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COA promotes farm animal welfare in Taiwan by holding Animal Welfare Forum 2009
The Council of Agriculture (COA) in Taiwan hold the 2009 Farm Animal Welfare Forum on Oct. 6-7, the aim of which is to help the local livestock industry understand the development trends in animal husbandry worldwide.
In an effort to improve livestock welfare in Taiwan, the COA has invited five keynote speakers -- animal welfare experts from the United States, Great Britain, Belgium and Canada -- to speak on matters relating to farm animal welfare, humane transport and slaughter management.
John Webster, is emeritus professor of animal husbandry at the University of Bristol and the original proponent of the "Five Freedoms." He is also a panel member of Animal Health and Welfare of the European Food Safety Authority.
Donald M. Broom, a professor of animal welfare at the University of Cambridge, has served on the committees of the Council of Europe and The World Organization for Animal Health.
Ian J.H. Duncan has worked for more than 40 years on the welfare problems of poultry and is also heavily involved in teaching. Duncan is a professor at the University of Guelph in Canada and holds the university chair in animal welfare.
Stephen Wotton, the senior lecturer in food animal science at the University of Bristol, he shared his knowledge of humane stunning and slaughter with local industry people.
William Benjy Mikel, the fifth keynote speaker of the forum, is professor and head of the department of food science, nutrition and health promotion, and director of the Food Science Institute at Mississippi State University.
He has an outstanding international and national record of accomplishments in the area of food science extension and industry service.
According to the COA, Taiwan has implemented legislation on animal welfare and in the future, the best international practice and developments in humanely raised farm animals will be implemented here.
The aim of the forum is to provide a platform to help local research teams and related industries people understand the current status, evaluation method and background of the current international practice of farm animal welfare, and push for an increase in the welfare of Taiwan's farm animals.
The forum had been held at the library of National Chung Hsing University, Taichung.
