The 4th dimension

Renowned animal welfare researcher Nina von Keyserlingk believes that scientists can help bridge the gap between public values and animal welfare, providing evidence on which systems work for the animals, work for the farmers and resonate with societal values. Nina grew up on her family cattle ranch in British Colombia, Canada, and she is now the NSERC* Industrial Research Chair Professor at the University of British Columbia. She is internationally recognised as a pioneer in the field of farm animal welfare research. In this episode, we discuss: defining animal welfare, with a recognition that we must factor in the humans who influence the lives of animals - the 4th dimension of animal welfare, some of the management changes seen in the cattle industry that were driven by scientific findings, such as social housing for calves after nipple bucket feeding was introduced, recognising that changes take time and change offers opportunities. Listen in to hear Nina's thoughts on communication, cows and coffee! *NSERC Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Background: 73% of Canadian dairy farms use tie stalls (2022 figures from Canadian government).