Three agricultural and biosystems engineering graduate students attended the 2016 Intercollegiate Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest, held at Ohio State University on November 12 and 13. The Iowa State University graduate team, comprised of Suzanne Leonard, Kai Liu and Jofran Oliveira, placed first in the Team Live Assessment scenario and third place Overall Team. Suzanne Leonard was fifth place individual for the graduate student division. All three are PhD graduate students in Dr. Hongwei Xin’s lab. ISU also had teams in the undergraduate and veterinary student categories, with the vet students winning the Team Live Assessment scenario for their division. The teams were coached by Dr. Suzanne Millman, ISU Associate Professor in VDPAM.
The contest is designed to challenge students to assess the welfare of agricultural, companion, and research animals in a variety of settings using reasoning, ethics, and science. Various universities from around the United States and Canada participated in this year’s contest. The participants are put into three divisions of undergraduate, graduate, and veterinary students. Students analyze one live scenario as a team and three hypothetical scenarios on paper as individuals. Oral articulation of reasons is given on all scenarios to offer explanation and logic behind the team or student’s placing for the scenario. Participants are scored on how they placed the scenarios, as well as their knowledge, reasoning, use of references, and oral presentation of reasons.
Written by Suzanne Leonard