Episode 3 - Dr Sean Wensley - Animal Welfare Science

In this edition of Animal Welfare Conversations, I’m delighted to chat to Dr Sean Wensley. We discuss a diverse range of topics starting with what animal welfare means to Sean – that takes us into a fascinating conversation about the physical and mental wellbeing of animals, alongside animal welfare science, ethics and law. We delve into the complexities of each of these, how we can understand what an animal needs and wants and how to assess welfare.

We discuss Sean’s book Through a Vet’s Eyes – How to Care for Animals and Treat Them Better a book which challenges us to see how animals experience the world and how we can make their lives better, across the spectrum of animals kept for food, as companions, for sport, and wild animals impacted by human activity. We discuss sentience, innate behaviour and behavioural needs, and what our relationship with animals should look like, alongside the importance of education and raising awareness about animal welfare problems. We look at the big challenges in animal welfare including breeding for brachycephaly (a ‘flattened face’ in certain dog breeds and other species) but also discuss areas of good work which need to be adopted more widely by animal owners. Although we discuss what governments can do to improve animal welfare, responsibility doesn’t end there, with the individual and society also having a central part to play in continuously striving to improve animal welfare.

Further information

Brachycephalic Working Group – Working together to improve the health and welfare of brachycephalic dogs (ukbwg.org.uk)

RSPCA Assured UK - Farm Animal and Chicken Welfare

BVA policy - Animal welfare strategy

Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) Animal Welfare Strategy - FVE Animal Welfare Strategy: The Veterinary Voice for Europe’s Animals – FVE – Federation of Veterinarians of Europe

World Organisation for Animal Welfare - WOAH - World Organisation for Animal Health Animal Welfare - WOAH - World Organisation for Animal Health

Shock Collars / BVA / Template letter BVA policy - Electric shock collars and training aids BVA policy - Electric shock collars and training aids

PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report - PAW Report - PDSA

Guest Biography

Dr Sean Wensley FRCVS is Senior Veterinarian for Animal Welfare and Professional Engagement at the UK veterinary charity, PDSA. He was President of the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and chaired the Animal Welfare Working Group of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE). Sean has contributed to animal welfare and conservation projects around the world and received the Global Animal Welfare Award for Europe from the World Veterinary Association (WVA) and the J.A. Wight Memorial Award from the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA). His first book Through A Vet’s Eyes: How to care for animals and treat them better was one of the Financial Times’ Best Summer Books of 2022.