Research

Our farms include significant dairy, beef and sheep herds alongside a strong arable provision. We have a robotic milking parlour facility at Westfield Farm on the main College campus in addition to a traditional parlour.

Our farms are an integral part of the campus; they are well equipped with a wide selection of machinery and facilities for both commercial and educational purposes. Working with our external partners, we have conducted a range of commercial trials including wheat, barley, maize herbicides and fungicides.

The effect of two different farrowing systems on sow behaviour, and piglet behaviour, mortality and growth

Loni Loftus, Grace Bell, Andrew Henworth, Emily Padmore, Samantha Atkinson and Mark Hoyle

Farrowing crates have traditionally been used to reduce occurrence of piglet mortality as a result of sow crushing. However the utilisation of traditional farrowing crates has been suggested to contribute to negative welfare for both the sow and piglets. This study compared mortality rates, weight gain and behaviour of two cohorts, Freedom Farrowing (FF) and Traditional Farrowing (TF), of sows at a commercial farm. There was no difference in mortality rates between farrowing systems or in weight gain of piglets. However, sows indicated a number of significant differences between FF and TF cohorts including TF sows spending more time lying down and FF sows spending more time nursing their piglets. As farmed production animals it is important that management changes to improve welfare consider both economic impacts and effect on production time; the results of this study demonstrate that both mortality rates and weight gain of piglets are comparable between the two systems giving an overall advantage to the implementation of Free Farrowing pens in a pig production environment.

Read the full journal article here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2020.105102

Members of the Pod: Do Marine Mammal Trainers Perceive a Bond with the Animals They Care For?

Thomas Welsh, Sabrina Brando, Geoff Hosey and Samantha J. Ward

Animals under human care interact with their caretakers, which may result in relationships and bonds which enhance the wellbeing for both. There is extensive research in this area with companion animals, but it is understudied in zoo animals. This project investigated the perception that dolphin trainers have with the animals in their care, and compared this to companion animals. Most trainers perceived themselves to have a bond with a dolphin, although the strength of this was lower than with companion animals. This highlights that the phenomenon of human-animal bonds with exotic species should be explore further to determine how it can impact animal welfare and human wellbeing.

Read the full journal article here: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5636/3/3/31

Movement and Territory Range of African Leopards in Somkhanda Game Reserve

Samera Kola and Helen Reynolds

BSc Animal Conservation student, Samera Kola, investigated the territory ranges of leopards within Somkhanda Game Reserve to determine if there was any overlap between territories and whether the movement of leopards was impacted by African lion (Panthera leo) presence. Previous research suggests that males tend to overlap their territories with multiple females, typically avoiding other males, whereas females will overlap their territories with males and known females. Samera used camera trap footage to create ArcGIS maps to identify the individual territories of five leopards. The results were comparable to previous research. However, there was no evidence of lions effecting the movement of leopards. Developing research on this can help in conservation management of both species in small, fenced reserves and can aid in decision-making when translocating big cats such as this.

A study investigating the factors affecting the future of riding schools

Emily Cameron, Emma Jones and Loni Loftus

Riding Schools form an integral part of the equine industry and are the primary gateway to participation in equestrian activity. The future of riding schools is concerning due to the 15% drop in participation from 2018-2022. Previous literature has outlined a lack of ability for riding schools to grow due to financial restraints, lack of skilled staff, lack of support and structure from governing bodies. This study aimed to assess factors that may impact the future of riding schools. An online questionnaire consisting of 25 questions was distributed to 290 riding school owners and managers from 40 councils selected at random. Questionnaire responses found that internal financial factors were likely to negatively impact the growth of their business. Worming and Brexit were statistically significant as factors least likely to negatively affect business growth, with staff salaries, recruitment and COVID-19 being most recognised as barriers to growth. Results further showed the lack of marketing skills within riding schools may be restricting the business, both for consumers and employees. Wider socio-economic changes in the industry have led to an increase in non-ridden activities and a shift towards incorporating equine assisted therapy as a new variation of services offered at riding schools. Governance in the equine industry raises concerns over the ability to work together with businesses and government alike to promote the benefits of horse-human interactions and industry growth.

Loading and Transportation Issues in Horses

Loni Loftus

Refusal to load into a trailer or horsebox is a commonly seen behaviour in equines and one which is experienced by laypersons and professionals alike. Transportation of equines is highlighted as a prevalent welfare problem facing UK equines during a recent study. Problems with loading and travelling may occur in any equine at any life stage and may appear as significant issues from the first performance or develop gradually over time, increasing in frequency and intensity of their performance. These issues are likely to be maintained or worsened by repeated exposure to the travelling process and the use of inappropriate methods to attempt to resolve them. Behaviourally these problems present in a variety of ways including signs of stress, displacement and high levels of negative arousal. To fully understand the motivation for the behaviours identified, it is important that social, biological, psychological and functional analyses of the behavioural performance should be considered. Within this, there is also the element of learning, which is a constant aspect of the antecedent, behaviour and consequence continuum. Treatment protocols for travelling related issues should be holistic in nature to address the environmental, social, biological and psychological elements of the behavioural response.

Read the full journal article here: https://doi.org/10.1079/abwcases.2023.0008

Post Covid-19 behaviour problems: it’s not all about pandemic puppies!

Loni Loftus

The extent of the social behaviour issues that arose in dogs following the Covid-19 pandemic has been apparent for several years now, but some owners are still struggling to cope. Following the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, various sources reported increases in unwanted behaviours with associated increases in pet relinquishment and abandonment rates as owners struggled with new pets or their pets’ new behavioural problems. This article considers behaviour problems in both puppies and adult dogs following the pandemic. It discusses the risk factors involved in socialisation issues, emotional motivations for the behavioural changes, how owners are tackling them and provides useful tips that veterinary professionals can employ to set up treatment strategies to help.

Read the full journal article here: https://doi.org/10.1002/inpr.343

The effects of gestational nutrition on quality and quantity of cria fibre.

Sarah Boe, Rana Parween and Andrew Henworth

Alpaca fleece is made up of primary and secondary fibres, these two fibres differ from each other in that primary fibres are wider in diameter and coarser acting as a guard hair while secondary fibres are smaller in diameter and softer acting as an insulating layer. It has been shown in previous studies with other species that nutrition during gestation can have an effect on fibre production of progeny. It was, therefore hypothesised that providing a diet that was higher in nutritional value to hembra in the 2nd and 3rd trimester of gestation can increase in secondary fibres and a lower average micron result would occur. Samples from all crias were taken after weaning and analysed using OFDA 2000. The CEM (Coarse Edge Micron) result was obtained for all involved and a comparison between groups was made. It was found that there was no significant difference between cria produced by hembra fed the diet with higher nutritional content and those that were not. There was however a significant difference between the control group and the crias of hembras fed on the augmented diet in the third trimester.

‘Applied Sustainable Practices’. in Shaping a Sustainable Future: Innovative Teaching Practices for Educating Responsible Leaders.

Rana Parween and Mark Hoyle

This book gives insights into important factors that are shaping effective learning for sustainability and describes innovative teaching formats that will enable students to contribute to a more sustainable world in their future role as decision makers. Basic concepts in the context of sustainability-related teaching and learning are defined and the relation between learning objectives, methods, skills and outcomes is conceptualised. The book’s detailed description of 23 teaching formats, including their learning objectives, course contents and structure, as well as applied methods aims at supporting lecturers and trainers in the design of their own teaching formats.

You can read the text here: https://web.archive.org/web/20221211123347id_/https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/9783748933090.pdf

Reviewing the emotional climates of student veterinary nurses completing industry placements.

Helen Reynolds and Sarah Reynolds-Golding

Student veterinary nurses (SVNs) are required to complete industry placements as part of their training. Veterinary nurse education helps prepare students theoretically and practically. The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of SVNs’ emotions pre- and post-work placement to help identify if there is a need for more targeted educational interventions during their studies to help them better prepare emotionally for the experiences they may face during their placements.
The top three positive emotions were happiness, excitement and confidence. The top three negative emotions were sadness, anxiety and stress. The results indicated that students could benefit from protected time with their mentors and required clearer expectations prior to starting their industry placement. This study highlights that education providers could be doing more to provide SVNs with a toolkit to becoming emotionally agile and resilient so as to help SVNs emotional wellbeing and preparatory support with their industry placement year.

Read the full journal article here: https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/full/10.12968/vetn.2023.14.7.316