Document type : training announcement on the Fun MOOC platform
Authors: Luc Mounier, Raphaël Guatteo, Pierre Mormède, Marie-Christine Salaün, Alain Boissy, Christine Duvaux-Ponter, Alice de Boyer des Roches, Amandine Rave
Course starts: 14/12/2021; course ends: 15/02/2022
Preview: Animal welfare is now a major issue for society. The need to take account of it and to improve it is increasingly important for a range of actors:
- consumers, whose purchasing decisions are increasingly influenced by the conditions in which animals are reared,
- animal protection associations, who have been working to improve animal welfare for a long time,
- distributors or companies, who have embarked on welfare improvement or labelling initiatives,
- teachers and trainers, who have to incorporate the concept in their course content,
- public authorities, who must take account of these expectations in public policies,
- and of course livestock farmers, veterinarians, engineers and technicians who are in daily contact with animals and are the primary actors in their welfare.
But what are we talking about when we refer to animal welfare?
What is animal welfare really about? Is it the same for all animals? What does it depend on? Is the welfare of an animal kept outside always better than that of an animal kept inside? Is the act of caring for an animal sufficient to guarantee its welfare?
Can animal welfare really be assessed objectively and scientifically or is it a purely subjective concept?
Last, is it really possible to improve it, how can it be done, and what are the benefits for animals and humans?
All these questions are important when discussing animal welfare, and that of farm animals in particular.
The aim of the French "Farm Animal Welfare" MOOC is to provide answers to these questions. To this end, it has been divided into three modules:
- an "understanding" module that lays down the theoretical foundations,
- an "assessment" module that suggests techniques that can be used in the field,
- an "improvement" module that suggests some ways to improve existing welfare.
The MOOC has been designed by a teaching team that includes teacher-researchers, researchers and veterinarians specialising in farm-animal welfare. This fourth session of the MOOC focuses on farm animals and includes materials developed during previous sessions. A MOOC completion certificatefor the skills acquiredis also available.
