Testimonials

What some of our previous attendees have to say:

Dr Tara Gaab, VMD Food Animal Resident, Field Service, New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (2019 attendee)
“My CAWSEL experience was simply wonderful, and something that I am certain I will view as a pivotal moment in my career. The courses were recommended to me by a mentor because they would satisfy numerous requirements for my animal welfare board certification, and so I attended all four. Beyond merely providing me with the knowledge I will need when I sit for boards, I was able to learn from true leaders in the world of animal welfare in an intimate classroom setting. I also had the opportunity to have both formal and casual discussions with the instructors and my classmates – animal welfare professionals from all corners of the world – and learn about what is happening outside of my own small area of expertise. These moments were some of the most valuable of the entire program, and they not only led to professional contacts across the globe, but to some dear friendships. I am now able to pass this wealth of information on to my veterinary students who often have questions about welfare practices in other countries. I have also been able to take what I learned in the courses and apply much of it to my daily clinical field work, not only making myself more thoughtful of my patients’ experiences during veterinary examinations and procedures, but showing my students by example and often prompting meaningful discussions. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to attend, and a huge thank you to everyone who is involved in putting these courses together! You all are amazing.”
Heather Crawford, PhD Student, Murdoch University, Western Australia (2018 attendee)
“I am so grateful for being granted the opportunity to attend CAWSEL in 2018. The courses were fantastic! The lecturers were extremely professional and, in addition to delivering interesting course material, they were also happy to share their personal experiences and time with attendees. I attended all four courses and found topic coverage was comprehensive and the research presented was often ground breaking. Although CAWSEL is rightly aimed at attendees with knowledge of biological concepts, I feel that some course components should be communicated to final year undergraduate students who are studying veterinary, animal or ecological sciences. CAWSEL gave me an insight into the bravery that is needed by scientists who challenge dogma to progress animal welfare. The courses clearly conveyed that changing attitudes is possible with good science and open discourse. I would encourage anyone who works with domestic, farm, laboratory and zoo animals to attend CAWSEL and experience a paradigm shift in thinking.”
Ana Luiza Vieira, Veterinarian, University of Brasilia, Brazil (2018 attendee)
“The course was a turning point for me. I’m now assured to make laboratory animals’ welfare a priority in my career. Learning about animal welfare, ethics and how to make decisions based on reasoning and ethical frameworks not only gave me a new tool to use in favour of animals but also broaden my perspective regarding animal welfare. A particular point of Dr Morton’s about Vet’s role in the research process made me think and act: we should advocate for animals. So, I’ve been giving lectures to undergrads since I came back from Cambridge. I believe we need to start looking at animals as subjects instead of numbers or objects. I can only reach the young for now, but hopefully, with an improvement of my educational process, I’ll be able to succeed in more complex situations. Therefore, critical thinking, rhetoric, social and philosophical knowledge are valuable resources that I’ll keep improving in order to argue with my co-workers and improve animals’ life in a laboratory environment. In summary, the course empowered me to stand up for what I believe is morally and ethically right regarding animal welfare.”
John Kent, Research Farming, Ballyrichard Hs., Ireland (2016, 2017 and 2018 attendee)
“The courses are led by scientists and practitioners with decades of experience in the wide variety of fields impinging on animal welfare. Participants are informed of the evolving science – and it is rapidly evolving – that instructs best practice that underline the rapidly changing animal welfare regulatory framework. The scientific understanding is also evolving rapidly and the course providers are acutely aware of this reality. This course will be essential for a wide variety of persons. Post graduate students working on specialist topics will benefit from an appreciation of the wider contexts relevant to their work. Those contributing to policy development will benefit from the up-to-date research data and knowledge of the changing regulatory environment. The interactive teaching style ensures that course participants are fully engaged at all times with the information provided.”
Stephanie Hing, Animal Welfare Policy Manager, RSPCA Western Australia (Inc.) (2017 attendee)
“CAWSEL has better equipped us to improve the lives of animals. It was like animal welfare boot camp. Total immersion. We ran the gauntlet of issues, navigated the research landscape and scaled the highs and lows of legal and ethical frameworks. We went in as passionate and driven individuals. We have emerged even more galvanised, armed with greater understanding and skills. CAWSEL has equipped us to tackle animal welfare issues thoroughly and systematically. Thank you to the Douglas Houghton Memorial Fund for the generous funding to attend CAWSEL 2017 and to Anthony and the organisers. To the presenters and fellow participants, you are all such sources of inspiration. Thank you for sharing your insights and experience. Keep fighting the good fight for all creatures great and small!”
Nadiia Zubchenko, PhD, Head of the sector of informetrics and scientists’ publication activity, National University “Odessa Academy of Law”, Ukraine (2017 attendee)
“I want to express my deep gratitude for the opportunity to take part in such a great event as CAWSEL 2017. I can gladly note, that the organisational side and the content of CAWSEL 2017 was at the highest level. CAWSEL have allowed me to feel part of the powerful world animal welfare movement. I think all the lecturers and attendees were glad to have an opportunity to exchange some ideas, to find new ways of improving animal welfare and collaboration, to get some fresh view to animal welfare experience worldwide. Interesting discussions, colorful and informative presentations, informative lectures, great social interaction – these are not all the epithets that describe this year’s courses. CAWSEL inspired me to pursue further activities in the area of animal welfare. I hope for further cooperation in this direction and, perhaps, once I can be able to speak with CAWSEL attendees like a lecturer on animal welfare. Thanks a lot for such a great opportunity!”
Holly Hodges, Writtle University College, UK (2016 attendee)
“Thank you for a brilliant experience at CAWSEL, it was a very informative couple of weeks and good to meet other people from the animal welfare field. The ethics section particularly has led to some extra reading! I thought the structure of the sections and the teaching style worked really well, the discussions were very interesting and there was a good balance between that and lecture material across the 2 weeks. Content was great and expanded on areas my Masters had touched upon, the fish and lab animal welfare were particularly informative for me personally.”
Jess Rendle BSc (Hons) MSc ATLS, PhD Student, Murdoch University, Western Australia (2016 attendee and CAWSEL Ambassador)
“I would like to thank you and the team for organising such an epic course! I feel truly inspired by meeting the world’s leaders in animal welfare and mingling with like-minded people who were on the course. I cannot express enough just how much I enjoyed every minute of it, it was a course that was worth every penny! Thank you.”
Dr Anthony Nsoh Akunzule, Deputy Director of Veterinary Services, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana (2014 attendee)
“The benefits of CAWSEL 2014 have had positive impacts in my professional work, as a veterinary surgeon in Ghana. On my return to Ghana after CAWSEL 2014, I implemented the following activities…”
Dr Moira Desport, Animal Ethics Adviser, Research Ethics & Integrity, Murdoch University, Western Australia (2014 attendee)
“I was privileged to attend CAWSEL in 2014 after receiving financial support from the Douglas Houghton Memorial Fund. The course was excellent. The small group teaching model that Cambridge University is famous for means that there is plenty of interaction with the lecturers and the other course participants. It was so interesting to discuss animal welfare and ethical issues that other participants have experienced in their own countries. I highly recommend this course for anyone with an interest in animal welfare. I work in the animal ethics area but I found all of the units stimulating and informative and would recommend enrolling in the whole course if you are able to.”
Dr. Ammar Ibrahim, Bsc,Msc,PhD, Canine Geneticist, African Centre for Veterinary Consulting, Khartoum, Sudan (2014 attendee)
“I am one of the founders of the African Centre for Veterinary Consulting (ACVC), a non-profit center which works in promoting animal welfare in Sudan. After I finished the course [in 2014] I returned back to my country, and then we started advocating towards teaching animal welfare as one of the courses on the veterinary school curriculum in Sudan. We succeeded to convince two veterinary schools to adopt this course in their curriculum. Furthermore, ACVC has significantly contributed in drafting the outline of this course and now [2017] I am teaching this course at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Bahri. CAWSEL has significantly helped me with that. Nowadays I am working on an animal welfare workshop that will gather academics from six veterinary schools in Sudan to evaluate and develop this course and hopefully we will be able to attract more schools to teach the course as well.”
Dr. Vijay Pal Singh, IGIB Veterinarian, Delhi, India and Assistant Professor, Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, India:
“I am a changed person after attending this course at Cambridge. I started many activities in my Institute and in my country. […] I organised the 2nd International Course in Lab Animal Science from 19-30 January 2015 based of FELASA C recommendation in support with Laboratory Animal Ltd. On use of animals in research, practical handling and animal welfare. Course duration was 2 weeks with many national and international participants. Guests Speakers from Cambridge University, Sri Lanka, Utrecht University, The Netherlands, EPISKIN Academy, France and AAALAC USA were invited for talks…”
Courses on Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law care of Dr Anthony Podberscek, University of Sydney