University of Guelph students have once again posted stellar results in an annual animal welfare assessment competition, with Ontario Veterinary College DVM and graduate student teams placing second overall, and the undergraduate student team placing 1st overall, in their respective divisions.
The 15th annual Intercollegiate Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest was hosted this year by Ohio State University on November 14 and 15.
This year the University of Guelph took three teams to the competition: an OVC DVM team consisting of five DVM students from Phase 1 and 2; an undergrad team; and one graduate student team with five students (including two OVC students). A total of 15 students from the U of G competed, the maximum the university can take.
In team assessments, the undergraduate team placed first in their division and the graduate student team placed second overall.
OVC DVM Phase 1 student Julia Robertson finished in second place in the individual contest among all the veterinary students competing.
Dr. Derek Haley, OVC’s Department of Population Medicine, coached the DVM student team; Dr. Ian Duncan, Professor Emeritus, coached the undergraduate team; and the graduate student team was coached by Dr. Janet Cutler, a post-doctoral fellow, and Jackie Jacobs, a PhD candidate – both in the Department of Population Medicine. The teams have all been training together since the start of the fall semester.
The animal welfare assessment contest promotes awareness and critical thinking, while enhancing participants’ communication skills. The contest leads individuals and teams of undergraduates, graduates and veterinary students through comparative scenarios where they analyze the welfare of the various animals presented. Four species are typically included in the contest – this year scenarios about dairy heifers, Asian elephants, llamas, and working draft horses were evaluated.
This year’s event again brought teams from across North America including the Atlantic Veterinary College, the University of Florida, University British Colombia, Colorado State University, and many from institutions in the mid-west USA.
Ontario Veterinary College DVM team making their final preparations before the competition began, at Ohio State University (L to R): Tara Hayes, Sophia Marin, Goldia Chan, Rebecca Chant and Julia Robertson