New book on animal welfare aimed at wider veterinary workforce

A new book on animal welfare will help veterinary professionals advocate better for the animals in the care, say the authors.

Animal Welfare: A Concise Guide for Veterinary Professionals was released this week and includes a chapter on fish welfare, alongside sections on pigs, sheep, cattle, chickens, horses, rabbits and companion animals.

Edited by Kathy Anzuino, Joe Anzuino, and Paul Roger and published by CABI, the book brings together practical, evidence-based guidance for veterinary professionals.

Fish welfare

The chapter on fish was co-authored by Matthijs Metseelar, managing director and owner of Aquatic Vets, and fellow aquatic vet Chris Walster. Both have been long-term office holders at the Fish Veterinary Society.

Metseelar said on his LinkedIn page: “I had the privilege of co-authoring the chapter on fish welfare, a topic I care a lot about and don’t always get the chance to write about in this kind of format…grateful to have been part of it.”

The chapter covers common welfare hazards, and common welfare outcomes are identified and structured according to the Five Freedoms framework. Practical welfare assessment protocols are referenced and examples are provided of how veterinary professionals have advocated for fish welfare or could be more involved.

Safeguarding

In a foreword to the book, David Morton, professor emeritus at the University of Birmingham, writes: “The authors primarily aim their work at veterinary professionals and, drawing on their experience working in teams in the UK and internationally, they have defined veterinary professionals as including not only veterinarians and veterinary nurses but also other members of the veterinary workforce who contribute to safeguarding and improving animal welfare.”

In their introduction, the authors say: “By reading this book, veterinary professionals should be in a stronger position to advocate for animals. They should be better placed to analyse welfare holistically from first principles, whatever the species or context, and be more aware of the welfare issues facing all animals commonly used by society, not just those they work with directly.”

Their aim, they add, is to make the subject of animal welfare “much easier for our busy, time-strapped colleagues to navigate, helping them ‘fast-track’ to the knowledge the contributors to the book have developed gradually over many years through specific training and practical experience”.

You can find the book here.