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Scientific Seminar

Scientific Seminar 2013

The RSPCA Australia Scientific Seminar is a key national event for the RSPCA. The Seminar brings together leading experts in animal industries to explore the latest developments in animal welfare research, knowledge and practices.

The Seminars are designed to cover a broad spectrum of opinion, encourage audience participation, and have a reputation for provoking lively and constructive debate.

When coping is not enough -
Promoting positive welfare states in animals

Tuesday 26 February 2013, National Convention Centre, Canberra 

The 2013 Seminar explored animal welfare assessment in the context of quality of life and positive welfare states and how these approaches may change the direction in which animal welfare science and welfare assessment is headed.  The concept of animal welfare and what it represents has evolved over the last couple of decades, from Don Broom’s ‘coping’ based definition and a focus on biological functioning to, more recently, the promotion of positive affective states and the absence of negative ones. Speakers at the 2013 Seminar addressed the practical side of promoting positive welfare states from the perspective of areas relevant to RSPCA’s work, i.e. companion animals, working animals, farm animals, zoos, and animals used in research.

We were very pleased to have Professor David Mellor, Co-Director of the Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre at Massey University in New Zealand as our Chair. Dr James Yeates from RSPCA UK was the theme keynote speaker.

Program: download (PDF)

Proceedings: download (PDF)

Miss out on James Yeates' public lecture tour? Watch the Melbourne lecture here.


Previous Scientific Seminars


This project is supported by the Commonwealth Government through
a grant-in-aid administered by the Department of Finance and Deregulation