ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND WELFARE

Animal husbandry and welfare:
- Introduction to animal welfare (history and definitions) and its importance on public acceptance and scientific outcomes.
- Animal welfare assessment: animal- and resource-based measures, welfare assessment schemes and methods for relevant species and the measures included in score sheets.
- The five freedoms: Basic principles, how they oriented animal protection legislation and how they apply to relevant species.
- Good feeding: freedom from hunger (what is a diet to maintain full health and vigor of the animals).
- Good feeding: freedom from thirst.
- Good housing: freedom from discomfort (what could be considered an appropriate environment suitable housing conditions - shelter comfort, safety, naturalness, materials); the potential causes of suffering linked to housing and husbandry of relevant species with indications on how these are monitored.
- Good housing: housing facilities and structures – pros- and cons of different materials used for housing facilities and structures and tests to assess if appropriate.
- Good housing: freedom of movement - range, access to outdoor area, natural environment.
- Good housing: environmental temperatures and humidity, quality and management of water (environmental); suitable environmental and housing conditions for relevant species and their monitoring.
- Good housing: cleanliness and hygiene of facilities. Aims for cleaning and safe cleaning agents.
- Good health: how to guarantee freedom from injury or disease by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment.
- Good health: most frequent pathologies due to wrong housing and management, how to identify the consequences for the animal resulting from inappropriate environmental conditions and how they may influence experimental outcomes and the number of animals needed.
- Good health: freedom from pain; mutilations; methods for marking individual animals and advantages and disadvantage for each method for relevant species.
- Appropriate behavior: freedom to express (most) normal behaviors for welfare purposes.
- Appropriate behavior: stereotypes and abnormal behaviors as signs of stress.
- Appropriate behavior: how to prevent abnormal behaviors; environmental enrichments and importance of providing an enriched environment (appropriate to both species and science) including social housing and opportunities for exercise, resting and sleeping for relevant species.
- Freedom from fear and distress: ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering – what is achievable.
- Human animal interaction: what should be avoided and what should be promoted (suitable routines, husbandry practices for maintenance, care and welfare for relevant species).
- Animal welfare during transport: correct procedures for ensuring health, welfare and care of animals and how transport can alter animal biology of relevant species.
- Management challenges of an animal facility: problems and challenges; organization to maintain an appropriate health status for the animals and the scientific procedures (effect of place and randomization on research outcomes).
Environmental quality:
- Introduction. Water pollution: indicators and water characteristics measurement tools.
- Constructed wetland technology and Zoo wastewater treatment.
- Constructed wetland technology and fish effluent treatment.
- Plants role in constructed wetlands and pharmaceuticals reduction in wastewaters.
- Composting process for pharmaceuticals reduction in animal solid waste.
- Introduction to aquaponics, water quality and unit design.
- Fish, Plants and Bacteria in aquaponics.
- Practice on the measurement of water qualitative parameters