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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2024/2025

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

Postgraduate Course: Introduction to Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare (AWAB11048)

Course Outline
SchoolRoyal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies CollegeCollege of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course will provide a brief history of animal welfare science before introducing current issues in animal welfare. It will demonstrate how the study of behaviour can be applied to animal welfare and how this application can be used to solve practical animal welfare problems. The development of UK/EU animal welfare legislation will be put in a global context and the application of ethics to animal welfare, as well as the trade-offs between economics, environmental sustainability and animal welfare will be discussed. Finally there will be a focus on emergent issues in animal welfare and the future for animal welfare science.
Course description Not entered
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 Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 50, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 5, External Visit Hours 8, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 133 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) A1 (50%)
a) 1000 word essay (75%): This essay will enable students to describe and provide evidence of an animal welfare issue of their choice through effective synthesis of the literature.
b) 3 min recorded sound bite (25%) The soundbite will enable students to propose what they think should happen next to address the animal welfare issue.

A2 (50%)
a) 1500 word essay (75%): The essay will enable students to identify innate and key species-specific behaviours in a chosen topic, evidence welfare issues and identify trade-offs. There will be a number of option topics for students to choose from.
b) Accompanying infographic diagram (25%) The creation of an infographic will enable students to visually represent information and convey key elements of the issue from part a.
Feedback Opportunities for feedback arise during timetabled courses, for example during live session tutorials, discussion boards, emails, telephone communication and in person/on campus. Feedback can be provided on coursework assignments but also activities which are not formally assessed, for example class discussion on the discussion board, group exercise, problem-solving and developing project plans and proposals. A formative task is provided in each course which provides formative feedback prior to the student submitting their first piece of assessed course work.

All assignments, including the formative assessment, will be marked and feedback is provided within a period of fifteen working days (where possible) following the submission date (excluding holidays periods whereby the University of closed, e.g. over the Christmas period)
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of animal behaviour and animal welfare science which includes recognition that animal welfare is multi-dimensional and involves a number of societal and scientific aspects that need to be integrated when addressing a welfare problem (C1)
  2. Apply critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis of the scientific research in animal behaviour and animal welfare in order to develop ideas about potential solutions (C3).
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Keywordsanimal behaviour,animal welfare
Contacts
Course organiserDr Vincent Bombail
Tel:
Email: Vincent.Bombail@sruc.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Linda Pollock
Tel: (0131) 650 6149
Email: Linda.Pollock@ed.ac.uk
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