The second edition of the IVSA Animal Welfare Conference was held as a joint event with the annual animal welfare seminar of the German veterinary student association “bvvd” in Munich, Germany, from the 19th to the 21st of October 2018.

​

Altogether 65 international and 55 national veterinary students came to the veterinary faculty in Munich to participate in the event. These 120 students represented more than 20 countries from all over the world. It is the second time that international students, through IVSA, have come together to talk and learn about animal welfare. The participation of students from very different regions, like Poland and Indonesia, was remarked as a huge benefit when discussing about welfare-related topics.

​

The students enjoyed a packed itinerary filled with lectures, workshops, discussion panels and social events. 24 renowned speakers from various international veterinary organisations and universities spoke about a variety of topics related to animal welfare.

​

Starting with the opening ceremony on Friday afternoon, the first lecture on ethical aspects in animal welfare and recent changes in human-animal interactions gave a great introduction into the didactic weekend. This was followed by lectures on topics such as foetal bovine serum in research, ammonia in pig barns, humane dispatch of neonates, welfare in zoos and aquariums, electrical stunning, education programmes in developing countries and the OiE Animal Welfare Strategies – to just name a few. The first conference day ended with a city tour followed by a get-together over a traditional glass of Bavarian beer and pretzels.

​

On Saturday, many more lectures were given to the students. A few of them were plenary lectures, but many were given in streams of two presentations of the same time in order to fit the huge variety of topics into the tight schedule. Thus, it was often a difficult decision to choose which lecture to attend. Furthermore, a poster exhibition with contents handed in by the delegates was organized on Saturday. Their focus was either on animal welfare issues in the student’s home country or on laws and measures addressing welfare issues. The winning poster was submitted by the Indonesian participants and dealt with the animal welfare during the slaughter of Qurbani livestock. Further highlights of the day were two panel discussions, one about breeding of defects and the other about the controversially discussed topic of vegan and vegetarian pet diets. Particularly impressive was the vivid participation of the students, contributing to critical and yet meaningful debates. This second day was framed by a cultural evening for the students and a speakers’ dinner for the lecturers and the winning students of the poster competition.

​

Sunday morning the time had come for the workshops, with subjects ranging from extreme breeding of dogs, recognition of suffering, rabies and claw diseases, over soft skills to career pathways within animal welfare advocacy. Subsequently, more lectures followed, amongst others about laboratory animals, keeping of reptiles and amphibians, physiological aspects of production animals and the mother-offspring relationship of sheep.

​

The conference was, based on the feedback received, a successful and informative event. Students were enabled to immerse themselves in animal welfare education and come out with not only knowledge but understanding and skills that allow them to incorporate good animal welfare into their veterinary career and practice. IVSA and the bvvd hoped to inspire the students to become future leaders in Animal Welfare in their country as well as internationally.

​

The conference would not have been such a success without the support of many. We, the IVSA and the bvvd, would like to thank all our amazing speakers and delegates for their contribution to this weekend, as well as our sponsors. The organizing committee was humbled by and is thankful for the tremendous support, kindness and enthusiasm they received from both the universities and the organisations.

​

Now, we can only think back on a great second Animal Welfare Conference and look forward to a third edition!