BSc (Hons) Animal Welfare Science

Your first-year module in Animal Behaviour will give you a good understanding of why animals behave the way they do, and what we can learn from the study of behaviour.  In second year, your knowledge of behaviour will be further developed in Applications of Animal Behaviour, where you will learn about topics that are important for anyone planning a career working with animals. These include animal handling, animal learning and training, how to assess animal emotions, and how to conduct scientific observations of animal behaviour.

In years three and four animal behaviour will also be the focus of modules in Learning and Cognition Applied to Animal Welfare, and Principles and Application of Behavioural Ecology. These modules will give you an understanding of aspects of behaviour that are important when it comes to improving welfare, but which also have wider applications in relation to how we manage and interact with animals. Year three will also include a module on Welfare Physiology, which will give you a thorough introduction to the role that physiology plays in assessments of animal welfare and how behaviour and physiology interact in response to changes in an animal's surroundings. Your understanding of animal behaviour and physiology will be put to good use in years three and four where the Animal Welfare Concepts, Assessing Animal Welfare, and Topical Animal Welfare issues modules will give you a thorough grounding in what animal welfare means and how to assess welfare in animals. This will include in depth consideration of topics such as animal sentience, positive welfare, and how animal welfare relates to other important societal issues such as food sustainability and climate change. The knowledge and skills gained across these modules will leave you well equipped to pursue a career in one of the many different areas of work that focus on animal welfare.

How we manage and interact with animals is fundamental to their welfare. A positive human-animal relationship is paramount to ensuring the animals in our care are happy and healthy. In year one the Keeping and Managing Animals module will provide you with a thorough introduction to how humans use animals in different contexts, such as on farms, as companion animals, as captive wild animals, or in research.

In year 2 the societal and ethical implications of how humans use, and benefit from, animals will be explored in Animals and Society and the implications of human activity for biodiversity will be explored in Animal Conservation.

In year 3 we take a deeper dive into ethical theory exploring the application of ethical frameworks to our consideration animal welfare issues. You also have the option to take Wildlife & Agriculture Interactions as an elective exploring some of the potential conflicts that can arise between the natural and human managed world.  

And finally in year 4 you will broaden your understanding of the psychology of human behaviour in relation to animals and animal welfare and explore human behavioural change theories to critique and develop interventions to improve animal welfare through human behaviour change in your Human Behaviour Change module.

Since understanding and assessing animal welfare involves all aspects of biology, your first two years of study will provide you with a thorough understanding of basic animal biology. The degree programme is built around animal welfare and how it is interacts with health, nutrition, and genetics.  You will learn about Animal Physiology Systems in years one and two, including content about anatomy, physiology, neurobiology and reproductive function.

How these relate specifically to animal welfare is covered in Welfare Physiology in year three. You will also develop an understanding of what can happen when animals become ill through infection, metabolic disorders, stress, injury and due to nutritional challenges in Animal Health and about how host and pathogens evolve and adapt to ensure their own survival in Host-pathogen interactions.  

Good nutritional management is key for any living being, including farm animals and pets, due to its links to animal welfare as well as production, health, and environmental footprint. In year one your Basic Animal Nutrition and Digestion module will introduce you to basic principles of animal nutrition as well as digestive anatomy and physiology. This will prepare you for second year where your module on Nutrient Requirements and Diet Formulation focuses on how we determine appropriate nutrient requirements for different types of animals.  

Another important aspect of animal biology, in relation to animal welfare is genetics. Your first year Introduction to Genetics and year two Animal Breeding, Selection and Technologies modules, will give you an in-depth grasp of how humans can modify animals through altering genetics, leading to a consideration of how these changes can both affect animal welfare and also be a source of improvements in welfare.

Quantitative skills form the foundation of scientific understanding and are highly desirable to potential employers! In Year 1, Data Science and Computing will introduce simple statistical ideas for understanding data, you’ll gain a range of basic computing skills, and you will also get hands on scientific programming experience.

In Year 2’s Research Skills and Statistics you will develop important skills for research, including analysis of scientific data. You will also learn about the importance of quantitative skills to both public and private sector employers, and how you can highlight these abilities to make you stand out.

Year 3’s Advanced Research Methods extends your research and analysis skills and introduces advanced statistical methods such as machine learning, while Epidemiology builds on previous animal health and quantitative modules to examine the dynamic interactions between population structure, environment and animal health using the latest quantitative tools to analyse patterns of disease.

In Year 4 you will apply a range of research and data skills to your honours dissertation. You will conduct an independent piece of research of your choosing which you write up into an honours dissertation and present the findings of to your class and staff at the end of year dissertation conference. You are encouraged to pursue a topic of interest to you. There are a wide range of projects topics, some examples of projects undertaken by previous students include:

• Projects on animal behaviour and enclosure use in captive wild animals such as penguins, pelicans, and chimpanzees.
• Projects investigating the benefits of enrichment for cattle, pig, and rat welfare.
• Projects looking into animal health - for example looking at animal diet, antibiotic use, parasite burden and disease.
• Other students have chosen to explore the social science aspects of animal science, for example how our perceptions of and interactions with other animals can affect our health and wellbeing as well as theirs.
• And other projects have utilised big data and machine learning or have developed or investigated the use new laboratory techniques, whilst others have researched the potential benefits of new technologies for animal health and welfare, such as facial recognition software.

The purpose of the honours project is to enable you to further hone and demonstrate those important research and critical thinking skills that you will have been developing throughout the course and give you the opportunity to identify a topic that is of particular interest to you.