Spirit in Mind Annual Conference Report

SCAS member Angela Barker, and her team recently organised this most wonderful conference held in the magnificent Dewsbury Minster in Dewsbury, Kirklees, West Yorkshire. Some of this impressive Minster date from the 12th C

The conference presentations encompassed human-animal interactions, animal welfare, horticulture therapy and nature education. There was much interest from the delegates and, as a result of the conference, it is intended that a special interest group will be established locally.

The first series of presentations were concerned with human-animal interactions and were delivered by SCAS members Elizabeth Ormerod, Angela Barker, Belinda Johnston and Rebecca Leonardi. These were followed by presentations addressing animal welfare, horticulture therapy and forest schools.

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National Pet Month: Love Your Pet!

As a charitable organisation, SCAS is dedicated to supporting research, promoting best practices, and advocating for policies that help both pets and people. Read more about SCAS here.

April is National Pet Month in the UK and each week SCAS will present a topic related to companion animal welfare, well-being, and the important role they play in the lives of humans. Week 4: SCAS member Kris Hill is celebrating the special bond between people and their pets.  #NationalPetMonth @NatPetMonthUK

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National Pet Month in the UK: A SCAS update on Pets in Housing

#NationalPetMonth

April is National Pet Month in the UK and each week SCAS will present a topic related to companion animal welfare, well-being, and the important role they play in the lives of humans. This week Dr Elizabeth Ormerod provides an update on one of SCAS’s priorities, namely Pets in Housing.

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April is Pet Month! Part 1

#NationalPetMonth

The Society of Companion Animal Studies (SCAS) understands how special our pets are! As a charitable organisation, SCAS is dedicated to supporting research, promoting best practices, and advocating for policies that help both pets and people. Read more about SCAS here.

April is Pet Month in the UK and each week SCAS will present a topic related to companion animal welfare, well-being, and the important role they play in the lives of humans.

Week 1: Responsible Pet Ownership (RPO)

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SCAS at ISAZ 2023!

The 32nd International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ) Conference is open for registration. Hosted by the University of Edinburgh in the beautiful capital of Scotland, the event takes place from June 15 – 18, 2023.

Click here for the ISAZ conference homepage.

The programme includes varied and insightful presentations from scholars and professionals from around the world who are working in the field of human-animal studies. Many talks and workshops will appeal to SCAS members. These include topics related to companion animals, the human-animal bond (HAB), animal assisted intervention (AA!), and a workshop on Pets and Housing. Some of the titles from our grantees, trustees, and members are listed below:

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New Tool for Housing Rights & Assistance Animals

A new online tool funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Reasonable Accommodation Requests for Assistance Animals in Housing, has recently been released. This interactive tool will provide persons with disabilities with information about their fair housing rights related to requests for assistance animals.

CLICK HERE

Pets in Housing is a SCAS priority, and Trustees Dr Elizabeth Ormerod and Dr Sandra McCune will be leading a Workshop on Pets in Housing at the ISAZ 2023 conference in Edinburgh:

Hope to see you there!   

#Petinhousing

Say NO MORE

Spearheaded by the national campaign UK SAYS NO MORE, No More Week (5-10 March, 2023) is a week to raise awareness of domestic abuse and sexual violence in the United Kingdom and in the US and the World.

There is a strong link between violence to animals and violence towards people, and an abused or neglected pet can be an indicator of domestic violence, spousal or child abuse, or neglect.

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Old friends: a preliminary assessment of the implications of current UK care home pet policies for the health and wellbeing of elderly individuals and their companion animals and the obstacles to making more care homes pet-friendly

Samantha Hurn, from the University of Exeter, UK, was recently awarded £9,963 by SCAS to study the implications of current UK care home pet policies for the health and wellbeing of elderly individuals and their companion animals.

This is one of six pump priming grants that were awarded from Society for Companion Animal Studies (SCAS) 2022 funding round.

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