THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2024/2025

Timetable information in the Course Catalogue may be subject to change.

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies : Animal Welfare and Animal Behaviour

Postgraduate Course: International Cat and Dog Welfare (AWAB11053)

Course Outline
SchoolRoyal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies CollegeCollege of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)
Course typeOnline Distance Learning AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course will introduce global challenges in dog and cat welfare, encompassing anthropogenic welfare issues, international population management techniques, and human-animal relationships (including the use of animals for assistance and pets). We will discuss the ethics underpinning these issues and the legislation relating to them. This course will cover challenging issues including the trade in meat and fur, and mass culling. It will provide opportunities to connect with experts in the field and discuss solutions to these difficult problems.
Course description This course will introduce global challenges in dog and cat welfare, encompassing anthropogenic welfare issues, international population management techniques, and human-animal relationships (including the use of animals for assistance and pets). We will discuss the ethics underpinning these issues and the legislation relating to them. This course will cover challenging issues including the trade in meat and fur, and mass culling. It will provide opportunities to connect with experts in the field and discuss solutions to these difficult problems. The course will be taught via a combination of pre-recorded lectures and live (and recorded) events. Students will be able to discuss topics with experts on asynchronous discussion boards.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  None
Course Start Flexible
Course Start Date 05/08/2024
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 40, Formative Assessment Hours 20, Summative Assessment Hours 50, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 86 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Formative assessments:
1) Discussion board -assessment of welfare
2) Discussion board -interventions

Summative assessments:
1) Written essay on the evidence-basis underpinning guidance regarding cat and dog welfare (50%)
2) Pre-recorded presentation on interventions regarding cat and dog welfare (50%)
Feedback Students will receive written or oral feedback on all formative and summative assessments within 15 working days of each assessment being due.

Formative assessment and associated feedback will be provided prior to each summative assessment. Summative assessment will include comprehensive feedback.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of common practices and anthropogenic factors that may impact on international cat and dog populations, and their consequences for animal welfare. (C1)
  2. Apply strategies to educate and influence cat and dog keepers¿ understanding of the five welfare needs. (C2)
  3. Develop creative and original approaches to cat and dog welfare challenges. (C3)
Reading List
A course reading list will be provided with relevant resources to support the teaching materials.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Knowledge and skills will include:

A. Research and Enquiry
Graduates of the University will be able to create new knowledge and opportunities for learning through the process of research and enquiry. This may be understood in terms of the following:
- be able to identify, define and analyse problems and identify or create processes to solve them
- be able to exercise critical judgment in creating new understanding
- be ready to ask key questions and exercise rational enquiry
- be able to critically assess existing understanding and the limitations of their own knowledge and recognise the need to regularly challenge all knowledge
- search for, evaluate and use information to develop their knowledge and understanding
- have an informed respect for the principles, methods, standards, values and boundaries of their discipline(s) and the capacity to question these
- understand economic, legal, ethical, social, cultural and environmental issues in the use of information

B. Personal and Intellectual Autonomy
Graduates of the University will be able to work independently and sustainably, in a way that is informed by openness, curiosity and a desire to meet new challenges. This may be understood in terms of the following:
- be independent learners who take responsibility for their own learning, and are committed to continuous reflection, self-evaluation and self-improvement
- be able to make decisions on the basis of rigorous and independent thought, taking into account ethical and professional issues
- be able to use collaboration and debate effectively to test, modify and strengthen their own views
- be intellectually curious and able to sustain intellectual interest
- be able to respond effectively to unfamiliar problems in unfamiliar contexts

C. Communication
Graduates of the University will recognise and value communication as the tool for negotiating and creating new understanding, collaborating with others, and furthering their own learning. This may be understood in terms of the following:
- make effective use of oral, written and visual means to critique, negotiate, create and communicate understanding
- use communication as a tool for collaborating and relating to others
- further their own learning through effective use of the full range of communication approaches
- seek and value open feedback to inform genuine self-awareness
- recognise the benefits of communicating with those beyond their immediate environments
- use effective communication to articulate their skills as identified through self-reflection

D. Personal Effectiveness
Graduates of the University will be able to effect change and be responsive to the situations and environments in which they operate. This may be understood in terms of the following:
- appreciate and use talents constructively, demonstrating self-discipline, motivation, adaptability, persistence and professionalism
- be able to manage risk while initiating and managing change
- be able to flexibly transfer their knowledge, learning, skills and abilities from one context to another
- understand social, cultural, global and environmental responsibilities and issues
- be able to work effectively with others, capitalising on their different thinking, experience and skills
KeywordsAnimal Welfare,Cat,Dog,Animal Behaviour,Human-Animal Relationship
Contacts
Course organiserDr Laura Dixon
Tel:
Email: Laura.Dixon@sruc.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr Stephen Mitchell
Tel: (0131 6)51 7112
Email: stephen.mitchell@ed.ac.uk
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