0 or 3 credits
Fall 2025 Lecture Upper Division
Animal welfare assessment is a critical component of working with live animals. Throughout this course, students will receive instruction in the fundamental aspects of animal welfare assessment. Students will learn how behavior, physiology, health and production parameters are used to critically assess animal welfare. The welfare of farm, exotic, companion, and laboratory animals will be assessed, focusing on four example species that change every year. The species of focus will be determined in the summer semester and students can contact the instructor for details prior to registering for the course. Students will engage in classroom discussions and peer evaluation. Students will have the option to represent Purdue University at the American Veterinary Medical Association's annual welfare judging and assessment contest where they will compete with teams from other universities. Field trips may be required.
Learning Outcomes1Discuss and present peer-reviewed articles.
2Explain how behavior, physiology, production and health measures are used to evaluate animal welfare.
3Weigh the importance and implications of different animal welfare indicators.
4Use scientific evidence, as well as general principles and species-specific information to critically compare and assess the welfare of animals in different scenarios.
5Present oral and written reasons in a concise and well-articulated manner.
Prerequisites
Restrictions
made by Purdue students.