A new direction in the way we look after our animals is the aim for Australia’s first Professor of Animal Welfare.
Professor Clive Phillips, from The University of Queensland’s School of Veterinary Science, took up the role last month and is quickly trying to establish his place in the world of animal welfare in Australia.
And he couldn’t have come at a more opportune time with public concern high about Australia’s live sheep trade.
Professor Phillips said with large numbers of sheep dying since the shipment was rejected by Saudi Arabia, the welfare of the animals was a serious issue and both government and industry needed to make sure it didn’t happen again.
“It is not acceptable for sheep to suffer in this way,” he said.
“We must study the transport process to improve animal welfare during the journey.
“And we must devise appropriate lifetime welfare assessment schemes, so consumers can be assured even if their meat comes from abroad, it has been produced to just as high a welfare standard as if it had been produced at home.”
Dr Phillips comes to UQ after studying agricultural science at the University of Reading in England before doing his doctorate at the University of Glasgow in animal science.
A move to the University of Wales saw him become more interested in farm animal behaviour production but it wasn’t until he moved to the University of Cambridge vet school he developed a major interest in animal welfare.
Based at UQ Gatton but also sharing his time at the St Lucia campus, Professor Phillips said he already credited Australians as having a deep concern for the welfare of their animals and he hoped to build on that.
“To develop lifetime welfare measures, we can look at cattle in intensive housing systems, where they only live for 12 months in cramped lots, never seeing an open field before being taken for slaughter,” he said.
”This can be compared with Australian cattle that have a longer lifespan of two to three years and have the freedom of roaming pastures and socialising with their peers.
"If I was a steer I know which one I'd be choosing but we need to find out which is best for the animal."
He said it was exciting to be in the position he was now as ensuring a high level of animal welfare was crucial in developing a modern, caring society.
“In the past 100 years there has been an increasing realisation that animals are sentient beings with feelings and needs, just as we have,” he said.
“And we must recognise that we can’t damage or abuse the wealth of animal species on this planet or we will do ourselves a huge disservice.
“No one wants to see us end up with an animal modelled to be like a vegetable that is only grown for our food needs.
“We need to preserve the richness of our animal inheritance.”
Media: For more information contact Professor Clive Phillips (telephone 07 3346 9179, 07 5460 1158, or email c.phillips@uq.edu.au) or Andrew Dunne, UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2802).
