Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast investigating the adoption and relinquishment of companion animals during the Covid-19 pandemic, are keen to speak to two groups of people:
Continue readingLast year, SCAS Awarded Open Access funding to support the publication of this research.
The field of human-animal interaction has seen tremendous growth; more and more research is attempting to scientifically quantify how dogs may be beneficial for our health and wellbeing. As we continue to see this growth in the field, systematic literature reviews are incredibly important to summarise what we do and do not know, as well as identify gaps for future research.
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Elizabeth Ormerod (SCAS Chair), March 2021
Teaching children about animal welfare and preventive medicine is very important, and it should be a core curriculum subject. During the 28 years that we had a companion animal practice, I gave lessons in our local schools at least once a year. Children enjoyed the topics, and I found school visits really uplifting, helping to counteract the stresses of practice. I was therefore delighted to be asked to provide a Zoom lesson for a Primary school recently, as part of British Science Week (March 5-14).
Continue readingWe are delighted to announce a new series of monthly webinars for 2021. The first of these will take place on Thursday 6 May 2021 at 7pm and will be run by SCAS Trustee, Evangelos Diamantakos, BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD cand, an ABTC registered Clinical Animal Behaviourist and full member of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (APBC, UK).
Continue readingResearch published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health showed that dog paws are cleaner that the sole of people’s shoes; rendering the hygiene argument, which is often used to ban assistance dogs from public locations, invalid.
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Our 2021 round of funding is now open for application and, as pets in housing is a topic that is gaining increasing traction, funding grants will be awarded to projects which research this important aspect of the human animal bond. There are three different types of grants available: five pump priming awards, two undergraduate student project awards and one award to support open access publication. All applications must be received by 30 April 2021.
Continue readingAs we celebrate International Love Your Pet Day on 20th February, it is good to pause and reflect on how much dogs enrich our lives. They are often seen as ‘family members’ who offer us affection, fun, and emotional and physical support. Increasing evidence shows the health and well-being benefits that canine companions may bring to older adults (Enders-Slegers & Hediger, 2019; Gee & Mueller, 2019). That relationship can change over time, particularly as both dog and owner age, impacting healthy, active aging for both parties. SCAS trustee Dr. Sandra McCune and Dr. Daniel Promislow recently gave a webinar on this topic which is based on a forthcoming paper in the Frontiers journals’ Research Topic, ‘Our canine connection; The history, benefits and future of human-dog interactions’.
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There have been a number of funding opportunities released recently for those looking to carry out research into animal welfare and the human animal bond:
Continue readingThe University of Arizona’s College of Veterinary Medicine (UA-CVM) and School of Anthropology (SOA) invite applications for a jointly appointed tenure track position with a focus on Human-Animal Interaction (HAI), broadly conceived. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, animal behavior, biology, physiology and cognition; evolutionary perspectives on human-animal interaction; the biopsychosocial effects of human-animal interaction; One Health; and behavioral ecology. The successful candidate will contribute to the University of Arizona’s growing emphasis on research at the intersection of humans and nonhuman animals and will create bridges between the CVM and SOA.