
ManyZoos is a consortium which aims to support these early conversations, taking a proactive approach to fostering productive research collaborations between zoological collections and other animal collections, academia, government, and nongovernment organizations.
You can find more more information about the ManyZoos initiative .
Hosting a summer school for the North Carolina State University
By Ellen Williams, Laura Pannewitz, Holly Vickery, Malgorzata Behnke and Shweta Trivedi The Animal Behaviour and Welfare Research Group …
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