Costa Rica named as location for 2019 event

We were asked to help the World Veterinary Association (WVA) to announce that the 3rd WVA Animal Welfare Awards will be held in the beautiful surroundings of Costa Rica in 2019.

The video announcing the news went live on You Tube – click here to see the report.

The commission followed hard on the heels of a major filming programme for the 2018 Animal Welfare Awards which were staged recently in Barcelona, Spain and featured five of our videos highlighting the work of each of the winners. Good Call Media visited Prince Edward Island in north east Canada, Sao Paolo in Brazil, Senegal, Sweden and helped to compile a report from China. Good Call Media co-owner, Nik Wood also took to the stage in Barcelona to host the event which was sponsored by worldwide animal health company Ceva Sante Animal, one of our major customers.

In the video announcing the 2019 awards the WVA reveal that the veterinary authorities in Costa Rica had contacted them regarding an invitation to stage the WVA’s annual congress in the country in 2019. The Awards highlight the best examples of animal welfare work undertaken by vets from the continents where the WVA operates.

Here is the full list of the winners in 2018 together with links to the individual video reports:

 

Professor Adroaldo José Zanella, DVM, BRAZIL

Professor of Animal Welfare. Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo. Dr Zanella coordinates the Centre for Comparative Studies in Health, Sustainability and Welfare, CECSBE, at the University of São Paulo. His team carries out research work on the impact of pre-natal and neonatal environment on welfare outcomes in different species. Their main goal is to develop protocols to improve resilience of the offspring.

Adroaldo is advisor to the veterinary student’s animal welfare group, GEBEA. In addition to his research work the CECSBE currently has two major welfare projects. One centered around implementing a welfare assessment protocol to improve the health and productivity of sheep and the other is developing strategies to mitigate accidents involving stray donkeys and improve their welfare in the Northeast of Brazil.

Click here to watch the interview with Professor José Zanella

Dr Alice Crook, BSc, DVM, CANADA

Coordinator, Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre, Adjunct Professor, Department of Health, Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island.

Since 1994, Dr Crook has worked to develop and establish the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre (SJDAWC) at the Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Canada. This internationally recognised Centre promotes animal welfare through research, service, and education. This includes supporting research and service projects to benefit animals, as well as multiple initiatives to promote and teach about animal welfare.

Dr Crook has regularly contributed valuable animal welfare information for veterinarians, students, government, media and the general public and particularly enjoys teaching veterinary students and promoting the ways they can be leaders in animal welfare no matter what field of veterinary medicine they enter.

Alice’s particular areas of interest are animal abuse and effective veterinary response, pain management, welfare-friendly veterinary practice (large and small animal), feral cat welfare, and enactment of effective animal welfare legislation (nationally and provincially). For many years, she has been a valuable member of, and contributor to, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) Animal Welfare Committee.

Click here to watch the interview with Dr Crook

Dr Zhijuan Yin, DVM, CHINA

Veterinarian, Nanning Arong pet hospital, Guangxi province, China.

Dr Yin has her own veterinary clinic where since 2008, she highlights the importance of animal welfare during day to day clinical operations. Additionally, she uses her skills and knowledge to provide care and low-cost TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) services for local animal protection groups. As a result, her impact on improving animal welfare standards is enormous.

Since 2010, Dr Yin has worked with a charity, ACTAsia who runs a “Train the Trainer” veterinary program in China, in cooperation with Vets for Compassion (Australia). The project aims to improve veterinary skills at the same time as instilling a deep understanding of animal welfare. Dr Yin recently took the lead in organizing training in a remote area of China called Qinghai.

Click here to watch the interview with Dr Yin

Professor Charlotte (Lotta) Berg, DVM, SWEDEN

Professor Animal Environment and Health, European Veterinary Specialist Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law.

Professor Berg works at the Department of Animal Environment and Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden. She holds a Diplomate certificate from the European College of Animal Welfare and Behavioural Medicine and has been a member of the Animal Health and Animal Welfare (AHAW) panel at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, participating in numerous European projects. Charlotte’s main research and work areas are housing, management, biosecurity and the welfare of farm animals, with special emphasis on the welfare during slaughter. She carries out research on animal welfare legislation and standards control, and is interested in the interface between wildlife and farmed animals, including welfare and zoonotic diseases (One Health).

Click here to watch the interview with Dr Berg

Dr Mactar Seck MSc, DVM, SENEGAL

Programme Director, Brooke, West Africa

Dr Seck has been a member of the Senegalese Council of Veterinary Surgeons since 1992. Mactar leads a team that trains veterinarians in Senegal and Burkina Faso to improve their knowledge and skills in equine medicine. He also trains farriers and helps them redesign tools to ensure that the physical integrity of working equine animal is not hampered.

Click here to watch the interview with Dr Seck

 

At the international level, Mactar currently leads the International Coalition for Working Equids (ICWE), which brings together Brooke, SPANA, World Horse Welfare and the Donkey Sanctuary, whose major objective is to help OIE implement their global standards for working equids in developing countries