Behavior and Well-Being

The concept of an animal welfare (AW) judging contest was presented at the 2001 International Society of Applied Ethology by Heleski, Zanella, and Pajor. The purpose was (and is) to promote concepts of AW science and behavior to undergraduate students using the model of traditional livestock judging. The first AWJAC was held at MSU in 2002 (18 participants, 4 teams, 4 universities). The 2010 contest had 78 participants (18 teams, 9 universities), and now has 3 divisions: undergraduate, veterinary, and graduate students. The AWJAC originally evaluated AW of food animal species but now includes companion, laboratory and exotic animals. The AWJAC includes a team assessment, usually of live animals, and individual assessments of animals in realistic hypothetical situations. Students evaluate and place live animals, or animals in scenarios, relative to the better AW (e.g., health, behavior), then provide oral reasons. For each category, judges evaluate reasoning and placing of animals. Scenarios provide good talking points regarding various aspects of AW, with all students viewing the slides at one time. All students provide qualitative judgments on the AW continuum regarding preferred, acceptable, or unacceptable components. Students integrate quantifiable science-based information with qualitative ethical concerns in this interdisciplinary problem solving exercise. Judges have expertise in AW science and/or knowledge of evaluated species. Teams are composed of 3–5 students, who all participate in the evaluation and recommendations. Guidelines for teams, rules, references and sample scenarios are on the AWJAC Web site. Over 95% of participants (345 students) believe the AWJAC is valuable; they increased their knowledge about AW science, and would recommend participation to peers. Based on recommendations, the contest moved to a 2 d format, added speaker and poster programs and the veterinary and graduate student categories, and is now held in November.